The Way You Make Me Feel has been at the top of my Most Anticipated list for 2018 ever since I saw the cover way back when. I don't even know what it is about this cover, but it drew me in and I knew that I had to read this book. I can't say that I really loved the story, but I do still love the cover.

The book turned out to be a much younger YA than I was expecting. You know how in some YA books, the characters act like mini-grown ups? Not the case here. Clara and her gang of friends act like stupid, immature teenagers through most of the book. Clara herself is a little jerk who never thinks of anyone aside from herself. She and her friends live for pranks, always dreaming up something bigger and better for next time. Clara's nemesis is Rose, also a little jerk, but one who thinks that Clara and her friends are beneath her. The characters fit into very specific molds which reminded me very much of the YA of my youth.

This is billed as a young adult romance, but I think of it more as a coming of age story than anything else. This is a book about Clara learning to think of someone other than herself. It's a book about consequences. It's about family and appreciating what your parents have given you. It's about friendship and analyzing whether the connections you've made are really going to benefit you in the long run. The romance is the least important part of this book. In all honesty, it's pretty forgettable.

Sometimes, a YA book will make me look back on my high school days with rose-colored glasses. Oh, to be young again, I think, as I sit here preparing for my ten-year high school reunion. Other YA books make me very glad to be grown and away from that drama. The Way You Make Me Feel falls firmly into the second category. I have no desire to go back to the petty arguments and stupid feuds of high school. I connected more with Clara's dad, Adrian, than I did with any of the teenage characters. Adrian is actually one of the best and most present YA parents in recent memory, so bonus points for that!

This was my first book by Maurene Goo. I might not have loved it as much as I'd expected, but I did have fun. I have I Believe in a Thing Called Love on my TBR for later this year.

Final rating: ★★★☆☆

I received a free advance copy of The Way You Make Me Feel from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. The Way You Make Me Feel releases on May 8, 2018.

This is one of the best, if not THE best, YA contemporary books I've ever read. The characterizations, the plot arcs, the romance, the writing - it all fell perfectly into place, and suddenly I was devouring this book in a way I never have any other in its genre. I fell head over heels in love with the guarded prankster Clara, with awkward overachiever Rose, with the p e r f e c t Hamlet, and Adrian, and literally everyone. Clara is a character who runs the risk of seeming "annoying" to a reader, but she's anything but - she's charismatic and confident and scared and everything else you wish you'd been in high school and maybe fear that you still are. I loved her journey throughout, and I love the people in it.

Even more importantly: I'm a (pseudo) SoCal girl at heart, and there's nothing better than seeing a place and a world you love so much rendered with such a shimmering, affectionate sheen. Complaining about the 110 and the heat in the inland empire, browsing Koreatown for food and trinkets, trawling through the endless sprawl of LA suburbs - it was so delightful, and so true to the world, it was better than I hoped. This book is a true love letter to how terrible and wonderful summer in LA is, and I love it desperately because of that.

Overall, my favorite YA romcom, hands down.

Thanks, Netgalley, for the e-galley.

Clara Shin lives with her dad in L.A and is the class clown. She likes to "stay in the shallow end" of feelings and make jokes of everything, but when she and the class president, Rose, get into a fight at prom and almost burn down the school cafeteria, she is forced to work with Rose in her dad's food truck all summer. As the two work together, Clara learns about having to face your feelings and what real friendship and relationships are like.

I loved every second of this book, so much so that I couldn't put it down and finished it in a little under a day. Clara is very real and relatable, her journey from class clown to actual person was easy to follow. I'd love to see a spinoff or novela about her dad and his realtionships being a single dad or her mom's adventures as a social media influencer.

Let me begin by saying that, first of all, you should not come within a five-foot radius of this book if you are hungry. This book is meant for a hot, sticky summer day. Preferably poolside, with a nice drink and a basket of greasy fries. You can, of course, read this hungry, but this is a book where the main setting is a food truck that loves to detail how its Korean-Brazilian food is made. Yeah, exactly. Grab a snack, you'll thank me later.

First of all, this is another amazing own voices novel. These are popping up all over the place this year, and I am here for it - way to be, 2018! To take this one one step further, there are no (prominent) white people in this entire almost-300 page book. I know, right? Our main characters are Brazilian, Korean, African-American, the list goes on - but nobody is lily white. That is something I take for granted, as someone who is sometimes too pale for the palest shade of foundation made and whose Norwegian roots are stronger than a tree trunk. It was so refreshing to read a book that lovingly gave everyone else time in the spotlight, and I commend Ms. Goo for that.

