3.5 stars

When you read the blurb, you realize this book will be pretty diverse, but it's more so than I realized. My favorite thing about that was it didn't feel forced. The characters were themselves and that was that. I love when authors create a world like that and everything seems natural.

If It Makes You Happy follows Winnie, a plus-sized girl of color. She is spending the summer with her grandmother (like she does every year) and plans on helping her grandmother run her diner. She sees herself running it one day and is happy with this. Winnie has an ungirlfriend Kara. They're not labeling anything, but seeing where things go.

It took me awhile to really get sucked into this story. Not because I didn't love the characters or what was happening, but it felt like it took awhile for something to happen. We read about Winnie's day to day life and her emotions. She has a dream and is going day to day figuring them out.

This book has different relationships and connections and that's basically where everything takes place. I have to start off by saying my favorite connection was between Winnie and her brother. I loved how much they were there for each other and really tried to spend time together. That bond felt really special and had me smiling quite often. I had mixed feelings with her grandmother. While I understand people can be set in their ways, it felt to me way too often that the grandmother didn't want to listen. She expected Winnie to, but didn't follow the same rules. I was very frustrated with that at times.

The romance in this book was sweet, but also too much at times. I love the bond Winnie had with Kara and how even though they didn't define things, they had their own clarity of what they were. They were really sweet, even if it did have challenges. Then comes Dallas. It's clear he likes Winnie and Kara isn't happy with that. For me the book spent too much time focusing on this love triangle. At times it was too much drama. I love that it shows that emotions aren't black and white and things don't magically resolve themselves. My favorite aspect of that was Winnie realizing she was feeling things and wanting to talk it out. Even when something pretty mean takes place.

Winnie is such a fun character. She is far from perfect, but knows this. I loved that she was happy in her own skin and wasn't willing to change, because other people think she should. I was so proud to finally have a character that stood up for herself and not being ashamed for being who she is. Winnie can speak without thinking, but she means well.

If It Makes You Happy is another summer read to bring to the pool. Once you get sucked in, you're done reading before you know it. This author created a lot of amazing characters and I love the small town feel I got from this setting.

Thanks go Netgalley and Macmillan for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this one. I thought it was going to be a fluffy summer romance, but it turned out to be an exploration of identity and complex family bonds. Winnie spends every summer staying with her grandmother and working at the diner she owns. This summer is no different, except that with high school behind her, she finds herself at odds with her grandmother, who seems to want to control more of Winnie’s life than she’d like. Some of the plot seemed to try to be more complicated than it needed to be, but I love how inclusive the cast is, and think my older middle school readers will appreciate it. And um, CAN I GET A SEQUEL? It left off on a total cliffhanger.

Looking for a diverse story to read pool-side?

Our main character Winnie encompasses all the diversity that many readers are loving to see represented in YA. She is a strong, queer, curvy black high schooler who is ready to conquer the world, one rom-com at a time.

The character development was key with this book. There is fat-positive representation and self-confidence that really shined a light on what we are seeing a lot of in YA. She fights for people to understand how even though she may be bigger, she loves everything about her. And I think it’s something many readers can get behind.

For the relationships, it was a fine line between romance and friendship. As you get more into the story, you will notice the conflict Winnie has between her handsome crush and her ex-girlfriend.

Overall, I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. The writing was a bit harder to read in some spots, and in others it felt a little congested. It was a pretty entertaining read, and the diversity was executed nicely.

<b><u>Why You Should read If It Makes You Happy</u></b>

<b>The main character Winnie ☀</b> Now she is a force to behold and I can happily say that I immediately liked Winnie. She is a queer black fat girl and has often experienced a number of hate against her on ground of her sexuality, size and skin color. The book mainly <b>tackles how she combats fatphobia and promotes body positivity</b>, as Winnie feels comfortable in her body and does not want to lose weight. I liked that the author confronted fatphobia head on. Winnie is such a kind person; she is always there for everyone and often takes care of everyone but herself. She is constantly trying to fix things and be there for her friends, that she is incredibly loyal to. However, she is also someone not to be messed with. Winnie speaks her mind and stands up to herself, even when it’s hard and you should better not hurt her friends. In contrast, I liked that the book explored how she did have troubles with public speaking and being the center of attention, it was very relatable to me. All in all, Winnie has a good heart and even when she makes mistakes is very big on communication and working through problems.

