[Review] Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry - Joya Goffney

Summary: Riveting debut own voices romance for fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, with juicy secrets, sexual tension, and lots of ugly crying!

Debut author Joya Goffney creates a standout own voices story of an overly enthusiastic list maker who is blackmailed into completing a to-do list of all her worst fears. It’s a heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance.

Quinn keeps lists of everything—from the days she’s ugly cried, to “Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud” and all the boys she’d like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing. . . .

Then an anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn’t know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett—the last known person to have her journal—in a race against time to track down the blackmailer.

Together, they journey through everything Quinn’s been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love.(Pub Date: May 04, 2021)

This book really got me thinking a lot, but don't worry, it's not a heavy read. 

Quinn can't communicate her feelings or even act on them, so she's been doing lists on her notebook for everything: things she wants to do, boys she'd like to kiss, stuff she's lied about. Now her notebook is gone and someone is blackmailing her to complete one of the lists of things she could never do, time is running to recover all her secrets before they become public.  

3.5, rounded up.

It's not my place here to talk about the racial issues, but I feel it brings up important points to black people. At least, I feel they are important but I'm unable to judge. Whatever the case is, it'll be a full plate to discuss in a group read. 

I feel that aside from that, the plot itself is too simple and maybe far-fetched. I don't think it made much sense why the culprit would put that much effort into ending Quinn's life (figuratively). In general, the characters weren't that much either, though I can't say they weren't likable—even Quinn, who's a little unbearable in the beginning but evolves a lot as we go on. 

The beauty of this read is certainly in the details, the little issues that come up, the way each character faces them. 

This is the kind of story that speaks to you and will be on your mind.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.