School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Grabbing readers from the outset is the cover photo of a bronzed and radiant Liz Lighty, wearing a hand-drawn crown on her mass of natural curls, complete with a supermodel-style gap between her front teeth. And the story only gains momentum from there. Hair is not the only big thing in Liz's life. She has plans to study premed at Pennington College, but when she fails to get the partial music scholarship, she thinks all chances are gone. Her only hope for funding her education is the town's biggest event of the year, the prom, which comes with its own scholarships. In fact, the prom in Campbell County, IN, is "like football in Texas." As a music geek, Liz is out of her league in this world of dresses, makeup, posters with her face plastered everywhere, and the school's paparazzi. With help from her friends and a few tricks up her sleeve, Liz learns to play the game, including hiding her budding queer romance, sheltering her grandparents from her money woes, and stepping into the spotlight. Johnson's pacing is perfect as the story unwinds at dizzying speed, while attacking some tropes and celebrating others. Occasionally, life has fairy-tale endings. VERDICT Readers will fall in love with this refreshing book that celebrates the beauty of individuality.--Cicely Lewis, Meadowcreek High School, Norcross, GA
Publisher's Weekly Review
Debut author Johnson easily channels the self-effacing coolness of 1990s teen comedies with a 2020 sensibility in this heartfelt and laugh-out-loud funny YA rom-com. Indiana high school senior Liz Lighty has two goals: attend prestigious Pennington College like her late mother, and become a doctor to study the disease that ended her mother's life. When the music scholarship she's counting on falls through, Liz's brother persuades her to do the unthinkable as one of the only black girls at wealthy, majority-white, and sometimes racist Campbell County High--run for prom queen and win the $10,000 scholarship that accompanies the prom-obsessed town's crown. An offbeat new girl's arrival throws Liz's carefully drawn plans for victory out the window: talented drummer Mack McCarthy is beautiful, and she's running for prom queen as a legacy. With wit and grounded optimism, Liz answers the book's burning fundamental question: can a poor, black, queer girl be prom queen? In Johnson's emotionally resonant storytelling, the pragmatic, hopeful, awkward Liz Lighty comes alive, complete with fear, regrets, hopes, and dreams. So too do her cheer squad of devoted friends and the impressively drawn setting of Campbell High School. Ages 12--up. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)