I have read Camryn Garett’s other novels and I was looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. I loved the idea about a book about a coming out party, and found the romance and the main character’s crush extremely relatable.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

After releasing two books which much deeper/more intense themes, I’m so happy Camryn Garrett is releasing Friday I’m in Love, a wonderfully lighthearted story celebrating Black queer joy. It’s not lacking in discussion on serious topics, but I appreciate that it does it without making it an issue book, and maintaining the overall lighthearted tone.

Mahalia is such a wonderful protagonist to follow. I love how she dreams big, imagining a splashy Coming-Out party, in lieu of a Sweet Sixteen, in spite of the challenges her family has been through in the wake of her father walking out on them. And while it doesn’t exactly work out the way she initially plans (the money counter is so real!) I love how she more or less doesn’t give up, and is rewarded for that.

It’s also super cute to see her as she falls in love, and is figuring out how to express that. The playlists she attempts to create are super fun, and I love how that not only gives insight into the way she’s been thinking about Siobhan, but also the friendship bond she has with Naomi. Naomi and Mahalia’s back-and-forth commentary is absolutely hilarious!

Siobhan is a pretty cool love interest. While she’s in a relationship with a racist white guy at the beginning, it becomes clear over the course of the book that, like Mahalia, she’s also queer. They have so many cute moments, especially with the playlist, even though it turns out they don’t share the same taste in music.

This is such a sweet book, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a story about Black queer joy and love.

Mahalia Harris wants several things. She wants a big Sweet Sixteen party like her best friend, Naomi. She wants to stop worrying about money. And now she wants a new girl, Siobhan to like her back. Since money is a real concern for both Naomi and her mom, a big Sweet Sixteen might be out of the realm of possibilities, but Naomi suggests a Coming Out party instead. Mahalia starts to plan and asks her mom for her thoughts. Her mom offers to help if Naomi can earn half. Naomi starts to work on a budget, trying to find a venue, dress, and decorations and try to start a relationship with Siobhan. So when it feels like things might work out to give Mahalia the party of her dreams with the girl of her dreams, everything starts to spin out of control. Her mom has to have surgery and then loses her job. Money becomes tight. Things with Naomi become strained and it seems like there will never be a chance for Mahalia and Siobhan to be together. When Mahalia steps back and starts to see how sometimes what we want don't always show up when we want them, she starts to see how sometimes things work out just the way we need them to. A wonderful novel about figuring out who you are and your place in the world.

This book is a warm blanket of a read, full of queer joy and teen dreams. The awkwardness! The annotated playlists! Yes yes yes. I think a lot of teens will love Garrett's heroine and empathize with her journey to have one big bash, a coming-out party. Her relationship with her mother was a beautiful thread, and the stress around studying for the SAT felt grounded. The writing is fun and funny and real.

After going to her best friend’s Sweet Sixteen party, Mahalia decides that she wants to have a party of her own. Even though it’s too late for her own Sweet Sixteen, inspiration strikes her: what if she had a Coming Out Party? An overall celebration of her identity, allowing her to come out on her own terms.

In order to throw the party of her dreams, Mahalia has to save. It’s just her and her mom, and sometimes they struggle to make ends meet. To top it all off, Mahalia also has a crush on the new girl, secretly hoping that she likes her back. Balancing work, school, and her personal life might just get in the way of her getting to actually throw her Coming Out Party.

Thanks to Knopf Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett to review! After seeing this cover, I knew I immediately had to read this. I am jealous of that rainbow dress! If you’re looking for a feel good, queer romance to start off your 2023 with, I definitely recommend this one.

Mahalia struggles with a variety of things in this book, from helping her mom with the finances to coming out to her potential first relationship to school work. There’s a lot that teens will relate to in this book, especially because it seems like teens are always balancing a million things on a daily basis. Garrett nails Mahalia’s voice, and you’re rooting for her throughout the entire book.

The idea of a Coming Out party is such a fun concept, and while it takes a back seat in the plot at times, the rest of the conflicts make up for it. Especially Mahalia’s burgeoning romance with Siobhan. It’s seriously adorable and I loved it. I think fans of Heartstopper will thoroughly enjoy this book as well.

All in all, from the characters to the plot to the voice, Garrett has a winner on her hands. Keep an eye out for it when it comes out in January!