Our main character is Clara. I will say this much: Clara sucks. At first, at least. She is an only child, born to now-separated parents when they were very young. Now she lives with her early-thirties dad in Los Angeles who runs a food truck called the KoBra - a Korean/Brazilian fusion menu, while her mother is a social media influencer maven who spends all of her time jetsetting around the world, getting paid to take Instagram photos and name drop products. Clara idolizes her mother, and though she thinks her dad can be a bit of a drag, it's obvious she loves him a lot - they share a very special bond.

Anyway, my main beef with Clara is her ... well, her entire personality. You know that "only child" trope? Clara takes that and runs with it. She is ostentatious, dramatic, stubborn, whiny, and would have been the kind of person I hated were I in classes with her in high school. Clara's archenemy is Rose, a young African-American girl in her grade who is the number one everything - student council, debate team, you name it, she's queen of it. Clara and Rose have hated each other since Rose tattled on Clara for smoking in the bathroom at school, and so when Clara gets nominated for prom queen as a joke by her friends, she turns the whole nomination into a farce. Rose, who takes this (and everything in life) very seriously, is offended, and sets out for her own revenge. Things happen, the school almost catches on fire on prom night ... and let's just say that Clara and Rose are suddenly forced to spend a lot of time together with the food truck this summer. And there's a cute boy named Hamlet who sells coffee near one of the places they park the food truck whose reminds Clara of a Labrador Retriever, yet she can't keep him out of her mind ...

This book is not perfect. It prominently features insta-love, which I detest, especially in my YA. But even Clara - shitty personality Clara - grew on me by the end. Is this book predictable? Sure, but it's a sweet summer romance that teaches you about the value of friendship and family, it's not meant to break ground and really make you think critically. I grew up a Rose and hated all of the Claras I came across, so it was nice to read something from the opposite side of the fence, to maybe see what goes on in people's heads when you think there can't possibly be a redeeming quality to them at all.

Clara is meant to grate on your nerves. Is she rude to her poor father more than she needs to be? Oh yeah. Does she cover her mother in hero worship that she doesn't deserve? Yep. Is her boyfriend, Hamlet, too perfect to be remotely realistic? Absolutely. But this is a sweet own voices book that will make you think a little harder about who you place value on in your life, and that's worth its weight in Korean-Brazilian fusion cuisine. Look for The Way You Make Me Feel on shelves on May 8th, and remember: bring a snack.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

My preteen obsession with Food Network has finally paid off! This is a delightful YA that leaves you hungry for more food and storylines! Clara Shin is a practical joker with a constant mission to ruin the life of her enemy Rose Carver. After a prom night prank goes terribly awry, Clara and Rose are forced to spend the summer working on Clara's father's Korean/Brazilian-themed food truck in order to pay for the damages. However, what seems like a terrible summer turns into Clara's best yet! This book has all of the stuff I love from a contemporary YA: sarcastic protagonist, puppy-like love interest, and enemies turned best friends! All the food talk is just an added bonus. I loved Goo's choice in diversity in all of her main characters, and really appreciated seeing different family styles as well. Get your favorite takeout menus on speed dial before you start, because this book will make you want all the delicious meals!

I received a copy of THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five stars and here's why:

THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL has all the feels. No joke. I laughed. I cried. I banged my head against the wall. And then, I laughed and cried and sighed and laughed some more. Maurene Goo gave her readers everything I want in a contemporary YA and then some. Realistic characters. Check. Diversity. Check. Snarky friends and family. Check. Fresh writing. Check. Fast pace. Check, check, check. I read this book in one day! Seriously. Ms. Goo wrote a hella-awesome story with just the right amount of steam and sass and diversity and snark to keep me turning the pages for more.

When Clara and Rose are forced to work together in Clara’s dad’s food truck, all hell breaks loose as these two arch enemies must survive the summer together to pay a debt from a school prank gone wild. Throw in a young dad, a food truck called the KoBra (Korean-Brazilian infusion), and a hella-hot guy named Hamlet, and you’ve got a recipe for a great YA novel. What’s left is me with a major book hangover and a hankering for some KoBra food. Simply devoured this story in one day. If you love sexy guys, savvy girls, and a sassy romance, then this book is for you! Highly recommend!

