Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced listening copy of this book.

Quinn uses her journal to fill with lists. Of things she wants to do, of things she'll never do, of experiences she's had. But when her journal is stolen she is forced to complete items on a list so the entire journal isn't shared to the whole school... And with the help of new friend/enemy Carter and new from Olivia, Quinn learns to complete things she never thought she'd be brave enough to do.

This book was a very fast paced (too much so, in my opinion) high school romance with a splash of self acceptance! I enjoyed messages and character growth, but felt that everything moved at an unrealistically quick pace plot wise.

There are lots of interesting characters, but I wish I'd have been able to get to know more of them slower.

I do love the lists intermingled in the story, and thought those were the strong point of this book!

CW: racism, bullying, cyberbulling

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

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry was a pretty good book to dive into. In it, you will meet Quinn. She tends to write almost anything and everything in her journal. Some uncover the truth to her lies.. and other things are a bit more personal. So in a way, this journal is her everything and her life turns upside down when it goes missing.

Quinn was a pretty likable character. I wouldn't necessarily say relatable to me, personally, because I think I last wrote in a journal when I was like 5 or 6. Found it a couple of years ago and died from laughing so hard at what I wrote. Nothing was personal - it was just funny. Besides that, the whole crying once per week thing seems like a lot of tears to shed. Maybe she's just that emotional.. whereas, I don't think my family can count on one hand how many times I've cried.

I have no soul.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the topics this book mentioned. Especially racism because that is still happening today. So it was interesting to see how she, and anyone else, was going to handle it. Plus the blackmailing kept me on my toes because I didn't know who actually did it until it was revealed. Maybe it's because of the audio/narrator's voice and I just wasn't catching onto some hints. Or I don't know.. maybe it's the rain making me sleepy. Either way, I never caught on.

In the end, definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone!

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney is a cute YA own voices novel about a high schooler senior whose secrets are revealed.

Quinn makes lists of everything and writes them in her journal. One day her journal gets lost. Whoever has her journal is blackmailing her and starts revealing her secrets to the school. The notebook is full of private thoughts and definitely not something Quinn wants in the wrong hands. Quinn has a crush on her best friend Matt and other secrets written in the journal. Quinn recently had a falling out with her best friend Destiny. Quinn is black without any black friends. She is always dealing with racism and struggles with how to handle it.

I enjoyed Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry. The story is interesting, and I liked how race was discussed in this book. Quinn starts the story without any black friends. Throughout the book she makes some black friends and talks about how nice it is to have friends that understand what you are going through. Quinn has made a lot of mistakes and all of them are written in her notebook. However, I still really liked Quinn. She is trying to do her best and make everyone happy. I liked reading about her trying to get her notebook back before all her secrets are revealed. She turned to some unlikely allies and developed new friendships.

I recommend Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry to YA fans especially fans of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Thank you Harper Teen, Harper Collins, NetGalley and Edelweiss for Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry.

Thank you @HarperTeenCollins for my #ARC
Publication Due: May 2021

Definetly has Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before vibes but has wonderful moments that really got me thinking... the more I read #ownvoices the more I appreciate the diversity I'm exposed to (I'm from a very homogeneous white community). I had never paused to consider that black people may not feel black-enough. Or be uncomfortable in their own skin. This was eye-opening to me and well done.

This book was pretty good for YA. I did like how it gave a pretty in depth look at what’s it’s like to be an African American in a white community and how it have insight into a different culture.
Quinn is a privileged African American girl attending a predominately white private school when her journal goes missing. She blames her classmate, Carter, because he was the last one around. Carter admits he grabbed hers by mistake but someone stole it and now all of Quinn’s secrets have been leaked online.
Quinn and Carter, along with a couple of other classmates, embark on a quest to appease Quinn’s blackmailer but she ends up truly finding herself in the process.

