This was a brilliant story, although honestly heart-breaking at times.
The characters were very well balanced and I felt empathy towards each of them for the battles they were all fighting. Being a teenager is no fun at all - I am glad my experience was many years ago and I did not have to face what teenagers now and in the future have ahead of them.

I very much enjoyed this audiobook and listened over two days whilst crafting which gave me a lot of time to think about the storylines and how the actions of one person can have the ripple effect on many others.

There is a good lesson on being there for each other and I hope this book is received well by readers on release date. It was brilliant.

I would read more from this author in the future.

📕 Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney📕
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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.
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Oh how much I enjoyed this book, This was such a beautiful hate to love story. It was so wholesome and made me feel so happy. It’s definitely something that I ended to read to get my head out of everything that’s going on in this world.

This is a debut novel and wow I am impressed. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much since I had really high hopes for it, but I’m glad it lived to the standards. It was so beautifully told and written. The characters were such great additions. I loved how it was structured and the way it had many different lists. I also really did like and appreciate the black characters representation. Ughhhh so adorable!!!

I really loved following Quinn and Carter grow as human beings. Quinn definitely changed and learned to be much more honest. It was so fun following them along with other characters. Their journey to complete Quinn’s fears are such great details and how they’re trying to figure out what happened together was so good.

I would highly recommend this when it’s released. I had such a fun and enjoyable time with this story. Such a beautiful and wholesome experience. I do wished I had a physical copy because I’ll always remember this story and it’s definitely an all time favorite. I listened to it via audio and I still really enjoyed it so much. Such a beautiful and memorable story!!
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Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
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**I received an audiobook review copy in exchange for an honest review. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Joya Goffney for this lovely story.**

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is a fantastic #ownvoices YA debut from Joya Goffney.

This book has it all: friendship, romance, revenge. And, the chemistry between Quinn and Carter as they try to solve the mystery of who is blackmailing Quinn is electric.

It's a novel about finding yourself and telling the truth - no matter the cost. I can't wait to read more from Goffney.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

this book tackles very important issues. Most of the characters are bipoc and speak out about racism. There's also the topic of being "white enough" that was a major part of the book as well@as racism within the bipoc community which I found very pertinent. It's an important book for this and should be read by as many people as possible.
Now, looking at the story itself it was pretty cheesy and predictable. It was entertaining, but not overwhelmingly good.
For these reasons, I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was a good book that tackled important issues.This book comes out may 4th.

I listened to an advanced voice galley of this book and am obsessed. What a cute but incredibly timely book. The main character is a young black woman in a predominantly white school, who creates lists of everything in her life. When her journal goes missing she is blackmailed into completing one of her lists. I loved the characters in this book and the personal journey Quinn went on in discovering what it means to be a black woman and to overcome her fears. What a fun and beautiful young adult story.

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is a tale about young black girl who's essentially addicted to writing lists. From everything to her biggest fears, her biggest crushes, when Quinn thinks of a list, she has to write it down in her journal to get it off her chest. It's where she keeps her most personal of thoughts, and when it goes missing one day, she understandably freaks out at the thought of anyone reading it and learning the things that she doesn't want anyone to know. Then she's blackmailed by an anonymous person who's threatening to post her entire journal for all their peers to see unless she comes clean about one of her lists within a set time frame.

I'll admit, when I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought it was going to be a black romantic comedy about a girl who's desperate to find her journal and happens to fall in love along the way. It is a little bit of that, but it's also so much more. Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry touches on racism, colorism, classism, and I think the author did a really good job portraying the hurt the Quinn felt at the racist things her so-called friends said to her or about her, both intentional and unintentional. We also witness Quinn's own prejudices against blacks who live differently from her, including Carter, that I believe stems from her father's prejudices in a scene that happens fairly early.

What I really loved about this story is that no one was free from consequences, and all (or almost all in some cases) eventually came to understand why they were wrong, either by being told they were by the person that offended, or from their own reflection. I also loved Quinn's biracial friend Olivia and how it was touched upon that not only was she bullied in school, but she was also frequently told that she wasn't "black enough" to be acting "as black as she does." As a fellow biracial woman who's also light-skinned, I've been fortunate to not have had similar experiences as Olivia (that I can remember, anyway), but growing up I did struggle with my identity because I didn't feel like I belonged in either race. Too black to be white, too "white" (or not "black enough") to be black. My heart goes out to anyone who's multiracial out there with similar feelings, and I just want you all to know that you are valid.