<b>The supporting characters & the amazing friendships ☀</b> Literally every character has their own story and personality and shines a new light on the story. I immediately liked <b>Winston</b>, Winnie’s brother and aspiring chef, because he has such a strong, but also realistic relationship with his sister. He’s 14 years old and therefore also prone to being annoyed by Winnie, but he’ll always stick with her, as she has always protected him in turn. This is one of the best sibling relationships I have read about because it feels so real and genuine: the author explores both the ups and downs. <b>Winnie’s cousin Sam</b> is also part of the family and though it took me a while, she grew on me as well. Sam is spoilt as Winnie is always cleaning up her mess due to being soft on her. Despite being a bit naive, Sam generally means well and is pretty much the peacemaker in the family. I also liked Winnie’s – let’s be real – <b>soulmate Kara</b>, who she’s in a queerplatonic relationship with. Both are very committed to each other and take their relationship seriously. I liked seeing how much they meant to each other and set out to support the other whenever possible. However, things aren’t always perfect e.g. when Kara makes a big mistake and doesn’t handle it very well. <b>I liked that the book was very big on communication, but in a totally realistic way</b>. I think that talking is vital in addressing problems and maintaining healthy bonds with people, but I liked that the book also highlighted that sometimes people need to be left alone, before they are ready to open up.

<b>Toxic family relationships handled well ☀</b> This one concerns Winnie’s grandmother. In the beginning I wasn’t sure about her, as she seemed to be this stricter and slightly bossy grandma, that however would fight for her family. The book takes us on a journey by watching Winnie realize a lot about her grandma and her relationship with her. It’s a very messy and toxic one, that Winnie never really questioned, until it becomes too much for her. Her grandmother is very manipulative, and I would also say emotionally abusive, as she constantly pushed Winnie to do what she wants, punishing her when she goes off script and never offers her an explanation. In the end Winnie has to always apologize to ‘smooth things over’ and even has been thrown out of the diner. It’s clear that her grandmother isn’t listening to anything she says and probably won’t change her problematic pattern, of never admitting her own mistakes. <b>The story never vilified her and instead showed both the good and the bad sides and how Winnie figures out that this isn’t a healthy relationship with her anymore.</b>

<b>Slowburn romance & smalltown fun ☀</b> A main part of the book is Winnie working in her grandmother’s diner and generally spending her summer in the small town of Misty Haven, where she is surprisingly crowned Summer ‘Queen’ and must represent the city with her suitor Dallas. Now Dallas is also a supporting character that I loved so much! It took him a while to open up, but he is generally a good guy who has a gentle heart. <b>He’s a bit secretive at first, but he’s got a huge crush on Winnie and you can see how they are drawn to each other. I really liked their relationship, it was defined by honesty, getting to know the other person and a lot of great chemistry. </b>Winnie likes him against her better judgment in the beginning, but the good news is that he is an honorable boy who is genuinely interested in her. He’s respectful and trying to fit into Winnie’s world. As she’s in a queerplatonic relationship with Kara, dating someone else is an option, but she makes clear to Dallas, that Kara is a part of her and will not become second choice in the end. Of course, there are struggles trying to make it work, but they were very realistic and in the end Dallas and Winnie had such a beautiful slow burn romance that was entirely realistic!

Winnie is one of those characters that I have been waiting a long time to see in contemporary literature. She is a strong, independent black female who is fat and queer. Winnie isn’t here for anyone’s judgements about her body or her sexuality. She’s brutally honest and speaks her mind without a filter. Winnie is my spirit animal.

Winnie recently finished high school, which means college is on the horizon for the fall. During the summer, she stays with her grandmother (like she does every summer) in Misty Haven to help run the diner, which she hopes to be hers one day. Those dreams seem to be quickly fading though since her grandmother can no longer afford to keep the diner open. Winnie devises a plan to enter and win a cooking competition for a reality TV show.

