Where do I even start with this book? I bought You Should See Me In A Crown during the summer when it came out, but hadn’t had a chance to get to it yet. When it popped up as a choice on Libro.FM I knew it was going to be my next audiobook and I’m so glad that I made that choice! Leah Johnson has crafted one heck of a story here. Liz Lighty is my kind of character, and I loved every second of my time with her.

First off, can we give kudos to how well the whole relationship is done in this story? So often I get disenchanted with a story because of uncomfortable instant love that appears out of nowhere. Not here, my friends. Not here. In fact all of Liz’s relationships, from her friendships, to her family interactions, to her love interest are all beautifully done. Liz feels like someone who could be your best friend. I warn you, you’re going to get attached and you’re probably going to grin a lot during this story.

I also couldn’t get over how well done the high school backdrop is built up here. Liz lives in a city that frowns upon anything that isn’t “perfect” and well-mannered. We’ve seen that before. However I appreciated how this story went deeper and showed how ready the younger generation was to show up for Liz no matter what. I won’t spoil anything, but this story perfectly points out how often those kinds of negative attitudes are actually deeply seeded in the adult population. When I tell you I cheered more than once during this book, I’m being serious.

Honestly I could gush about this book for an entire term paper’s worth of time, but I feel like I’d definitely accidentally give something away that you should discover for yourself. I’ll leave it at the fact that I was so impressed with this entire story. The characters, the plot, the development, all of it just blew me away. If you’re looking for a read that is heartfelt, deals gorgeously with some tough topics, and gives the teen population a big old hug for being themselves, this is it.