You Should See Me in a Crown By Leah Johnson Book Review

“The queen is supposed to be the best among us: the smartest, the most beautiful, the worthiest. But the people who win are rarely the people who deserve it. Like with any monarchy, they’re just the closest to the top. You don’t earn queen; you inherit it.”

(pg. 181)

About

Author: Leah Johnson

Genre: Young Adult

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Synopsis

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.

The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

Reviews

Spoilers Contained Below

To all those who deserve a crown,

I would love to be friends with Liz Lighty for sure! 💜 She just has such a cool, positive, vibe about here and everyone in her life or at her school highly respects her (except Rachel) and I love that. She was such a natural light and people felt that.

One of the things I admired about Liz was her passion. She loved people fiercely and she loved playing music. She was trying to get a scholarship to get into this prestigious music program that could change her life, but she got rejected from it and might I just say, that rejection letter was FREAKING harsh as heck! ☹️ I’m sorry did a professional, I hope it was professional letter of rejection actually say, “And while, yea, it sucks that you didn’t get into the orchestra of your life . . .” And while, yea, it sucks? What kind of garbage rejection letter is that! I would like to speak to whomever wrote that because they need a piece of my mind!

To have a chance to get into the program/pay for it, Liz decided she would run for Campbell High’s prom queen because whoever won would, conveniently, win $10,000. And I would also like to say, $10,000 for prom queen!? Heck, I would run for prom queen if I had that much money riding on it. I’m surprised because even for school talent shows, it’s not like the cash prize is even $1,000 or at my high school it wasn’t. The best it was was a Ruby Tuesday’s gift card 😂. But I guess it really attested to how Campbell took the whole prom season WAY seriously.

” . . . I grinned hard, kept my head down, and survived growing up poor and black in Campbell County—-a place that’s anything but. Because that’s the Lighty way too.”

(pg. 19)

Liz and her family never had it easy and my hurt heart for all that she went through and still continued to go through. And even though this is a work of fiction, I do believe that there are people who highly relate to Liz’s story and hardships. The world absolutely isn’t fair and we see that time and time again. Liz’s mom passed away because she lived with Sickle Cell Anemia, which her brother, Robbie, (I believe) also inherited it. So growing up, Liz acted as the protector of her brother and made sure he took his medication and that he took care of himself because she loved her brother and didn’t want him to go so soon like their mom. Liz and Robbie were raised by their grandmother who is such a strong woman who worked day and night to keep a roof over both of their heads and she worked behind the scenes to save up money for Liz’s dream. But Liz didn’t know that and so Liz felt like she couldn’t go to them about wanting to go to this prestigious school because she knew they would give up everything—even the house—for her to pursue what she wanted. That’s the type of people her grandparents were. I admired that. But it’s so difficult knowing that your family has all these hardships and you have all these dreams and you don’t want to impose anything on them. So that’s why it meant a lot for Liz to actually win prom queen because it would mean that she wouldn’t burden her grandparents more than they already were.

She wanted to help them.

But her work ethic of always working hard for what she wanted or working harder than others to prove herself, just touched a chord in me. Because in the society we live in black people work harder for what they want because the world is unfair to them. Because if they want a good paying job and to be respected, they have to put in more time and effort to get there because the system we live in makes them feel like they have to to prove that they are more. And that’s completely wrong. All throughout the book, I felt Liz always having to prove herself to others or society that she was good enough. But she was. She had nothing to prove to anyone. She was the top of her class, respectful friends, and a good heart. But in the real world, it breaks my heart to know that even if she had good grades, was the top of her class, and had a good heart, that wouldn’t matter because everyone in the workplace or society would see her differently because of her race. That’s what the black lives matter movement has been showing us recently: to recognize these biases in the system all around us and how it never respects or benefits minority voices, black voices.

I truly think to myself how it’s utterly unfair. Because Liz deserved better than to work hard to prove herself to a world that wouldn’t even care. The world needs change, not just in the books, but in the world. It truly does.