The relationships in this book are complicated to say the least, which is refreshing since most relationships are. Winnie and Kara are ‘ungirlfriends’, which means that they always have each other and definitely care for each other, but they are choosing not to put a label on their relationship. (While I do follow this logic, by calling yourself an ungirlfriend, that is still a label but that’s just my two cents.) To complicate matters even more, the gorgeous Dallas shows interest in Winnie as well. She brushes off his advances since Winnie is convinced that pretty boys don’t like fat girls (I get this from an esteem point of view, but that’s just wrong). This creates a love triangle that gets a bit messy through different points of the book.

I wasn’t much of a fan when it came to Granny, but she reminded me of what it’s like growing up black. Granny constantly criticized Winnie’s weight and refused to treat her like an adult (even though Winnie is 18 years old). She still calls her child and belittles any opinions that she has. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to anyone (family included) is commanding respect but not offering it in return. Respect goes both ways, which is something that Granny definitely needs to learn.

Overall, If It Makes You Happy was a refreshing story that gave a much needed voice and representation to anyone who can remotely relate to Winnie. If you love YA/NA contemporary literature that is character driven then you don’t want to miss this one.

Thank you to Swoon Reads for providing an ARC giveaway win and Xpresso Book Tours for the eARC. This did not influence my decision. All opinions are my own.

Any book about diners and cooking competitions is an instant win for me, so I was very excited when I learned about If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann. The book is not just about the diner, however, as it touches on serious topics as the main character is crowned the summer queen. I enjoyed the influential message the novel has to offer along with the main character who is unapologetically herself. This is a quietly powerful read that I would definitely recommend.

❀ UPLIFTING BOOK

This book tells the story of a girl who dreams about inheriting her family’s diner, only the diner is running out of money to stay open. To fix this, Winnie decides to enter a cooking competition, the very one that her grandmother forbids. At the same time, Winnie is chosen as the summer queen in her town and has two people fighting for her hand. I enjoyed the blend of cute and serious in the book, and the amount of communication is perfect. I especially enjoyed the way the characters apologize without excuses, so they are genuine. There are a variety of topics discussed including figuring out one’s sexuality, and I liked how the author doesn’t really use labels to define it. Ultimately, this is an uplifting book perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon.

❀ COMPLEX MAIN CHARACTER

Winnie is a complex character in this character-driven book. She is passionate and willing to do anything to protect what she loves. As well, she is confident enough to be her true self and voice her concerns. I loved how Winnie doesn’t let anyone make her feel ashamed about her weight or who she is, including medial professionals. She is such an empowering main character, and her communication skills allow her to be a positive influence on her friends, her community, and the reader.

If It Makes You Happy is a book that blends sweetness and significance. It has a moving plot as the main character attempts to save her family’s diner, and Winnie is such an inspiring character. I would definitely recommend this one for the summer, especially to those who enjoyed books like Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’.

I enjoyed this YA Contemporary about family and friendship. Winnie is spending another summer working at her granny's diner before she heads off to college to study hospitality so that she can one day inherit the diner! 

Likes

This small town reminded me a lot of Stars Hollow with it's quirky town festivals where the whole town comes together to put on a big to-do! It's called Misty Haven and if that doesn't give you those Gilmore Girl vibes than you've gotta watch the series again! Winnie gets picked to be Misty Haven's Summer Queen which is a complete surprise because she didn't even enter. This sudden turn of events causes tension between her partner, Kara, and the boy she's not quite sure of. 

Kara and Winnie's relationship is one that I'm honestly not familiar with, and hadn't heard of before reading this book. I didn't have to google the definition of "Queerplatonic" and I'm still unsure I know exactly what it means. It made the relationship between Winnie and Kara and Dallas very unique. It also makes me curios to learn more about it. 

I really enjoyed the relationship between Winnie and her younger brother. It's a combination of the older sister protecting the younger brother but in reality it's more like he's always there to support her in more ways than she'd realized. He goes where she goes but it's not in the annoying way that you usually see between siblings. He genuinely enjoys being around her, even if he doesn't really care to visit Misty Haven every summer. Sibling love is the best! 

