This was a great YA book, and even though I don't usually read YA anymore, it really grabbed my attention until the very end.

I always enjoy this author’s books, this one is no exception. I loved the body positivity in this cute YA book. I always kept a journal growing up so it was a fun aspect of this novel. Enjoyable.

** spoiler alert ** ⚠️Spoilers Ahead!⚠️

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3.5 stars: Above average book, an enjoyable read but may not be memorable, reread, or recommended to others

I loved the rom-com feeling this book had throughout the story. I surprisingly really enjoyed it and laughed a few times as I was reading. It definitely felt Iike a cute movie that Netflix would produce and release around Valentines or the spring.

My favorite things in this was the sexuality reveal about Maisie's older sister and the (light) "enemies/friends to lovers relationship. I wasn't aware of either of those elements before reading and was excited to see them on the pages.

That being said, I do feel like certain aspects to to the story threw me off and didn't work as well. The somewhat larger cast was difficult for me to remember the names and roles of each, some received more page time thus move "love" or opportunity to grow. Did they all do so? Not necessarily but there were hints of progress to come.

There were comments about characters' physical attributes and actions that rubbed me the wrong way. For example there were comments about others' facial features and figure because they weren't the standard or desired look. Parts of that was for the story and growth of the main character, but was that really necessary to be said or thought about the other characters?

Overall, this is a great contemporary story to read if looking for themes of family relationships, friendship, and plus size body positivity.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume reminds me of the journals I kept as a teen. My students will enjoy the realistic voice and the relatable moments in this sweet YA novel.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this early. I have never read anything by this author so i was excited when I was granted access. What a beautiful story! I loved the self acceptance theme throughout. I will definitely be checking out more from this author.

This was pretty fun to read! It was enjoyable all the way through, though I found I couldn't get overly connected to our main character. That made it hard to truly care about what was happening in the story, but the plot was entertaining enough that I made it to the end.

This book had a lot of things going for it for me. I loved stories centered around the summer and the beach and best friends to lovers stories. Unfortunately the romance was quite the opposite of what I expected so that part wasn’t really my favorite. This actually turned out to be a story centering around self confidence and acceptance. I would say that this story is basically angus thongs and perfect snogging meets dumplin. An Aussie romance with a plus sized main character coming to terms with growing from her childhood and ultimately love herself for who she is.
TW: body sharing both by the main character and side characters

It's on the younger side, but super cute book about family and body positivity in the world of beauty pageants! It's also an Aussie book, which I somehow didn't realize upon requesting but really loved!

4/5 stars

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book when I got started because while the protagonist is 16 it reads VERY young in my opinion. But the diary format lent to that fun, youthful way of writing very well and I got used to it.

Love that this book focuses on a fat MC learning to not only accept her body as is but love it as well. Plus, a hate/love romance - yes, please!

I'd definitely recommend this to readers looking for fun fat-positive YA fiction with complex friendships and family relationships.

While I enjoyed the premise of the book and the overarching message behind the book, the plot didn't move much and I was not able to get through it completely. I might just come back to this book in the future and maybe it'll hold something for me then.

Who needs sleep when this book exists? After several hours of blushes, tears, and giggles I reluctantly left the world of Maisie Martin and returned to my own. Rarely have I felt such a kinship with a literary character than while reading this book. Brava Ms Guillaume! My only complaint is that Maisie doesn’t share Beamer’s first name with us. Such a tease!

I’m sure I’m not the first person to say this, but I really wish I’d had this book at as a teenager. Body positive YA literature just didn’t exist then and I can’t help but imagine how important "What I Like About Me", is going to be for the generation.

3.5
What I Like About Me is the young adult version of Dear Dumb Diary.

I love the body positivity present in this book. Watching Maisie view her body differently during this vacation was a heartwarming experience. While the romance was predictable and you can see it coming from a mile away, it was adorable. I think adding the journal to the story made the story even more funnier because we got to see Maisie's commentary over everything that happened.

Mini Review: As a plus-sized girl myself, I'm always on the lookout for books that feature plus-sized main characters. So as soon as I read the summary for this book, I knew I had to read it. And I'm happy I did! This was a delightful read! I enjoyed reading about Maisie's journey to feeling more confident, and being more comfortable being who she is. I liked that her family played a big role in the story. And I also thought the romance was cute! I would definitely recommend trying this YA book! :)

YO! This book was such a pleasant surprise! I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. Set in Australia and told through diary entries (which I thought I would hate, but actually ended up loving) we get to know 16-year-old Maisie Martin. This book is all about her unforgettable, "not like the movies" summer vacation where she learns about what love, bravery, true friendship, family, and guts really are.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning and is a quick read! I read it in a day and enjoyed myself the whole time. I laughed out loud, smiled throughout, and was able to see myself in so many of the thoughts, insecurities, and situations that Maisie had and experienced throughout this story being a plus size girl. I will say that the plot was pretty predictable, but honestly, I didn't care because the characters were so witty, fun, loveable, and realistic. The message it sends to teens about learning to love yourself and body no matter what others think is a message I think everyone needs. I cannot wait to purchase my own copy of this book and make it available to my students in my classroom library.