The narration for the audiobook, I have to say that I was impressed. The narrator isn't a human one, and though I did chuckle a bit at hearing a synthetic voice read out words like, "aight," "nah," etc., I was still taken by surprise by how much I was still able to connect with the characters and the story without hearing the human emotions being expressed by a human narrator.

Wow, I loved this book!!!!

Thank you to Netgally and Harper Collins for getting me an audiobook arc so I could read this book.

Someone please tell me there is going to be a sequel? I mean, I know this one has not even been released yet but, I am going to need that sequel.

This book is so cute and reminded me a lot of "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," but way better (sorry). The way this book had such a cute enemies-to-lovers plot that also tackled themes like racism, bullying, and bad coping mechanisms was so wonderful and fascinating. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this. I want one for me and one for my classroom library please!

I received this Arc copy from Netgalley for an honest review. I really enjoyed this story, it has To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before vibes so if you like TOTBILB you’ll definitely love this. I loved Quinn’s attitude throughout the story and how she managed to become stronger over the course of the book. Carter was perfect, along with his little sister. The relationship between all the characters fit wonderfully. I do think I would’ve finished it in a day if I wasn’t listening to the audiobook but it was amazing either way. 5/5 stars.

This is such a great YA romance about finding yourself. I loved the discussion of race between the characters. As a fellow list writer, I enjoyed the way this book was written.

I am not sure if to review the book or audio. The book was great...I enjoyed it. I know this was not the actual audio book, but I have to say that I had a hard time with it, I had to rewind a few times to listen again. The book is well written and very engaging.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think I will be forever drawn to young adult novels. I think people that count them out because they have "young" in the description are missing out tremendously. Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is a prime example of why I love this genre. It is full of raw emotion, and learning about the world and I think we can all use a little bit more of the latter. My favorite thing about this book was all of the lists. They really help bind the novel together and really help us understand Quinn. Another thing that added some drama to the story was her journal being stolen. I always enjoy a good mystery and trying to figure out what happened as the story goes along with the main character. This is definitely a coming of age story that I think anyone can enjoy. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult fiction or contemporary fiction.

I thought this was a very thought provoking book. As a parent I thought it hit on many issues that we should be aware of for our own children especially in the world we are living in today. Quinn is faced with many challenges in this book, from racism, cyber bullying, to discovering who she is. This book also emphasizes the "don't judge a book by the cover" as Quinn finds herself seeking help from unlikely friends. I really enjoyed this book.

This was really a cute story and one I really enjoyed listening to on audio! It’s a very quick and easy read, I finished listening to it within two days. This book covers a lot of topics. It covers race, high school drama, blackmail, secrets, cyber bullying, trust, and so much more. I thought all these topics were handed really well though!

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. I thought they had believable hardships that they went through. I loved watching them grew and learn from that. I also loved the family dynamics in this book, it’s cool to see how different everyone’s family is. This book touched on very realistic topics, and I felt that it taught a lot of life lessons that people need. I would highly recommend this book!

4.0 ⭐️ OVERALL
N/A⭐️ NARRATION

💬 “I don’t think white people shouldn’t say the friendly version of that word knowing that someone, somewhere is still using it as hate speech. Doesn’t seem fair to black people that every time they hear it, they have to figure out whether or not they’re being insulted.”

🥀 Genre🥀 YA, Romance

🥀 Premise 🥀 Quinn is anxious black senior at a predominately white high school. She is constantly writing lists until her journal is stolen and a blackmailer forces her to face her fears.

🥀 Narration 🥀 This was my first experience with Voice Galley, an audiobook created with a synthetic voice for the sneak peak. I am hopeful about the narrator that is eventually chosen, there are some great accents and personalities in this book.

🥀 Thoughts 🥀 I absolutely adored this book! The title is cheesy but the book is anything but! Quinn is real and raw and shows great growth. Her struggle with her black identity while growing up with white friends is so realistic. She also has to navigate her privilege as she makes unlikely allies and friends. I love that she expects to get into Cornell but does not put in the work, another privilege she is forced to confront. It normalizes the prospect of going to a state school and being proud of that fact.

🥀 Thoughts 🥀 There are some really difficult and important conversation Quinn has to have throughout the book. She talks to her father about his self-hate. She talks to her white best friend about her covert racist comments and behavior. It shows subtle shades of racism in our society that simmering under the service but sometimes difficult to articulate. Come for the adorable romance and friendships, stay for the truthful commentary on covert racism.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Quinn uses her journal to keep track of her lists, including a lot of things she would never admit out loud. When the journal goes missing, the person who ends up with her anonymously blackmails her into completing one of the lists in her journal, a list Quinn imagined having trouble having the courage to do. Carter was the last person to have her journal, and he teams up with Quinn to clear his name and figure out who ended up with the journal. While Quinn is facing her fears, can she also find love?