Dislikes

I did struggle with a Winnie's relationship with her cousin Sam and especially with her granny. Sam doesn't seem to understand where Winnie is coming from when it comes to things like how she feels about herself. Sam's character was really shallow but it was as if she was supposed to come off naive as an explanation for that. I struggled with it.

I did not like Winnie's granny at all and felt disappointed that the relationship doesn't really get any better. It was frustrating at times and I felt that the tension got to be a bit too much for me. I felt that the motives behind their constant back and forth just weren't really ever defined enough for me to be invested in it.

I don't usually read YA, but the cover caught my eye (I absolutely adored it..that girl is super cute) and the blurb was interesting, so I decided to give it a try. It started out great. I like Kann's writing style - simple, yet beautiful. The story flowed well and I was really feeling Winnie, her family, and the town.

Sadly, things went downhill around page 40. I thought I was getting a fun story about a girl trying to save her granny's diner, and that's not what it was. Part of the problem stems from the stream-of-consciousness writing style. The chapters don't really seem to go anywhere. They're just a collection of scenes, rather than part of an overreaching story arc. Every thought Winnie has is on paper for us to read, so the chapters feel like rambly thoughts, rather than a story that's headed somewhere. The blurb mentions a baking contest, but aside from a slight mention, there was little of that in the story. Winnie is supposedly happy with who she is, but suddenly the entire focus of the story was on her weight.

This may have worked better for me if I'd gone into with different expectations. As it is, I'm not invested enough in the story or the characters to continue.

It is time for summer, and that means that Winnie is all eager to visit Misty Haven where her grandma lives and has a diner called Goldeen (yes, the Pokemon). But her summer is going to be way different than she has planned. With romance, a competition, a kingly/queenly kind of event, trouble, and people trying to get her to lose weight (though she is just happy with who she is, bless her).

The diner was so much fun, there was a dash of fun chaos with the oven constantly going in def-con mode and a grandma who didn’t want to fix it for some reason. We read about food, about karaoke cleaning nights, we see Winnie make deliveries and handle tough customers (the customer is definitely not always right that is how you get these type of people in your restaurant), we read about how the diner looks which I could easily see in my mind and I wished I could visit.

Winnie was such a fun character. She is driven, she has a goal in life, she knows what she wants. It was great to see her have all these plans, all these ideas of what she wants for the future. I would love to visit her diner when she sets it all up.

I am glad that she didn’t mind that she was larger than most people. It is just a shame that others didn’t think so, but I was delighted that she wasn’t just going to let people run over her with their thoughts. Yes, maybe the whole doctor scene was a bit overkill, but I can imagine that she got so pissed. If I came for a darned blood-test and someone would go on and on about my weight and how I would die, I would also flip a table. 😛 Then there was the thing with Sam. While at first I did kind of agree with Sam, not too much, but a little bit. Exercise is never bad in my book (if you can exercise that is), but then she took it too far. It was still sweet of Winnie to go through it because she wanted to do something with Sam (though in the end Winston just tagged along the whole time :P).

I do feel sad that Winnie had such a low self-esteem despite being pretty much OK with having more weight. I was shipping her from the start with Dallas but she is just so awkward and weird with him. She keeps thinking that he doesn’t want her romantically because she is fat and pretty boys don’t go for fat girls. Girl, please. There is a person out there for everyone, and I immediately could see that Dallas was just fine with how Winnie looked. That he was more than happy to spend time with her. So yeah, the parts with Dallas were a bit cringy, but thankfully she did seem to understand that Dallas wasn’t going anywhere, though it took her a while to see that. I would have definitely liked some more sweet moments with Dallas (though there were still quite a few as Dallas isn’t one to give up, and he was so so sweet towards Winnie. Helping her out when things didn’t go well, listening, making sure to do the right thing).

The competition, it was a shame that it happened near the end, I had expected it to get a bit more of it, but it was still terribly fun to read about it, see who is going to the finals, and see who is getting picked. I am so happy that Winnie pushed through and that she did that for someone in her life. Thanks to her that person has a wonderful opportunity and a great future ahead of them.

