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Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by debut author Joya Goffney is a story of an overly enthusiastic list maker who is blackmailed into completing a to-do list of all her worst fears. It's a heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance. Fans of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Kristina Forest's I Wanna Be Where You Are will love the juicy secrets and leap-off-the-page sexual tension. "A hilarious and swoonworthy story." �??Kristina Forest, author of Now That I've Found You "A fun, emotionally rich romance with a sweet, imperfect character who will win your heart." �??Liara Tamani, author of All the Things We Never Knew Quinn keeps lists of everything�??from the days she's ugly cried, to "Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud" and all the boys she'd like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing . . . Then an anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn't know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett�??the last known person to have her journal�??in a race against time to track down the blackmailer. Together, they journey through everything Quinn's been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Epic Reads Recommended Pick at Target A Kirkus Children's Best Book of 202… (more)
User reviews
This debut novel, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by author Joya Goffney is a contemporary YA high
I was attracted by the book cover, that is released on May 4, 2021. I can relate to the main characters journal of lists. Personally, I have a journal for different reasons (i.e. daily To-Do list, etc.), but not a list of my fears. I found a lot of the subject matter redundant, and I was taken aback with explicit language, sexual innuendo and some adult like content. I had to remind myself of the age, and generation differences.
The story addressed aging, cyber bullying, and racism. I thought the end of the novel wrapped up in good order. The synthetic voice was monotone, and gave me pause to the rhythm of the story, and contributed to the reason why I found the novel mundane.
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This YA novel was at its strongest when exploring Quinn’s experiences as a Black girl in a mostly white community, and when Quinn’s (new) friends support her to face her fears.
But I thought it was odd when Quinn eventually concludes -- uhh, minor spoilers -- that she shouldn’t keep writing her thoughts and plans in her notebook, because she needs to take action and talk to people more. I’d thought it was obvious it wasn’t the notebook-keeping that had been stopping her, but rather a lack of confidence and support! Even if she doesn’t have the need for her notebook she previously had, journaling is still a valid thing to do!
(Okay, okay, it’s a very minor detail, all things considered, and maybe a believable conclusion for a teenager to make?)