This book starts off with a teenager named Mahalia, who is getting ready to go to her best friend's extravagant Sweet Sixteen party at a venue. At this party, her best friend (Naomi) has fancy tables with catered food, a dance floor, and a DJ! There, she meets a beautiful teenager named Siobhan, who has moved from Ireland. Their hands touch for one split second and in that moment, Mahalia can feel the electric sparks from Siobhan.

Mahalia's living situation is the exact opposite of Naomi's. Mahalia's parents are no longer together and she lives in a one bedroom apartment with her mom. Mahalia's mom works long hours to pay the bills and they are just making ends meet.

While Mahalia can't afford a Sweet Sixteen party of her own, she wishes so badly that she could have a party of her own like Naomi's party. Both Mahalia and Naomi come up with having a "Coming Out" Party for Mahalia. It can be catered with a dance floor at a venue with a lesser amount of guests attending. Mahalia is determined to save enough money and when she tells her mom about saving up to have a delayed Sweet Sixteen Party, her mom says she will try to pay half of the cost. This has Mahalia so happy, even though her mom does not know it will be a coming out party.

While in school, Naomi appears in Mahalia's class as the new student! Mahalia is ecstatic, but is slightly confused whenever she interacts with Naomi. She definitely still has a crush on Naomi, but isn't sure Naomi feels the same way about her. Is Mahalia overthinking every little interaction she has with Naomi? Is Mahalia able to save up enough money for her party? Does Mahalia tell her mom that she is interested in girls?

Camryn did an amazing job writing this book. Within a few sentences, I already felt like I was part of the book. I felt all of the feelings that Mahalia felt and understood as much as I possibly could about why she felt the way she did. During the entire book, I was really rooting for Mahalia and I just wanted to help her have a special party. I just wanted everything great to happen for Mahalia because struggling isn't all that fun and sometimes a win, even a little one, makes all the difference.

I am convinced that Camryn Garrett cannot write a bad book because I came in with high expectations having already read her first two books, and this absolutely delivered. The story touches on a lot of things, but at the end of the day, I’m just really happy to see queer girls of color get the happy endings that we deserve.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This title publishes January 10, 2023.

This was cute albeit forgettable and I’m happy it exists for high school audiences.

Summary: Instead of a sweet sixteen, Mahalia wants to throw a coming out party to announce her sexuality to her friends and family. We follow Mahalia as she saves up for her coming out party, falls for the new girl in her grade, and navigates friend and family issues.

What I liked:
-Discussion of money and class
-How the coming out storylines were handled among friends and family
-Lots of queer joy and acceptance throughout
-Realistic friendship arguments and parental arguments
-Quick cute read

Criticisms:
-Juvenile writing style including dialogue. At times it felt more like reading middle grade.
-Several short cringey high school scenes that felt like an obligation to get through the plot outline rather than as a meaningful segue to support character development. For example, as the reader it felt like we just happened to arrive at the main couple getting together after the 50% mark or we just happened to arrive at the coming out party after the 90% mark. It didn’t feel earned or that the characters had developed in any way to get there.

Overall this was an average forgettable YA contemporary but I enjoyed the representation and I’m glad for high school readers to discover this one.

I LOVED THIS BOOK 🥹🏳️‍🌈🌈

What I loved:
1. The diversity! Main character (Mahalia) is black, and uses bisexual and pansexual when talking to others in the book. Black love interest (Siobhan) as well who is also bi 💜💙💖
2. The coming out party premise is too good and I enjoyed every second of it!
3. Family dynamics explored were top notch and relatable. I liked that the chapters began with what she was saving for the party, how challenging it is to live paycheck to paycheck. and her Mom ultimately wanting to help her.

Sold 4 stars! ⭐️ looking forward to what’s coming next from this author! Thank you to the editor and NetGalley for the ARC! Definitely want to include this in my classes growing library!

We need more books that are more inclusive and representative of all children. This book is wonderful. If I taught older students, this would be a must have in my classroom library! I will recommend it to my teacher friends who teach 5th grade and up. :)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was so cute. I loved watching Mahalia grow and be able to speak up for who she is. The romance was adorable and they are so cute together.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I've loved every Camryn Garrett book I've read and this is no exception! This is a quick, accessible read that kept me rooting for Mahalia throughout. I feel like this could be a great book to read in schools and I hope it finds a home in many school libraries.

I loved Mahalia. She was such a great relatable and flawed character and I thought she was written amazingly. Her struggles with money, relationships, and her future were all so realistic and made it impossible not to root for her.