I really enjoyed this story; Quinn was a very relatable character! This book tackles a lot of teen issues, including racism, bullying, and pressure from parents. The characters in the book were well-developed and likable, and I enjoyed getting to see Quinn's blossoming new friendships. My favorite part were the lists Quinn made at the end of every chapter.

Review also published on blog: http://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

What happens when a teenage girl’s journal that includes all of her most personal thoughts goes missing?

Lots of heartbreak, a side of humor, and a whole lot of love.

Quinn is a High School Senior, filled with a little hope and a whole lot of fear. All of which she pours into a journal filled with lists. Lists containing her hopes, her dreams, her fears, and even her deepest darkest secrets. Unfortunately, Quinn’s journal is a spiral bound notebook that looks just like any old notebook and it gets swiped (by mistake) during a study session, by Carter, one of her classmates. The next day at school, Carter inadvertently loses it and all hell breaks loose.

Thereafter, one of Quinn’s lists gets posted to Insta and some of her secrets get out. To make matters worse, whoever stole her journal starts blackmailing Quinn into facing her greatest fears or else. Not knowing where to turn, Quinn decides to trust the last person who had her journal in the first place: Carter.

In doing so, Quinn finds herself, becomes more accepting of others, and owns up to her mistakes.

“Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry” is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, and seriously sweet novel that deals with some very serious issues and was definitely more than I bargained for. The issues of blackmail, cyberbullying, dementia, gender, marriage, and racism (among others) are prevalent. A character-driven, contemporary novel, that stole my heart and reminded me of days gone by.

“Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry” reminded me of my High School days as I did in fact write in a journal. A “Five Star” Spiral Bound Notebook (preferably with a blue or teal cover). I carried it with me everywhere (in school and/or out of school) and I wrote in it all day long. While my classmates noticed and commented on it, no one tried to steal it (thank goodness, lol). I hadn’t thought of it in decades until reading this book and I no longer have them, but reading this brought back the memories and made me laugh. For what it’s worth, I no longer write in journals, I book write reviews instead. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the digital review copy. As a note, this audio was a synthetic voice and was actually quite good! After the first few minutes, for the most part, I forgot that I was listening to a synthetic voice altogether and was wholly impressed with the quality and would definitely recommend this digital review copy to those who are interested.

Published on Goodreads on 1.25.21.

Quinn Jackson is a senior in high school and keeps track of her life using her red journal full of lists. These lists are her fears expressed in writing so that she did not truly acknowledge or confront them. One day, Quinn's journal is accidentally taken by someone else. A sleepless night follows without knowing its whereabouts. When Quinn attempts to retrieve the journal, she finds out that it has been lost. Suddenly an anonymous Instagram account is created and one of her lists is posted-tagging everyone in the school. She teams up with some unlikely friends to track her journal down and faces her own fears along the way.

4 out of 5 stars. Thank you HarperCollins/Harper Audio for an e-ARC through NetGalley.

Quinn is an enthusiastic list maker, but after her journal goes missing, she's being blackmailed into completing her to-do list of her worst fears.

I loved Quinn's growth in this story. She was struggling with her identity and found the courage to face her fears and learn how to talk about her feelings instead of just writing it all down. The story highlights the importance of friendship as Quinn forges bonds with people she judged prematurely.

The book covered a lot of ground with deeper themes too as it addresses racism, cyber bullying, trust , and forgiveness. There's also a sweet romantic component that is adorable and will have you smiling.

Highly recommend this one for fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Pick it up when it publishes May 4! Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for my advance copy in exchange for a review.

Links to Instagram and blog will be added a month before publication.

I listened to this as an unfinished audiobook provided to me by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This was really cute! I loved Quinn and Carter as a romance but the friendships were also great and wholesome. I feel like every character had a personality and history and their little quirks which can be hard to find in cute ya romances! It was a perfect mix of romance, friendship, a blackmailing conflict and racial issues. The racial issues were discussed nicely, but as a white woman I don't feel like I can speak on the representation.
There's not so much to say without spoiling the plot but it was a fun quick listen!

I liked the story a lot I want to listen to it when it comes out because I would like to hear it with an actual narrator but it made me embarrassed for the main character and it made me happy at the end. I did enjoy the writing style of the author and I liked the main character a lot and the plot and the twists were so good.