This is my first book by this author and I am sold! From the amazing cover, to the diverse characters offering likeable, relatable smile worthy moments.

Clara Shin is one of those teenagers that like to get right below the skin. She is bold, mildly abrasive and easily provoked, always looking for the next big prank, the next big dare, or the next big bit of entertainment to break the monotony. One day she simply goes too far.

Clara with the help of her arch-enemy with one event at prom, change the trajectory of their summer vacation.

I loved it! I loved following Clara, watching her make ammends, albeit unwillingly. Her trail of self discovery was satisfying to experience. Her resistance to this journey was realistic, organic, futile. The people that she gathered along the way melted me as much as they melted her. I have to mention, I don't care what Clara says, her Dad has some serious swag. Their relationship is pretty unforgettable.

Clara introduced me to her city, L.A. the melting pot of diverse foods, people and most importantly her place in all of it. What a heartwarming coming of age story. 4.5 stars

A poignant 21st century coming of age story. This is simultaneously a love letter to LA and to the struggles of late adolescence/ emerging adulthood. Great for lovers of Jenny Han's P.S. I Love You series.

Clara's dreams of a perfect summer making trouble with her best guy friends and hanging with her social media influencer mom are thwarted when a junior prom prank backfires. Instead, Clara is stuck working on her dad's Korean Brazilian fusion food truck for the entire summer with her nemesis, Rose Carver.

At its core, an ode to diversity.

While it is a light, feel-good contemporary summer story, it got to so many topics. Single-parent families, divorced parents, teenage pregnancy, friendship, getting to know people you think you don't like, real and non-toxic relationships, tradition, belonging, superficiality. If any of these things speak to you, I highly recommend you preorder The way you make me feel.

The main character was a jock at first, but then she grew into herself and worked on making sense of her feelings and fears. I wish we would've gotten the jock Clara all the way through the end, but it didn't feel wrong for her to develop in this way.

This was my first Maurene Goo book, but I'll definitely pick up something else by her in the future.

Clara, Rose and Hamlet are quite the trio and they are what makes this a great book! Along with the amazing character of Clara's dad, this was a really enjoyable read about friendship, first love and family. Clara is all about nonconformity and when she is crowned prom queen she pulls a prank that pushes her nemesis Rose over the edge. Both girls ends up forced to spend their summer working on Clara's dads food truck, KoBra. There is no love between these two and they need to find a way to work together in a very tiny setting. Hamlet is someone that Clara meets on her food truck adventures. He is the opposite of everything she is looking for in a guy, but just might be exactly what she needs. As the summer drags on, Clara and Rose realize that maybe their rivalry isn't all it's cracked up to be and friendship might be easier. I loved the relationship between these friends but the best relationship was between Clara and her dad. A young father, he has worked hard to provide for her and is starting to follow his dreams. The interactions between he and Clara were well written and I enjoyed them quite a bit. Overall a fun read with a lot of heart.

"The Way You Make Me Feel" is a cute YA romance, but it's mostly a book about maturing. Clara has been acting out ever since she began to feel neglected by her mom and rebelled by trying her first (and only) cigarette. She was caught by Rose who tattled on her and got her into trouble. Since then, she's been on a spiral of bad behavior and become the class clown. She was born when her parents were only 18 years old, and they separated soon after.

She lives with her father who is determined not to be overbearing like his parents were and tries to do his best for her. He dreams of owning a restaurant and has started with the less expensive food truck option with KoBra. The food truck sells Korean-Brazilian fusion foods around LA, and 16-year-old Clara just finds the brightly painted/colorful truck embarrassing.

When Clara is nominated for junior prom court by her friends as a joke, she decides to take the joke a little further and actually run for prom queen. When she wins and pulls another stunt, class president Rose has had enough and begins a physical altercation that starts a small fire in the school. As punishment, Rose and Clara are sentenced to spend the summer together working on the KoBra and paying back the school for damages. Clara's father is stepping up to the plate as a disciplinarian and no longer taking any of her selfishness. It is sure to be a summer of change.

Clara is a bit lost- she's selfish, immature, and the class clown. She hides her feelings under a veneer of not caring about anything. She grows and matures as the book progresses- although she has some (big) setbacks, she really begins to see the value of the people she has in her life and who she really wants to be. It's really a story about growing up more than just romance (which is also there and so cute). Clara is sometimes hard to like, but her growth really redeems the book- I think it's a great book for teens, particularly those on the younger side. It offers some perspective and seeing things from other peoples' point-of-view type realizations that is really part of the growing up experience.