I really enjoyed who Dr. Fredrickson was: a strong, black woman as a hematologist because it highlighted how hard work can pay off. For Liz, it inspired her to keep working hard for her dreams because if that black woman could do it, she could too. And I respected that. I loved the whole reason why Liz wanted to be a hematologist in the first place. Her mother lived with sickle-cell and her brother and she wanted to help find a cure or help kids in general who went through it because she knows what it’s like for loved ones to go through it. If that doesn’t just warm you heart, I don’t know what will 💜. I just highly highly respect people who find their purpose or passion or dream in life from a connection that means a lot to them. This meant a lot to her.

Liz running for prom queen was met with some contention by a prissy, spoiled girl who was an alumni to the whole prom court thing. Other people were quite okay with Liz running for prom queen. It was different for Liz to run because she wasn’t the traditional beauty queen people might look at. She was a black queer woman. And something in me just felt weird with how the principal told her that she had the chance to be the first black woman to win prom queen. I don’t know, to me, it just put a lot of pressure on her to win because she was black. She deserved to win, but I didn’t think that the reason should be because of her race, but because of her character and her qualities. And that’s not to say she didn’t deserve to win, because she did and that’s the thing, she deserved to win. She did. Because the black community deserves moments where they can win and where they are heard and this was her platform where she could be. And I LOVED that. And I liked how other people wanted someone different to win.

I honestly didn’t think her being queer should have been a deal breaker for whether or not she would win. But I grew up in a community where people who were queer got to go to prom together or run for court and no one batted an eyelash to it. I live in a different environment than Liz, so it was understandable why some people who be hesitant or traditional not to have a queer prom president or court. I get it. But we live in the 21st century people! 😂 I say anyone and everyone should be able to run for court or go to the dance with whoever they wanted to. My gosh, the principal truly sucked! I mean, he literally told everyone that you couldn’t go as a same sex couple and even when the principal knew Liz was dating/with Mack, he was like you still can’t go with her. Someone needs to take him off his conservative high horse! And DON’T even get me started on this dumb principal’s reaction to when Rachel outed Liz’s sexuality to the whole school and then the principal called Mack and Liz to his office to reprimand them! Them?! You DUMB man! I WANTED TO THROW A FIT! He kept placing the blame on Liz like she wanted the attention and when Mack stood up for her and said that Rachel did it, the principal actually defended Rachel and said they had no proof. KISS MY BUTT! Like, one of your student’s sexuality just got outed to the whole school and you sir are more concerned with punishing the person who was outed rather than asking her if she was okay and how she was taking all of this in? Or, I don’t know, protecting her so she felt safe because this was her sexuality we were talking about!? NOOOOOO, we push her feelings aside and blame it on her! 😡

I WOULD FIRE HIM!!!!

He did NOT handle that situation right in any way shape or form, and it’s principals like him that prove why it’s so difficult for teens to talk to adults because they won’t care about your problems because they will minimize it and place it back all on you. That principal burst my buttons!

Liz running for court was actually a fun experience besides some of the down moments. One of the things she gained from doing this whole thing was reconnecting with a friend: Jordan. Honestly, he has such a slick, cool sounding name and he seemed like a genuinely nice person. I thought it was pretty dumb move of his to ghost and pariah her with the start of freshman year. I get it, he was trying to be “cool!” *rolls eyes* Freshman are dumb 😂. I would know, I was one. Twice. And I was dumb for both times. Because when you’re a freshman you want to be cool or to fit in, so you do anything to do so, even if it meant cutting friends.

But Jordan lost a really good friend in Liz. But I liked how he tried to be cordial and to be her friend again even if she was receptive. It was this big huge miscommunication thing. Jordan felt bad all these years for what he did to her and he wrote her a letter one day and gave it to Liz’s best friend, Gabi, who never gave it to her. Liz didn’t know there was a letter, so she always harbored this anger towards Jordan. She didn’t forgive him. But he was also running for court and they would volunteer together and that brought them closer. I really liked how he knew when she was anxious and how to communicate with her or to be there for her; just the fact that he remembered all these years meant a lot. I also liked how he stood up for her in certain moments like at parties.

