By Jenna Guillaume
Expected US publication date: April 1, 2020
(Already out in Australia)
What I Like About Me is the teacher-mandated journal of Maisie, an overweight teen who is on vacation with her mom, sister, best friend, and family friends. This combination proves initially toxic but ultimately supportive. What I Like About Me is as much a novel of self-acceptance as it is a novel of family drama. Struggling to escape her sister's shadow, Maisie enters a beauty pageant. When it is revealed that her acceptance was political in nature – a nod toward acceptance of all body types – Maisie's burdens reach critical mass. (Other burdens include unrequited love, best-friend drama, an absent and secretive father, and a hateful(?) and hypocritical sister.) She makes a number of poor choices, as one might expect of someone in her position, and must decide how to recover from them. It is the raw honesty with which this novel is written that makes it so compelling – the insecurities, heartbreak, revelations, and catharsis.
I do not wish to get into too much detail and spoil it for you, so I will simply say that What I Like About Me is a cringe-worthy, empowering, satisfying read. I expected to enjoy it from the outset (why else read a book?), and it was even better than anticipated!
Parental Advisory: I would recommend this for a mature audience due to sexual content. (Maisie and a young man kiss and make out. She discusses "over the clothes" vs. "under the clothes action." They do not have intercourse.)
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