This was a great book that covers a lot of topics which I feel many young adult readers would be able to relate too. It’s one I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed the To All The Boys series & could totally see this be a staple for YA romances & eventually be seen on the big screen. The audio was also decent although a little bit on monotone side & the 1.5 & 1.75 were much too slow so I listened at a 2 speed just fine. It would have also helped to have maybe different voices to be able to differentiate between main characters. Overall though is was a really good ya romance.

* I received this audiobook for free from Harper Audio and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *

Quinn has kept all of her thoughts, fears, and dreams documented in lists within a notebook. When a group partner accidentally takes her notebook home instead of his, Quinn is flung into panic. The journal gets misplaced and suddenly someone is blackmailing Quinn and forcing her to complete her list of biggest fears or else the whole high school will learn her biggest secrets.

This book is a Black YA enemies-to-lovers romance that is so cute and fun. Quinn, the story’s lead, is sweet and neurotic, and very often stuck inside her own head. Watching her grow throughout the story and surpass her greatest fears was so fun. This story does deal with racist minor characters and a plot line of cyberbullying, but this is wrapped up in a very satisfying victory for Quinn and her friends. A celebration if Black friendship and love, I really, really enjoyed this book!

This book is sweet and funny, but my only complaint is that the text itself is pretty repetitive. I think it reads very clearly as an authorial debut, which is not a bad thing. The story structure and characters are amazing!

Also, the title has nothing to do with the story itself.

An entitled teenager, Quinn, gets to see the world as it really is. She experiences many things, which allows her to improve and create real and meaningful connections with those around her.
The book is light-hearted, while also touching on some important topics for high-schoolers (college admission, parent troubles, popularity, etc.). Typical high school teenagers shenanigans.
While I started the book unsure whether I would like Quinn, I ended up loving her. The character growth is amazing and you really start to feel and to care for her. She becomes someone you can really get behind.
I also really appreciated how the ending was done. Without getting into spoilers, the author dealt with the feelings who came out of the final conflict in the best and realest way possible.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book has left me with mixed emotions. While I loved some of the themes explored in this story such as racism, bullying, and finding/staying true to oneself; I also didn’t really like Quinn as a character. She was cowardly, self centered and judgmental,. Many of the criticisms and judgments that people placed on her she often thought about other people. I understand this can be attributed to internalized racism and the whole point of the book is Quinn coming into her own and finding her “voice” I still found it very hard to sympathize with her. I did however, find Carter to be super endearing and I loved whenever his character was on page because he would usually get Quinn together. The plot of the story seemed to wrap up too neat and clean which I turn made it seem super unrealistic. Overall, this was an okay story and I wouldn’t mind reading from this author again. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Follow along as Quinn finds herself after losing her journal. As a black mailer force her to do things off her “To do List” she builds an relationship with Carter, Auden, and Olivia. This book was an eye opening experience about what it’s like to be the struggling African American student in a predominantly white private school in the Texas. Joya Goffney writes in the most respectful way to show the struggles that plague the African American community both within the community and externally.

QOTD: If you had to choose one, would it be Christmas music or Christmas movies?

First of all, this personalized Starbucks cup 🤩🤩🤩 is compliments of my friend Ashley (shop owner of KalawaiCo @etsy)

Second of all, this book 😍 it’s been a while since I’ve read a contemporary YA that I’ve actually really liked, but Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry was actually pretty engaging and dealt with some relevant topics for an adult and YA audience.

There’s this developing relationship, but it isn’t just a cheesy high school romance. Quinn’s journal gets misplaced which is full of her most embarrassing thoughts and secrets, and in real gossip-girl fashion, someone finds it and begins blackmailing her over social media over it. Throughout the story, @joya.goffney explores some of the expectations that parents have on kids (especially the pressures on some students of color to succeed), kids dealing with racism and racial identity and maturing through (and away from) young friendship.

I 💯 recommend this book for anyone that enjoys a good YA read, is looking to diversify their shelves and/or enjoys #ownvoices stories. Joya has a passion for black psychology, according to her goodreads bio, and it is reflected so well in this debut novel. I will definitely be picking up whatever she does in the future!