One of my absolute favorite moments in the book was when Liz was doing the prom court dance and Jordan and her did their dance from when they were kids. Then the lights went out and everyone had a black shirt on with a crown in support of her. It was a High School Musical Senior Year moment! You know the moment in the beginning of the movie where Troy is sweaty and he’s tired and the whole crowd raises these white or red squares over their heads and then Gabriella stands up to sing to him 😂. Yea, it felt like that, but the whole crowd in black and gold and Gabriella was Liz on stage 😅. But it was such a powerful moment because it showed the utter love and support Liz had with people who wanted her to win. Who wanted to see her in a crown she deserved. I loved that.

But with every high comes a low.

The moment I enjoyed the most between her and Jordan was when he was there for her at the hospital. He went with a bag of fried food they ate when they were little and they talked things through to clear the air. But I just loved how he was there for her because he knew how much she’s been through in life and he still wanted to be there for her. He was a good person and a good friend who made a mistake in the past, but I liked that he was trying to make it up to her now.

Speaking of friends, I thought it was wrong of Gabi to not give her Jordan’s letter. It wasn’t her place to keep something like that a secret from Liz because even if Liz would forgive him and things would have been different, that should have been on Liz’s terms and not hers. But I understood why Gabi did it. She was trying to protect Liz from being hurt again and she also didn’t want Liz to go back to Jordan and forget about her. I felt that. Because if Jordan hadn’t broken off their friendship in freshman year, Liz and Gabi wouldn’t have become so close. So she wanted to keep the friendship she created with Liz by also keeping the note. It did drive a rift between them when Liz found out, but I loved the moment when Jordan walked with Liz to his car and Gabi was inside and he was like “talk to her.” I love a supportive friend! 😢 Jordan reaching out to do that highlighted how even if Liz and him were to become close again, he didn’t want to take Gabi’s place, he just wanted to be part of Liz’s life again. And I loved how they just knew they forgave each other and they cried and hugged it out. Because no matter what they put each other through or how mad they were , they had so many good moments between them where they were there for each other. When Liz’s mom passed away Gabi was right there with her and when Gabi was having trouble at home, Liz was there for her. There’s a lot about Gabi I would have liked to known more about like her home life. Because I think everything that was going on at home made her controlling and overwhelmed, which she said. So she was controlling of Liz with the whole prom thing. I mean, honestly, get you a friend like Gabi who will be in your corner and then-some!! 🤪 There was some moments where Gabi was very adamant that Liz do this or that and she was kind of crazy, but I understood where she was coming from.

What made me sad was how Liz felt the need to hide her relationship with Mack from Gabi. Jordan noticed what was going on between Mack and Liz, but Gabi only saw Mack as a distraction and a negative for Liz’s chance to win. Liz needed a friend who would support her in all aspects, so that was the only thing I didn’t like about what Gabi did. Personally, if I was Gabi, it would be clear to me how much Liz liked Mack and even if that would have cost her the win, I would have respected who Liz liked and not closet my friend’s sexuality. So I think Gabi could have been more respectful on that front.

Amber, Mack, had me from the minute she walked in late with her skateboard. She just seemed like a free spirit and she had such a good energy about her too. And when one good energy meets another, it’s like magic. I found it cute how Mack told Liz she could call her Amanda, her real name. It gave their relationship intimacy. I loved how Mack would get flustered whenever she was around Liz and how Liz would glow or spark up when Mack was around. I was like, “DUH! She likes Mack.” What was super cute was their date to see their favorite band 💜. It was fate that they even liked the same band 😂. What was so cool though, was how Mack was related to the band and got them backstage and Liz was low-key flipping out! I mean, if I dated someone who was related to One Direction and they got me in to see the band, I would HIGH-KEY flip my pancakes!! I don’t know how Liz did it!