Overall, I think it's a really great story about maturing and what it means to be a good person, and I think it's a great read for younger teens. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

E ARC from Netgalley.com



Clara is a trouble maker, and when her friends put her up for junior prom queen, she goes all out to try to win, masterminding a rendition of Carrie when she is crowned. It doesn't go well, and she and the junior class president, Rose, get into a fight on stage and cause a fire! In order to make reparations, Clara has to spend her summer working on her father's Korean-Brazilian food truck, KoBra. Rose's uptight lawyer parents think it would also be good if Rose worked there. The girls have to learn to work together, and learn that everyone has problems that impact their lives. They meet the very cute Hamlet, whose wealthy Chinese parents have parked him in the US with friends, and he and Clara start dating. Clara has unresolved issues with her mother, who had her at 16 and now works as a "trendsetter". One part of Clara's punishment was that she couldn't spend time with her mother, but when her father refuses to enter a food truck competition, Clara books a flight and goes to meet her mother anyway. She's a little surprised that her mother is working and that the vacation isn't time for the two of them to spend together, and she gains a bit more insight into how hard her father has worked to raise her.

Strengths: The California setting of this one, and the details about running a food truck (right down to parking near a communal kitchen and buying the food from local sources!) were really interesting to me, as was the inclusion of very young parents. The dichotomy between Clara's hard working, struggling father and her very privileged mother added a twist to the story, as did Rose and Hamlet's privileged but not perfect lives. Clara had some really bratty moments, but she did turn herself around. I think the thing that I liked best about this was that it wasn't another ordinary teen romance-- it had a fresh setting and different characters. Hamlet's "grandparents", the family friends with whom he was staying, were fun as well.
Weaknesses: The book deserves a better cover, and there was some coarseness-- Clara throws out handfusl of tampons at a school assembly, and the prom scene involves fake blood as well as a fight scene. Clara is often unlikable, but she does turn around by the end of the book.
What I Really Think: This was a delightful, fresh teen romance that has a lot of very good elements. I think I will buy it, despite my own personal objections to the coarseness at the beginning.

This was sweet and warm and funny. A thoroughly engaging book that looked female friendship - always a shapeshifter - and growing maturity. The romance was a bit instalove but I think that was sort of the point. I also didn't really like the main character. I like trickster characters but she seemed a bit spiteful with it although you later find this comes out of her own insecurity. Still a really readable book with a refreshingly diverse cast. More please Maureen Goo.

The Way You Make Me Feel is one of the best YA contemporary romances I've ever read. It had everything I want from this genre: memorable characters, developed romantic and non-romantic relationships, diversity, a fresh premise and atmosphere.
It's been a while since I've read a book that made me smile so much, and it was exactly what I needed. It's a light read - I finished it in less than two days - and a well-written one.

What makes this book stand out are the characters. Clara Shin is a rebellious, flawed teenager who is always getting into trouble. At the beginning of the story, she's very immature and irresponsible, which could have been irritating, but it wasn't: I understood her, and I loved her narration as much as I loved her development. Clara's character arc was really interesting, especially because it wasn't tied to the romance - it was mostly about Clara's relationship with her family and her friendship with Rose, an overachieving black ballerina who is her "enemy" at the start of the book. Clara and Rose are forced to work together in a food truck, the KoBra, and I loved their scenes.
The romance was also really cute - every conversation between Clara and Hamlet made me smile, and there was an emphasis on consent, which was great. The only thing that could have made this book better would have been an f/f romance between Clara and Rose; I couldn't help but feel like there was some wasted potential for a hate-to-love romance.

Clara's dad, Adrian Shin, is a single dad, the owner of the KoBra truck and one of the best dads in YA. There's miscommunication, but him and Clara truly want the best for each other. This is one of the few contemporary books I've found in which the character's family, their frienships and their romantic relationship are as well-rounded.

I also could visualize the setting perfectly. This book is set in LA, and I've read many books set there, but few of them made me feel as if I were there with the main character. The food descriptions were as good - Clara works in a truck which sells Korean-Brazilian food (Adrian was born in Brazil from a Korean family, Clara was born in the US), there was a food truck competition, and I'm hungry now.