Obviously I highly recommend this book. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, just like I was. I think it's easy for people to read the synopsis of this book and immediately think of Dumplin, but honestly, this was 10x better than Dumplin'. Yeah, I said it. I can't wait to read more from this author.

The ending. My heart. AGGGHH.

Let me start off by saying that I didn’t think I would love this book this much. I was mostly excited for some fat-rep and was really in the need for some cheesy YA romance, but this was so much more than that.

The blurb states that there’s a beauty pageant, but it’s really not the most important part of the story. It was about Maise stepping out of her comfort zone in all aspects of life (new friends, boys, family issues) and it was SO strong.

What I related to most was the friendship between the main character Maise and her best friend Anna. Anna was all about lying about Maise’s size to make her feel better and I couldn’t relate more. When my friends tell me “you’re not fat, you’re gorgeous”, it hurts just a tiny bit because like it’s said in this book, why can’t I be both!?

Most YA stories don’t feature a healthy breakup with a friend, and I think that’s what made this book stand out to me the most.

This is definitely the type of book I would’ve loved reading as a 15-16 year old. It was a wonderful story about body positivity and friendship.

Exhausted by years of hating what she sees in the mirror, Maisie Martin takes some risks and discovers there is plenty to like about her. Maisie Martin is a fantastic character, full of humor, honesty, and humanity. Her journey toward self-love is entirely relatable. She enters a beauty pageant out of spite, but she discovers how empowering it can be to own one’s body exactly as it is. Add in a fun romance, friend and family drama, and plenty of pop culture kitsch and you get a read that manages to balance the dark and the light.

This book brought back so many summertime childhood memories. Friends you only see for a few weeks in the summer, bringing a friend with you on vacation and sand, sand, sand. The reminisces are bittersweet - just like this story. Friendships pulling apart, new friends, and romance are all part of it. Throw in a beauty pageant, body image issues and parents fighting and you have the trifecta for stress. But the story flowed in a cohesive, funny, sweet way that was really enjoyable to read.
This is a good read for middle school readers.

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to review an E-ARC of this novel!**

This was such a cute, humorous, refreshingly honest read. I sped through it after getting past the first half or so. It was difficult for me to get going at first, but the second half made up for some of that! Please find my extended thoughts below...along with some spoilers (beware). :)
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Things I Liked:
-Beamer's banter...the class clown...the funny dude...he was perfectly written in my opinion!
-Beamer's attitude toward Maisie throughout the book...he was so enamored by her & I just wanted to shake Maisie & say "HE LIKES YOU & HE WROTE THAT POETRY YOU READ" after their first interaction
-the realistic portrayal of marriage & friendship (issues between Maisie's parents...as well as issues between Maisie & Anna...& how the issues weren't just magically resolved...it does take time...sometimes things don't go back to the way they were either)
-the cute rom-com plot points (Beamer's random dancing, the mistaken poet situation, the friend stealing the main character's longtime crush, the movie marathon/action star competition, the beach setting, the 'girl falls for the funny best friend of the stereotypical hot dude' plot point)
-the journal/diary writing style made this read interesting as it created a unique timeframe & almost a conversational interaction with the reader...I liked it!
-Leila...she was an interesting character with cool talents & such a better friend then Anna
-the support Maisie got from her family & true friends at the pageant!
-the sister dance at the pageant...finally...Eva turns out to be sort-of likable after all!
-the last bit about the teacher who finally got to read the journal at the end (LOL)
-the connections to sayings & items that are based in Australia (I visited Australia once...it was BEAUTIFUL & sooooo cool!)
-THE ADVOCACY & body positivity! Fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, prejudice, discrimination of any kind...it's all wrong & I liked that the author & this novel pointed that out! Love yourself for who you are & build others up too!

Things that Didn't Quite Sit Right With Me:
-the writing style & tone seemed a bit young for my taste in the beginning to the middle of the novel...but by the middle the plot picked up & this seemed to even out
-Eva was a jerk for entering the pageant without Maisie & what she said to her...ugh
-I had some issues with Eva turning to be more body positive after reading Bess' essay. It just felt like Eva changed her mind because of someone else & it made me wonder if her change of heart was genuine...
-Anna...oh Anna. I liked Anna at first, but then she turned out to be a real jerk (using Sebastian...admitting her irritation with Maisie...going back to the horrible boyfriend)
-I would have liked to have seen more about the pageant process & how Maisie challenged them & stood up to them for pretty much trying to use her to gain publicity for "allowing" plus size ladies into the competition

Overall, I gave this novel 3 stars. I think it would be a great read for those interested in YA, rom-coms, or those interested in body positivity & calling out fat shaming. The journal/diary writing style certainly made for an interesting read! Find one of my favorite quotes from the book below:

"What was I really afraid of? I was afraid of being alone. But I wasn't alone. I was afraid of being seen. But I was putting myself out there to be seen. I was afraid of being laughed at, ridiculed, made to feel ashamed. But people did that anyway. I did that to myself."