It was such a cute moment! Afterwards was even sweeter and how they found themselves outside I think a pizza shop and they kissed and the woman across the street was like “Kiss her again!” 😂 We love a supportive ally! I also liked Mack for how respectable she was. She thought Liz coming out was because she didn’t feel safe to do so yet, so she didn’t push Liz to say they were a thing. But the real reason was Liz didn’t want anyone to know so she would have a better chance at winning queen. I knew the real reason was going to come out sooner or later because the truth always does. But the fact that Mack gave Liz the time and space to do things on her terms, meant a lot. It was highly sweet!

It hurt my heart when Mack did find out the real reason because it made it seem like Liz was embarrassed about her. I understand why Liz hid it because, again, she lived in a conservative environment where people might not be receptive of a queer black woman running for court. But I just didn’t see how her intersectionalities should be the reason why she wouldn’t win. Or that we even live in a society where those things would matter in terms of whether or not a person should win.

“The queen is supposed to be the best among us: the smartest, the most beautiful, the worthiest. But the people who win are rarely the people who deserve it. Like with any monarchy, they’re just the closest to the top. You don’t earn queen; you inherit it.

. . .As for the rest of us, we can do everything right—-go above and beyond, maybe even make court—but we never, ever win. It’s practically an unspoken law of nature.”

(pg. 181)

This brings me to the quote I chose at the top of this post in how a lot of the times a queen is thought of as the smartest, most beautiful, or the worthiest. And how most of the time it’s not the people who deserve to have a voice—minority voices. It’s all about money and status.

Much like with society, if you’re rich or you’re born into a rich family, that’s how a person can stay at the top and get their voice heard. That’s how they influence so many people, that’s how they become leaders, presidents, queens, and kings. It’s never about earning the position, but I will say, some people who are rich and are born into such privilege do work for their status and position at the top. But most of the time, it’s just inherited and a given. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to all the others who are at the bottom who have to work twice as hard to even get an ounce of respect or an ounce of a voice across to anyone because they are at the bottom and no one cares and no one’s going to hear them. And it’s people like Liz Lighty who don’t inherit that power and wealth. They have to earn it. In terms of the BLM movement, it resonated with me in the way that people in the black community had to earn their way at the top and how it’s never been fair for them. They never inherit the riches, the status, or the power. But they are silenced, oppressed, and kept at the bottom. And it’s the people who are the “smartest, most beautiful, and worthiest” who get these privileges so easily. But it doesn’t mean that those people who have those privileges are the right people to lead.

I mean, have you seen the U.S president? (I’m an American and I’m embarrassed of our president).

But in all seriousness, it’s never the people who need to be heard, who deserve to be heard.

It’s about money.

It’s about status.

It’s about power.

The three evils that make good people, bad.

I listened to a podcast earlier today earlier today, Pretty Basic, the episode was about Pretty Pop culture where they talked about literally the only qualifications you need to have to run for president in America is to be over 40 and a U.S. citizen. And how RIDICULOUS IS THAT? Literally anyone can run for president if you’re over 40. Sure, I think you need an education and other things, but just those two qualifications alone are the biggest ones. So literally anyone can run for president. Naturally, it makes the most sense that the only people who run for president are those who typically grew up rich, who have the status, who have the money, who have the power. It’s the people who inherit it. Not earned it. This excludes Obama because gosh knows he EARNED it, but the rest? Most inherited that power and status. That cycle of keeping the wealthy in power, specifically white Caucasian males. And it’s RIDICULOUS because it doesn’t benefit those who have an actual opinion and good ideas to create a better world, but never have the opportunity to run for office or to use his/her voice because they don’t have the wealth or status to do so.

In the great words of Sebastian the crab: “The human world, it’s a mess!”

I knew in the end that Liz was going to win. She was going to win because she deserved it and she had a bunch of people who supported her. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED how when her sexuality was outed to the whole school, the majority of people didn’t ridicule her for it, but it made them respect and like her even more. I think it had something to do with how people like authenticity and vulnerability, so Liz being her truest self helped people connect with her. I also think Liz’s sexuality being known might have given other people who were queer, a voice to know it’s okay to be who you are and love as you want.