Thank you @netgalley for this (synthetic voiced) audiobook version, pub date May 4, 2021

#netgalley #excusemewhileiuglycry #ownvoicesbooks #ownvoice #yabooks #yareads #yabook #yabookstagram #yabookstagrammer #yareader #yaread #youngadultbooks #youngadultbook #youngadultfiction #yafiction #ya #blackauthors #blackliterature #blacklit #diversifyyourbookshelf #diversereads #amplifyblackstories #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramcommunity #arcreader #bookreview #bookreviewer #advancedreaderscopy

A relatable book for all humans because we all ugly cry and we all have secrets we wish wouldn’t get out.

When I first picked up the book Quinn was exactly my favorite character. I found her list making to be draining but.... and a big but, they make sense. 15% in I completely understood the list making. The need to put your thoughts down in a nice clean format. And I’m going to start my own list making in hope to clear the clutter of my mind.

Excuse While I Ugly Cry is a coming of age story. It’s creative and spontaneous. I enjoyed the dialogue and the authenticity of the characters. The growth of not just Quinn but of all the characters. I found it impressive that Goffeny was able to show this in all the cast. From the parents, friends and siblings.

EMWIUC is perfect for fans of To all the Boys I Loved Before (Jenny Han) and Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell).

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is what has been missing from YA Romance.
I have always created lists -- and the fact that the main character is a list-maker whose journal of lists are stolen and held for ransom as there is a threat to leak lists on social media -- is what drew me to the story.
RACE... Among the race against time to track down the blackmailer/social media bully, there are important race/ethnicity issues being brought to our attention. The story includes a diverse cast from a variety of families. The romance is predictable but not the main element; being honest with one's self, coming to terms with your truths, and establishing your boundaries are all topics addressed.

3.5 stars

This book took a little bit of time to get in to and attach to the main character but I think it’s because the main character, Quinn is one that it takes time to warm up to anyway. This is definitely a coming of age story but with a new twist. I enjoyed this book. My only complaint is the computer narration since it’s not the official audiobook yet but it was still a good read!

The story is worth a read. I enjoyed reading her lists and the discoveries she made as she continued to seek her journal. I would recommend this story to others.

I adore this book! The characters are well written and the plot is engaging. I love the information given about respecting the black community for the people they are and not who the white population seems to want to make them. It also calls upon the angst of being teenager while dropping important life lessons. This is a wonderful book that I would gladly recommend to book groups and school libraries!

I first wanted to say thank you to the author for giving me an arc of this book on NetGalley!
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did since the description sounds a bit cheesy, but it was anything but. It had great characters, and believable hardships they had to go through. I wasn't expecting the book to delve as deeply as it did into racism and how difficult and confusing it is to be a Black person around mostly white people and how it feels to be an outsider. I found myself actually relating to some of the instances Quinn went through.
I also loved the character growth of Quinn. It was very visible and I feel like instead of just being told that she was changing we could actually observe that on our own.
Ultimately I would recommend this book!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to author, netgalley, and the publisher for the arc of this book. I started out really enjoying this book and then the more it went on the worse it got. The overall plot of the book was a good idea, I just wish it would have been executed differently. The bash on the people with the Trump sign was not needed. It was judgmental and stereotypical while trying to preach about judgment and stereotypes. At that point in the book I was still planning to give it a 3/4 star review but it slowly went down hill after that.

I really loved this book. The characters were great and it covered such important topics, yet still remained a fun book. The writing was definitely top notch. While I don’t read a ton of YA, this book is definitely worth a read even if YA isn’t your thing.

Perfect for fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Quinn’s journal with all her secrets and embarrassing lists (including one of all the times she’s ugly cried) goes missing and she’s being blackmailed while she’s trying to get it back.

It’s a cute story of finding yourself, making your own path, and facing your fears!

Thanks to NetGalley for an early audiobook!!