''You Should See Me in a Crown'' is a debut young adult novel by Leah Johnson, published by Scholastic in June 2020. The book was given a Stonewall Book honor, and

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

magazine named it one of the best 100 young adult books of all time. The novel follows Liz Lighty, who hatches a plan to leave the "small, rich,

prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school y ...

-obsessed midwestern town" she lives in because she feels "too black, too poor, too awkward" to live her best life there.

Plot

Liz Lighty longs to leave her hometown of Campbell, Indiana and makes plans to start a new life at the elite Pennington College, where she aims to join their world-renowned orchestra and study to become a doctor. Liz hopes to enroll at Pennington with the help of financial aid but when the aid suddenly becomes unavailable, she reluctantly decides to join a contest at her high school which awards scholarships to the prom king and queen. Even though Liz is afraid of being the center of attention, fears the possibility of being trolled on social media, and dislikes public events, she is fueled by the desire to follow her dream of attending Pennington College. When Liz finds herself falling for her prom queen competition, the bright and witty Mack, she is caught between the excitement of a new crush and the risk of losing a scholarship.

Publication history

* United States, Scholastic Inc , 2 June 2020, Hardback

Reception

On its release, ''You Should See Me in a Crown'' received positive reviews and temporarily sold out across various retailers. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' included the novel in its Children's Institute 2020: Indies Introduce Debut Authors list, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' profiled it during

Pride month LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...

2020, and ''Time'' cited it as a fiction book that can contribute to anti-racism work through storytelling that centers Black people.

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

included it in its list of Popular Queer Young Adult Fiction list for June 2020 calling it "a self-love anthem for queer black girls everywhere." {, class="wikitable sortable" , +Accolades for ''You Should See Me in a Crown'' !Year !Accolade !Result !Ref. , - , ,

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Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbow ...

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YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers is a book list created annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Associa ...

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's Best Fiction for Young Adults , Selection , {{Cite web, last=NGILBERT, date=2021-01-14, title=2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults, url=https://www.ala.org/yalsa/2021-best-fiction-young-adults, access-date=2021-12-21, website=Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), language=en

References

External links

Leah Johnson's website
2020 American novels American young adult novels African-American young adult novels American LGBT novels LGBT-related young adult novels Scholastic Corporation books Novels set in Indiana Children's books set in Indiana