The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo – Book Review

Title: The Way You Make Me Feel

Author: Maurene Goo

Genre/Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Responsibility, Food Trucks

Blurb from Goodreads

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?

With Maurene Goo’s signature warmth and humor, The Way You Make Me Feel is a relatable story of falling in love and finding yourself in the places you’d never thought to look.

My Review

This book could so easily have been dreadful because the MC Clara Shin just acted like the most up-her-own-butt tosser ever for lots of the novel…

And believe me I wanted to slap her for being such a diva!!!

But something kept me reading.

And that something was character growth.

Okay, we aren’t talking about the best character arc you’ll ever read but there was something so easy about this book. I got incredibly invested in the developing friendship between Clara and Rose. I think that was the high point of the book for me. I liked how the two girls almost learned what it means to be friends and it was just a really nice portrayal of female friendship…

(But that Cynthia character. *eye roll at the girl cliches*)

The love interest, Hamlet Wong, was terribly sweet and all things lovely…

But wow was he bland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean it’s great that he wasn’t some ridiculously edgy bad boy wannabe. It’s nice to have the MC falling for a perfectly nice guy who treats her with dignity and respect…

Hamlet. Lovely. Sweet. Cute but void of personality really…

But I guess it worked because this book is basically candy floss. And who wants depth from candy floss?? Not me that’s for sure. I’m all about the sugar rush. And their love story was just adorably cute.

OOOH. I have changed my mind about the book’s high point… Yes I’m fickle. BUT HELLO PRESENT PARENTAL FIGURES IN YA!!!

Gosh I love a book that acknowledges that teenage characters have families. And this book was all about portraying great families in different guises.

• Clara and her dad were just everything. Honestly the sweetest relationship and so nice to read about a connection like theirs.
• Rose’s family were super cute.
• Hamlet’s pseudo grandparents were awesome…

JUST LOVED ME ALL THESE ADORABLE FAMILIES!!!

Basically this book is sweet and cute and utterly non-taxing thereby making it the perfect fluffy summer read.

Word of the wise though. This book will make you want to eat!!! My god all the food descriptions just made my mouth salivate.

A fun, summery read

Other Works by Maurene Goo I’ve Reviewed

• Somewhere Only We Know

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