There was only one scene I truly didn't like - the one in which Clara texts triggering photos to her trypophobic dad on purpose. Yes, we're supposed to think Clara is immature, but this is... so not ok it should have been brought up again later. This kind of behavior can have ugly consequences; phobias are not a joke.

Clara Shin, the Korean-Brazilian-American 16 year-old narrator of Maureen Goo’s delightful book, The Way You Make Me Feel, thinks she’s just got handed the raw deal of her life, when, instead of being suspended for the last two weeks of school after a prank at the junior prom, she’s punished by spending the summer working on her dad’s food truck, the KoBra, a Korean/Brazilian fusion eatery. Not only that, she’s forced to spend that time with her nemesis, Rose Carver, a seemingly perfect girl who is everything Clara isn’t. AND, Clara’s dad adds to her punishment by forbidding her to visit her mom (her folks were never married) a “social-media influencer,” at a delux Mexican resort.

As the summer unfolds, Clara and Rose become friends adept at operating the food truck on their own, Clara gets a boyfriend, she runs away to an ultimately disappointing vacation with her mom, and learns a lot about life and love. It’s a delightful story that this very far from young adult reader enjoyed immensely.

Ms. Goo has a gift for creating believable characters about whom we find out more and more as the story unfolds. Just as real friendships take time to mature as we learn, little by little, about each other, so, too, do these wonderful characters evolve. This is an important story, beautifully written, and with a wonderful message. Highly recommended.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

“The Way You Make Me Feel” reads like an indie novel, breaking the mold that seems to reign the traditionally published novels nowadays. Meaning, the story goes into tangents and some threads aren’t quite complete. But who cares, really? The novel has excellent narrative and it’s very engaging.

Clara, the main character, loves to go against the current with lots of sarcasm and taking risks. And, yeah, that lands her into big trouble. But how Clara is depicted is refreshing, along with the people surrounding her, like her father, friends, not-so-much friends, and even her enemies.

The story focuses on growing up in LA and all that it entices. Oh, and the food truck with Brazilian-Korean fusion cuisine made me very hungry. Does that exist in real life? I want to try it!

“The Way You Make Me Feel” is my favorite YA contemporary of the year so far.

Full review in my blog: https://gerardowrites.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/the-way-you-make-me-feel-by-maurene-goo/

Okay this book was adorable, I immediately fell in love with all the characters and had a hard time putting it down every time I started reading. The plot wasn’t the most unique but I also thought that it avoided some of the more common contemporary tropes which was nice. The main selling feature for me though was definitely the characters and their relationships with one another.

Clara was a really fun main character, watching her realize things about herself and how that affected her realationships with everyone else was really nice to read. Her growth throughout the story was so well done, and her relationship with her dad was one of my absolute favourite things about this book. I also just loved Rose, I thought that she’d be a very different character but I’m so glad with her direction and I just want her to be the happiest and most successful because I love her. And Hamlet! He was such a fun character to read, his personality was so different from Clara but they meshed so well it was just lovely to read their parts together. All the other characters had important roles to play as well and I really did enjoy all of them!

The setting was so much fun as well, a food truck in LA? That’s something completely out of my realm and I loved how it wasn’t sensationalized like a lot of books that take place in LA, it was just their everyday life and it was refreshing to read. The plot was also really fun, I think it was really just about Clara finding herself and meeting new people and trying to figure out how she fits in the world. It’s definitely a topic that’s relateable, especially for teenagers which is always so important.

This was a really easy and fast paced read that was super enjoyable from start to finish! I can’t wait to get my hands on the authors debut and on anything else they release from here on out. I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a cute contemporary that’s perfect for the summertime. (Or anytime because honestly it’s so much fun)

I really enjoyed this book. It had some deep moments but was an overall fun read. It is one that I will purchase for my library and that I would happily book talk and recommend to students.

Maurene Goo has outdone herself again. This novel has all the ingredients for a delicious, stuff yourself full of goodness kind of read. From the spot-on teenage voice, to the broken yet so foundational father daughter relationship, I was laughing (& then crying) my way through this one.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Clara lives a life where she takes everything as a joke. After a prom prank gone wrong, she finds herself working with her dad and her mortal enemy on her dad's food truck for the summer.

Let's be clear: Clara starts off as an insufferable character. However, through time, her cracks begin to show.

That being said, one thing that Clara callously said referencing suicide was left unchallenged by any other character, and that bugged me.

I am glad that I read on because I ended up enjoying the rest of the book. I just wish that particular line hadn't made it past editing.