While I am still very much wondering what is going on between Kara and Winnie. Is it romance? Is it friendship? Is it both? I did like seeing the two together, though I wish we had seen more of Kara before the summer. Now we quickly see her be jealous of Dallas, be angry at Dallas and it defined how I saw Kara throughout most of the book. There are some hints of a Kara that I did love and that I could see why Winnie is so smitten by her. Like how sweet she was to make a whole freezer full of gluten-free food for Winnie (yes, really). Or that she was there to listen when Winnie needed someone. Or how dedicated she was in the whole king/queen thing.

Normally I am not a fan of a love triangle, but in this one it fit. I was both shipping Winnie with Kara, but also Winnie with Dallas. It felt all natural for these three to be together in a way. I guess you could call it polyamory, and I was delighted with how things were written. I loved how Winnie was quite clear on her intentions and also kept telling Kara or Dallas that she loves them both, that she would like them to get along, that she wants both of them in her life. And this may sound like she can’t choose, but that is not how it felt to me. It felt right, and I was just awwing.

There was at times a bit too much thoughts going on and not so much actually happening, which I wasn’t a too big of a fan of. I am not one to enjoy thought-driven stories. Give me plot! Give me a story! Let something happen that isn’t in someone’s head.

The grandma? Oh boy. Don’t get me started on that witch. She was just the worst. Making snide comments about her grandchild’s weight, pushing her to diet and do exercise. Restricting her from several things for no apparent good reason. One could say she has a strong personality, I would just call her a bitch. I do wonder if she has always been like this, given what Winnie’s parents say yes, but given that the previous years all went OK, I wonder what changed. Despite that Winnie is 18 years old, an adult, she treated Winnie like a child. She even called her child. And sure, hey, the lady is like 70/80 years old and 18 is nothing to her, but a bit more respect would have been nice.

The ending was really nicely done, yes it was sad that it had to end like this, but I guess we could have seen it coming from early on. It was wonderful to end it with all of them in the car, talking over, saying I love you’s. Aww!

All in all, I had a wonderful time reading this book. Yes, sometimes I was shaking my head at it all, but mostly I was rooting for the characters, hoping for the romance to get somewhere and cheering when romantic things happened, I loved how positive it was, shipping the characters, and laughed during the sillier moments. I would recommend it.

After Let’s Talk About Love, I knew I wanted to read Claire Kann’s sophomore novel. I regret absolutely nothing about reading If It Makes You Happy.


If it Makes You Happy CoverHigh school finally behind her, Winnie is all set to attend college in the fall. But first she’s spending her summer days working at her granny’s diner and begins spending her midnights with Dallas—the boy she loves to hate and hates that she likes. Winnie lives in Misty Haven, a small town where secrets are impossible to keep—like when Winnie allegedly snaps on Dr. Skinner, which results in everyone feeling compelled to give her weight loss advice for her own good. Because they care that’s she’s “too fat.”

Winnie dreams of someday inheriting the diner—but it’ll go away if they can’t make money, and fast. Winnie has a solution—win a televised cooking competition and make bank. But Granny doesn’t want her to enter—so Winnie has to find a way around her formidable grandmother. Can she come out on top? (Goodreads)
Goodreads

I received an eARC of If It Makes You Happy from Xpresso Tours in exchange for an honest review.
If It Makes You Happy needs trigger warnings for institutionalized fatphobia, casual fatphobia, discussions of fatphobia, casual aromantic-antagonistic comments, discussions of homophobia, gaslighting, character being kicked out of the home repeatedly.

There is a lot to love about If It Makes You Happy. Winnie, the protagonist, has such a distinct voice and viewpoint that I don’t think this story would have worked if Kann had told it any other way than in first person.

My heart soared and broke with Winnie throughout this book’s ups and downs. Her relationships with her family were amazing, particularly the very real relationship with her younger brother. I loved the way that Winnie insisted on healthy communication in all of her relationships with her peers, whether they’re family, friends or a partner.

When it comes to sexuality, Winnie has a queerplatonic partner and an open relationship. She uses the term “ungirlfriend” with her aromantic partner Kara, who has to deal with her own issues of jealousy and the reality of many people’s arophobia. It was refreshing to see those issues treated as valid ones even when they manifested themselves in unacceptable ways. I enjoyed Dallas’ entire character and how he treated Winnie.

