Liz isn’t perfect and she has to navigate her way through social stumbles along the way. It also doesn’t help that she’s one of the few Black kids in school and only sees straight kids getting promposals (prom + proposal), leaving her feeling like an outsider in a couple of different ways. Liz has to stretch far out of her comfort zone in this story, between thrusting herself into the spotlight, being forced to work with her former best friend (he’s in the race for prom king), and trying to navigate her first relationship with a girl when Liz isn’t out. She’s a good, kind person and when we meet her at the beginning of the story, she’s also quite shy and happy to let her friends lead the way with their social circle.

Liz Lighty is one of my favourite characters this year. Can they find love together when their openness about being queer is so different, especially while running against each other for prom queen? The Characters Mack is out and proud, while Liz is still in the closet. The idea of doing community service alongside the school’s most popular kids is stressful for Liz, but it turns out to not be too bad when she meets Mack, the totally crushworthy new girl in town. Of course, that means putting herself front and centre for the entire Campbell County student body after spending more than three years deliberately staying out of the limelight. Liz’s brother comes up with the best and worst idea ever: if Liz wins the contest for prom queen, she’ll get a scholarship that’s enough to get her to Pennington. If she doesn’t, she knows her grandparents would sell their house to cover the expense and Liz does NOT want that. But her plans come crashing down when she doesn’t get the scholarship she desperately needs and Liz has to think fast about how she can scrape up the money.

She just has to finish highschool, get a scholarship and then she can start fresh at Pennington College in the pre-med track. One of the few Black kids in school, Liz Lighty is ready to get out of smalltown Indiana. It’s one of my favourite books this year and I can’t recommend it enough. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson is a beautiful young adult novel full of Black girl joy.

You should see me in crown book