The writing and structuring of the rest of the book felt kind of weird. Some scenes seem to cut off abruptly and there's lots progression via telling and not showing. It could be a little jarring sometimes, but it didn't take away from the amazing story being told.

This last thing is just a personal preference, but this book had a lot of pop culture references. Not that pop culture references can never be good (there's a lot of really great musical references, as the title suggests), but a bunch of them seemed like they could've been left out.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a great Black/LGBT coming of age story with an incredible lead.

This was a charming, sweet and honest book. The main characters stress of counting her pennies to get the thing that she wants, a celebration of who she is makes your root for her and breaks your heart, Every time I saw her get closer to her party budget goal I got excited and every time life knocked her back in that goal it crushed me. And the story of young love and how that effected her big goal but how it increased her happiness...it's complex and its lovely and its HARD. This book is just full of love and Pride and it was a joy to read!

Thank you netgalley for this ARC!
Where was this book when I was younger ? As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community this would’ve been helpful.

I loved this book. It helps you understand the struggles especially younger people in the community feel. The main character Mahalia is very relatable watching her story unfold was so cool.

This cover is stunning and I would read any book that Cameron Garrett puts our. I’m a big fan.

Book description: Mahalia Harris wants.

She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend, Naomi.
She wants the super-cute new girl Siobhan to like her back.
She wants a break from worrying—about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it.

Then inspiration strikes: It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a coming-out party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms.

The idea lights a fire beneath her, and soon Mahalia is scrimping and saving, taking on extra hours at her afterschool job, trying on dresses, and awkwardly flirting with Siobhan, all in preparation for the coming out of her dreams. But it’s not long before she’s buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and enough drama to make her English lit teacher blush. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia’s party be over before it’s even begun?

A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you.

A really fun, and joyful quick read that gracefully handles tougher topics I haven't seen often enough in YA! Mahalia is such a relatable MC, and I especially loved the development of her friendship with Naomi, and her relationship with her mother, in addition to the romance!

This book should be added to all high school libraries. It deals with a lot of issues teens face on a daily basis. But there's also a lot of hope and joy among the pages. The MC, Mahalia, reminded me of the resiliency and happiness of my teen years. This book can do it for you too.

Outstanding POC and LGBTQIA+ rep.

Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

OMG. Thank you netgalley for this ARC first i just want to say how stunning the cover is with all the color and it really caught my eye. This novel follows a girl finding herself and living her truth and also navigating relationships and friendships and home life and things that her family goes through and honestly this book was perfect i cant say one bad thing about it i loved it so much. The love interest situation wasnt forced i love the cute little sappy moments like regarding the playlist and stuff and you never knew what was going to happen next and it was SO CUTE. Books like this are so important to showcase queerness and finding yourself it makes me so happy books like this are a thing for younger generation to read. Seriously i loved this one so much. The author wrote such a beautiful novel. It was filled with detail and so many different storylines i loved every minute of it.

5 stars

I have yet to meet a Camryn Garrett book I don't love, and the charming tale of Mahalia (and company) is no exception!

Mahalia, the m.c., is sixteen, but she's finding that not much is so *sweet* about her life in this moment. Due to financial woes, she's not going to get the Sweet Sixteen of her dreams. This pill is harder to swallow in the aftermath of her best friend's rager, her mom's continued financial woes, her dad's general immaturity and absence, and her strong desire to just be a kid for a second. Because of her parents' various circumstances, there is a lot of undue responsibility on Mahalia. She's contributing to the bills, trying to thrive at school, and also managing the confusing omissions her parents keep committing. What Mahalia does feel good about is her identity, and this is why she decides that in place of a Sweet Sixteen, she'll throw herself a coming out party.

Like all of Garrett's books so far, this one is packed with THE ISSUES. Mahalia is queer, and it's very enjoyable to watch her navigate a potential romance. Come to the book for this reason! But Mahalia is not a one hit wonder. She comes with the challenging parents, financial struggles, a hefty dose of white savior teachers, friendship struggles, insecurities about her body, and so much more. As I write this, I get increasingly excited about how I'll frame this book for students and why I know they'll love it, too.

I love that Garrett address serious topics while also creating really likeable (but still flawed!) characters, and that Garrett does this economically. This is a quick, accessible, and enjoyable read, and this author firmly remains on my you-write-it-I-read-it! list!

This book was a breath of fresh air, and I loved all the aspects of queer joy that were celebrated throughout the novel. To me, it felt celebratory and lovely, and I think anyone who is looking for a new contemporary YA with POC rep should pick this book up ASAP!