I also loved how complicated her relationship with her grandmother was. I loved how hard it was for her to stand her ground with Granny, because that is the reality of a lot of people’s experiences. Especially when it comes to weight and sexuality.

The fat representation and discussions in this were painful but amazing. Comments about weight and how it impacts your life are literally everywhere. People try to put you on diets without your consent, people treat you like you are lesser than, and when you speak out against it you’re treated as if you’re public enemy number one. It’s only amplified when you are marginalized in another way, like Winnie is by being black and queer. Kann did a beautiful job of handling it, which makes sense because it’s based on her own experiences.

Overall, I highly recommend this book with a nod to the trigger warnings. You can pick up a copy on Amazon, Indiebound and The Book Depository.

This was really a good book. It had so much to it, depth, characters, back stories, side stories, emotion, drama, and a lot of really good takes on issues that you may not think about normally, or don't realize because they were from the side of an issue you may not identify with. Even some of them that I do feel like I connect with, the whole overweight thing especially, I even learned a few things or began to think of them from a slightly different angle. I loved Winnie's relationship with Kara, but I also liked that she wasn't sure if it was going to just be Kara for the rest of her life. Well, she knew Kara would always be in her life, but the fact that she knew she might want to see who or what was still out there was definitely a great look at how a young person might really feel. I like that she wasn't just your standard LGBTQ character, that she was also truly interested in Dallas, but that it didn't change her feelings for Kara, even if it did make her wonder and think about them more.

I really thought there was a lot of great details about how being overweight doesn't always mean someone isn't healthy. I had a doctor recently who actually gave me similar facts, about how some people are more genetically likely to get diabetes, but could be skinny, it just has to do with how the body deals with certain substances. I also didn't realize you could refuse to have your weight taken at the doctor's office! And then I liked Kara's one line about how she was fiscally conservative without the Republican agenda. While I don't completely agree with the "agenda" part, I know that really describes me, or is how I describe myself a lot of times with my own personal political leanings.

Her family was just really real too. I like how things ended with her grandma. Well, like might not be the right word, but I felt it was so realistic, and a perfect way to show that sometimes it is okay for that to be what happens, that you have to stand up for yourself. Winnie's self-confidence was great, something we see with a lot of characters these days, but I like that she knew how much it actually covered and how it actually worked for herself. A lot of her self reflection really caught me as exact thoughts and feelings I've had myself.

A great book, I can't wait to put it in my library, as well as recommend it to my students to read.

I loved Claire Kann’s early 2018 debut, Let’s Talk About Love, so I was excited to read her sophomore novel. And then I saw the cover and I REALLY wanted to get my hands on it—plus sized person of color, for the win! There are a lot of components that I really loved about this book, but overall the plot felt way too jumbled.

Winnie Woodson was an awesome main character, who is so authentic and relatable. She’s a fat, queer teen who loves herself even on the days when she feels too big or too loud. She has so much strength and holds true to her convictions. Winnie stands up for herself and for the people she loves. She’s also really eloquent in the way she approaches an argument or discussion that may be heated. I adored the relationship with her brother and how much they truly love to spend time together despite a three-year age gap.

I think the relationships she had with both Kara and Dallas were very honest and gave life to conversations that are rarely discussed. Winnie has found total platonic love and togetherness with Kara, but she’s starting to feel romantic feelings towards a boy name Dallas. I liked how they worked through these emotions, even though Kara lack of communication was getting tiresome.

What took me out of the story, was the lack of focus. Is the main plot supposed to be the aftermath of this town-wide pageant? Or, is it this television cooking contest? The plot as a whole was just all over the place. We have here an incredible main character with an interesting story and relationships with a story that is giving her a disservice.

The small town feels like Stars Hallow from Gilmore Girls, but I wish we could have met more people throughout the story. Interesting neighbors that give life to this sweet little town. I would have enjoyed a much simpler story—a “slice of life” scenario where we follow Winnie as she works in her grandmother’s diner in this small town filled with quirky characters, the summer before she leaves for college.