I would have liked more resolution and talking the issue through with Mack because it just seemed like they were mad at each other and then Liz’s sexuality got outed and all of a sudden they stopped being mad at each other. Then Mack asked her to the dance by having Teela (one of her favorite singers) sing the song “My Life, My story,” about how Teela may or may not be bi. And it was such a romantic gesture that Mack planned that promposal. I loved how sweet it was, but I really would have liked them just sitting down, talking about how they felt and to apologize to each other. I don’t know because I get that it’s easy to forgive and move on, but sometimes there needs to be that conversation that clears the air and I didn’t feel like Liz and Mack had that. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED LOVDE LOVED Liz and Mack, what was their ship name again? Mighty!!! 😆 That’s what they were! We love Mighty! Their love! 💜

The dance was everything they could have dreamed of for a prom and more. I loved how wholesome it was because she had Gabi again as a friend and Jordan now. And much to the principal’s dismay if he ever found out, Mighty went together! A big F and U to the principal and I’m not and at it!

At the dance, Jordan’s girlfriend Emme was there. She was a big mystery throughout the book because Jordan’s girlfriend went away somewhere, but Liz never felt like it was her place to ask where she was and if Jordan wanted to share it, he would have. But I thought it was beautiful how she was there and how Jordan lit up. That’s love right there! 😊 What got me though, was how freaking Rachel wanted to come at Emme, I mean, RACHEL GET A LIFE! How dare you try to ruin their prom night with your petty insecurities. *Shakes head* I absolutely had no idea why she thought it was her business that Emme was in rehab. Like leave her alone! But I love how Liz and everyone stood up for Emme and Rachel backed down. Because honestly, no one liked Rachel because of her pettiness and her rudeness and I hope she knows that being rude, mean, and conniving isn’t going to get you anywhere in life. People like people who are real and will be there for one another. That’s what Liz was. That’s who Liz was.

When people were applauding Rachel being kicked out the dance, I was like, LET’S HAVE A STANDING OVATION FOR THAT GIRL GETTING HER COMEUPPANCE!!! BECAUSE MY GOSH WAS SHE IRRITATING! Petty, petty, petty 🤪 She’s truly a mean girl and she did NOT deserve to win. She’s a bully. Heck!

Jordan won the prom king and Liz won prom queen and I thought it was fitting given their relationship. And I loved their whole running dialogue of first and seconds. In the moment he said:

“A first is nothing without a good second. . . But this is all you—you’ve always been first.”

(pg. 323)

I LOVED THAT! Because she honestly was the COOLEST character I have come to know! Genuinely 💜.

I just loved the utter love that radiated off of everyone in the room when she won. And how the teacher was also like, “You are the best queen I’ve ever crowned, Elizabeth. . . the finest.” That just warmed my heart because all the other people who ran were people who would “inherit” the crown, people who were born into that status, power, and wealth. The same type of winners. But Liz was different and she was someone who deserved to win. She had a heart of gold that gave more than anything, she had a steep heart that had been through everything, and no matter how much life knocked her down or threw her around, she never resorted to petty meanness or anger or hate. She carried herself well. She dusted herself off and found ways to be even stronger. And that to me is a true queen, a true leader—-it’s the people who have been through heck and over and can still find the compassion and kindness in their heart to not sink to the level of those who are hurting and are hurtful, but one who rises above to create a legacy, a path for others to define themselves, be themselves, and be happy. Liz stood for honesty, vulnerability, intersectionality, and adversity. She stood with her crown and her head held high and she wore it well.

I loved how Jordan gave his crown to Mack when they were supposed to have the king and queen dance. To me, it further emphasized the support everyone had for them. And I can’t say this enough, but support from others on who you are, is THE BEST thing in the world. Because it makes you feel like you can be who you are without needing to change. It makes you feel powerful in the best way—-empowered. This book was a whole Liz Lighty empowerment. It was what she deserved.