I’m a little disappointed because I enjoyed Claire Kann’s debut so much, but because there was so much I still enjoyed, I’ll pick up another book from her in the future.

I was sent an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up! Thank you to XPresso Blog Tours & Swoon Reads for providing me with an ARC copy of If It Makes You Happy in exchange for an honest review!

Lemme get the negative out of the way so that I can get to raving about If It Makes You Happy. The plot & scene transitioning felt messy at times — one second, we’re in one place & the very next, we’re somewhere new. This is honestly such a small nitpick, and the only complaint that I have on this Contemporary read.

If It Makes You Happy has quite a bit of representation (Black! Fat! Queer! Poly!), which is what sticks out most in this read. & all of this representation is from our main character, Winnie. I love Winnie. She’s unapologetic & confident & fights for what she believes in. She makes a lot of comments on what it’s like being a fat girl & wow, as someone who’s in the obese range (uh? Screw the BMI is what I always say) — her commentary is absolutely relatable.

I adored all of Winnie’s relationships; her romantic interest in Dallas, her queerplatonic relationship with Kara, her sibling relationship with Winston (which I’ll get to in one moment!) & her relationship with her cousin, Sam. There’s such a strong bond between Winnie & everyone mentioned — honesty & communication is key when it comes to any kind of relationship & it’s something that’s practiced a lot in this book (– although, there is conflict in terms of lies, but spoiler alert: things work out, because that’s just the kind of book this is).

My all-time favorite relationship in this book isn’t romantic whatsoever — it’s the relationship between Winnie & her younger brother, Winston. I’ve always been a sucker for a good bronamic (Get it? Bro? Dynamic?..) It’s clear that Winnie & Winston would do anything for the other, and I absolutely adored them throughout the entire read.

If It Makes You Happy tackles a lot of topics such as racism, misogyny & fat-shaming & to me, Claire Kann tackles these topics well. As mentioned above, her commentary on being fat is extremely relatable. At one point, Winnie discusses how ‘everyone hates fat people’ & when a fat person pisses them off, their weight is the first thing they go for when they retaliate. Let me tell y’all — I’ve pissed off a lot of men in my lifetime & their comeback seems to be them finding some unique way of calling me fat.

There’s also a couple of minor things that I enjoyed about If It Makes You Happy, such as the fact that the restaurant is called Goldeen’s, named after the Pokemon! Plus, I’m a sucker for books that have a restaurant setting, because I can relate to busy lunch shifts & all that fun stuff.

If It Makes You Happy is your typical YA Contemporary filled with representation — it’s a quick & easy read, and I’d definitely recommend!

Claire Kann is a queen of YA fiction and I'm so excited with every new book. Her characters' voices are authentic and so enjoyable. I love how her characters are fiercely themselves, sometimes teens desperately need in their books and lives.

Winnie is thrilled to be spending her last summer before college working at her Granny's diner, Goldeen's. She'll get to spend time at her favorite home-away-from-home with her favorite people: her Granny, her 'baby' brother Winston, her cousin Sam, and her ungirlfriend Kara. But her plans for an easy summer quickly go awry in a quick series of events: first she is unexpectedly chosen as the Haven Summer Royalty Queen and thrust into the spotlight--a place she'd really rather not be. Then both Kara and cute Dallas volunteer to be her consort--and when Dallas wins the tiebreaker, suddenly things are not good between Winnie and Kara. Then Winnie loses her cool when the town doctor berates her about her weight, and suddenly everyone has an opinion about Winnie's appearance and her Granny is furious and meddling. Add in a cooking competition, some geese from hell, a grumpy little brother and a clingy cousin, and Winnie's easy summer is a thing of the past. What's a girl to do?

A fantastic sophomore novel from Claire Kann, "If It Makes You Happy" is a tale of love, friendship, family, and handling crises like a Boss. Winnie is a Queen of Communication, which I adore from a YA novel, as it sets up a positive example in dealing with friends, family, and romantic interests when there are problems rather than simply assuming (or mis-assuming) the situation. It also is a great example of what to do when you communicate and the other person doesn't listen. The ending is bittersweet because of this, but, again, is incredibly important. Winnie's voice is perfect: mature and independent, but still young and sorting life out. Her love of herself, her family, and her friends shines on every page--even when they're not all getting along.

The long and short of it is, "If It Makes You Happy" will, well, make you happy!

(Also, be on the lookout for a cameo appearance from "Let's Talk About Love" protagonists Alice and Takumi!)

What a wonderful book! POC lead with multiple romantic interests who resolve things by talking and compromise rather than forcing a decision. LGBTQIA rep.

As a fat girl myself, I love reading books about fat girls who are happy with themselves. Winnie Woodson is one of those. She's eighteen, enjoying her last summer before heading off to college with her best friend and "ungirlfriend" Kara, and working in her absolute favorite place, her Granny's restaurant, Goldeen's, in the small town of Misty Haven.

Misty Haven and its neighboring town Merry Haven have a summer tradition - they name a Misty Summer Queen and take "volunteers" to compete for the Merry Summer King title. Historically, most of the Kings and Queens fall in love, but when Winnie gets named Summer Queen, and a young man named Dallas volunteers to compete against Kara to be Winnie's consort, Winnie's summer plans get thrown awry.

Throw into the mix Winnie's younger brother, Winston, a gifted chef at fourteen, and her cousin/sister Sam, who at sixteen is the babysitting queen of Misty Haven, and there's a delightful cornucopia of things to go both wrong AND right in the story.

As Winnie grapples with the fact that Dallas and Kara don't get along, her domineering Granny is pushing her WAY too far this summer, and of all things, Sam wants Winnie to RUN with her, Winnie has a lot to balance on her plate.

Claire Kann brings us Winnie's story in a truly engaging read. Winnie is a wonderful character, and Kann develops all the supporting cast so well that we fall right into the small town of Misty Haven and have no problem following Winnie through a coming-of-age journey in which she learns to stand up for herself and finds her way through understanding more about her own sexual identity.

A great summer read.

DNF at 20%

I'm so sad that this wasn't holding my attention that much. I was struuuuuuggling to get through the chapters and by the time I put this down I didn't feel much towards Winnie or her family at all.

This is another It's Not You It's Me book.

This starts in the middle of a kitchen fire started by Winnie's cousin Sam, and immediately character after character is introduced, along with backstory and relationships that felt weirdly underdeveloped/bland when they shouldn't have? At 20% in there's already a lot going on, with two towns that are joined but not joined, a girlfriend who's not a girlfriend but might be a girlfriend, a boy who Winnie is attracted to but doesn't like but really cares about and they ignore each other for reasons unexplained, a baking competition for a reality TV show, a weird Haven Summer Queen drawing thing (wtf even was that), and a competition to get the Summer Queen's hand or whatever, and a diner that's Very Important for ~Reasons~. So much going on and I didn't care about any of it.

There was just so much telling. So much. And it didn't feel like it mattered to the plot or characterizations because whenever there was a jump of telling I was either struggling to figure out what people were doing or who was talking.

I felt like I was getting 18 years of information crammed into 50 pages, and information that I didn't necessarily need for the story?

The thing I did like was the representation. Winnie is a fat bisexual Black girl, and her insecurities about being in front of people and being weighed at the doctor (and not being listened to), were so well done.

Anywho. I'm disappointed I didn't like this more, since I absolutely adored Let's Talk About Love, and I'm sad to put it down because this was one of my most anticipated releases of June.

I think that it will resonate for other people, but the writing style wasn't doing it for me.

I couldn't focus enough to care.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

I hate to say it, but I wasn’t crazy about this one.

The good was the diversity here. We have characters of color and also an LGTBQ theme here as well. All of these are good and I hope that teens will find something that they identify within this book. The not so good was the character dynamics and the missing plot.

While this book wasn’t a hit for me, with so much diversity, I hope that others pick this up and enjoy it!

Winnie is such an engaging character which isn't a surprise as she's a creation of Claire Kann. Kann incorporates diversity, intersectionality, queer positivity, body positivity, positive family dynamics into this feel good YA book.