There was something I forgot to mention, but I liked how there was that conversation with Liz and the Grandma before the dance and how the Grandma knew Liz was running for prom queen. She knew Liz was running herself tired, putting all her eggs in one basket just to help out. I mean, mothers/grandmothers know everything. They have literal eyes on the back of their head—-the mother’s intuition 🤪. She told Liz how her mother thought about running for prom queen. So the fact that Liz ran, felt like a closer connection to her mom. To me, it felt like she was carrying out what her mother didn’t get to do, so it also made Liz’s win that much more special.

“And I’m sorry I never told you to slow down when I saw how hard you were pushing yourself. I guess I just didn’t want to make the same mistakes I made with your mama.” She reaches over and wipes the tear that escapes with her thumb. “I never want to tell you not to burn as fat and as bright as you can . . .I got you when you’re ready to rest.”

(pg. 294)

I’m not making a sad face, you are! 🥺

But Liz was always go go go because she had to care for her brother and do what she could to alleviate the stresses her grandparents felt. Her grandma never wanted to diminish that light, but her saying that she got Liz when she was ready to slow down, to rest, meant so much. Because Liz worked TOUGH, not hard TOUGH. And I have nothing but respect for that and she needed to know that she was okay and that she was supported.

“Because this is real, we finally made it to this place and it’s better than any fairy tale. Because I’m done letting people stop me.

Because here, always, we deserve this good thing.”

(pg. 324)

I loved that. They deserved the happy ending.

They deserved a win.

They deserved to be unapologetic and kiss in public and not be judged or hated for it.

Life is beyond unfair and tough for certain people in this world and people like Liz deserve to have good moments in life just because.

They deserve happiness, love, and support.

And that’s why this book mattered a lot when I read it. With everything going on in the world and the utter injustice that occurs time and time again to black people makes my heart hurt. They don’t derisive the ridicule, the oppression, the hate, the discrimination, the racism, and other nasty things. THEY DON’T. They deserve to live their life doing and being who they want and they shouldn’t have to work so hard to prove to society that they deserve to be. Because they are people. They have hopes, dreams, families, feelings. They are people and somehow others feel it’s okay to treat them as subhuman or different. I’m sorry, the color of a person’s skin doesn’t mean that your words don’t mean anything or that your punches hurt less. NOOOOO! They are people and it’s about time they have good things. It’s about time they have the kindest of our hearts.

It’s about time they don’t have to fear going out into the world because someone might do something violent to them.

It’s about time they don’t have to be silent or complacent to a society that has never been nice or fair.

It’s about time we educate ourselves and stand up with the black community.

It’s about time for change.

They deserve this good thing.

Because it’s queen’s like Liz Lighty, it’s the black community that has worn their crown for years with such grace and we should stand with those who earned it and who have done it as so.

And I will stand.

Stand with me, with us.

Sorry for my spiel, but topics like this and books like this get me impassioned and I just want to say something and do something. And if no one reads this blog post or one or two people do and they take something away from it or they pick up the book and read it, that means a lot because it would feel like I’m doing something. So do all you can. If anything, educate yourself, be aware because being nice is good, but changing the system is better. That’s where it strikes the most and where the change needs to come from.

I have a Black Lives Matter post, which I’ll link if you want to discuss this more in depth over there.

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? Anything I mentioned that you want to discuss more about? Who is someone you admire that deserves to have a crown? Personally, I highly admire Michelle Obama for her poise and I would start a Go Fund Me to buy her the golden crown she deserves! 😆 Anyway, let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this.

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.88 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Liz Lighty is literally a beacon of hope and positivity. I would be her friend in a heartbeat.

Plot: A story that touches on different topics that are prevalent to today’s world and you can take lessons away from for real life.

Writing: Leah Johnson writes with an authenticity you can admire

Romance: MIGHTY! MIGHTY! MIGHTY!