I cringed, I laughed, I cried. Aside from the "all too close to my own dating history" relationship, I really enjoyed this book. As advertised, it definitely will appeal to fans of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (which I now want to rewatch). Discusses difficult issues with self-esteem, friendship, bullying, relationships, and more while still having a few great jokes and plenty of empowering scenes.

The one issue that I had was with Isabel's hearing difficulties, which seemed to come and go conveniently. Like, she has difficulty with her "friends" in the cafeteria, but no problem hearing at night clubs and bars?

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book!

I honestly struggled with this book a bit. I think it's because I had it in my head that there would be a lot of stand-up comedy scenes, and there really weren't. I also thought the stand-up scenes would be different each time, but as in anything, you need to practice your craft, and practice makes perfect, so most of the jokes were the same from scene to scene. I think if I'd known that going in, I'd have liked this book better.

With that said, this book is about Izzy, who is your basic quiet girl who allows everyone she knows and loves to treat her like a total doormat. She goes with the flow to the point where it's like she isn't even there at all. So when she ducks into a bar to avoid running into her boyfriend and ends up doing stand-up, it's like she's finally being seen for the first time. That experience allows her to meet a group of college students who are there for the open mic event, and thus the lies begin.

I think part of the reason this book bothered me so much is because of all the lies. I just felt on edge the entire book, waiting for Izzy to get caught in all of her lies. It made me feel very uncomfortable, which didn't make for a great reading experience for me. The writing was good, even though the stand-up jokes weren't overly funny to me, but since this is a YA book and I'm an adult, I let that slide. I feel like this was a good book and the reason I didn't enjoy it was because I wasn't the target audience.

So if you're a teen, and the book description appeals to you, go for it. I think you'll really enjoy this book. And for that reason, I'm still giving this book 4 stars even though it wasn't my cup of tea.

Full Review in the link below
Rating: 5/5

The book isn't perfect but it warmed my heart and gave me what I wanted and then some with the rep, so I am satisfied.

Katie Henry's writing is so funny, so I was excited that she wrote a book about stand-up comedy! This story feels so fresh and unique to the YA coming-of-age space and I really enjoyed it. 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel meets John Green' is really a perfect comp, and I think there are many teen readers who will be drawn to this book about a girl finding herself through comedy.

Isabel has always been the quiet "easy" kid of the family, a do-gooder often left alone at home. The only regular attention she gets is from her controlling boyfriend. Ironically, it's when she's trying to avoid him that she accidentally stumbles headfirst into a stand-up comedy event-- not just as a spectator, but as a performer. On stage she becomes Izzy V., far more clever and funny than the Isabel she's perceived to be. Through comedy and the new friends she makes in the scene, Izzy learns a lot about the people in her life, but most of all herself. There were so many times I saw myself in Izzy, and wished I could reach out to her! I was completely wrapped up in this beautiful, humorous, and bittersweet novel of growing up and self-worth.

I found the humor and writing to be well done and the characters were solid, but nothing really grabbed me and had me hooked with this book. If you are a fan of YA contemporaries, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Izzy was a super relatable character and this book had many LOL moments, maybe I read this at the wrong time, but this did not resonate with me as much as it should have. I thought this was going to be a humorous quirky book with funny stories, but it was a novel. I am honestly enjoying the YA novel "the Truth Project" a lot more than this. Someone else will love this more than me and I still recommend it because of Izzy.

Thanks to Netgalley, Katie Henry and Harper Collins Childrens Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 1/19/21

This enjoyable YA novel from that author of Heretics Anonymous and Let’s Call It A Doomsday is the story of 16 year old Isabel, who unbeknownst to her parents, boyfriend or anyone else she knows, decides to try her skill as a stand up comic. By turns entertaining and deep, This Will Be Funny Someday includes a hefty dose of comedy, along with feminist themes. As Isabel finds her voice, she struggles to find a place in her own family, school, and friend group.

I had a hard time with this one. I loved the premise of Izzy finding her voice through performing stand-up, and through that starting to deal with her family issues and her abusive boyfriend. I love a book set in Chicago. There were parts that were heart-racingly compelling, parts that made me laugh out loud.

But wow, I could not get past the fact that she was lying about her age so dramatically. 16 is so, so young to be hanging out with a group of college seniors and I a) had trouble believing that the entire Chicago comedy scene would just shrug and not realize she's 16 and b) had trouble feeling comfortable with the idea of these being remotely healthy friendships. I would have loved this a lot more if the age gap between Izzy and the others was smaller.

I really liked Izzy and I found her pretty funny. I liked that she was able to come out of the boxes she had kind of closed herself off into. I liked that she was figuring out how to be herself and to say no to her bf who wasn't very good for her.
I liked that she was slowly taking risks and putting herself out there more even though the first time was really an accident. But it was a good accident.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Delightful. So glad this is being put out into the world. Legitimately funny (a must for a book about comedy) and deals deftly with the topic of emotionally abusive relationships.

The protagonist's entree into the world of stand-up comedy was the best part. The hearing disorder didn't make any difference in the plot. The most dramatic part of the boyfriend subplot was recounted, not experienced in the moment. I normally want to give every Chicago-set book an automatic five stars but in this case, the author doesn't have a realistic grasp of the geography. Getting from the Magnificent Mile to Hyde Park and to an undisclosed North Side home without a car really eats into an evening.

TW: Abusive relationship

Isabel is used to making herself fit into boxes people have created for her. It isn’t until she accidentally ends up on a stage for stand up comedy that she begins to find her voice and her place in the world.

It was nice to see Isabel come into herself and begin to stand up for herself. Katie Henry has done a great job of writing a character that is complex and layered. I appreciated the diversity of characters and the challenges they face.

What I really appreciated was how Katie Henry did an excellent job of showing how difficult it can be to see how a relationship partner can be controlling and manipulative though Isabel. Even when friends warn you and the signs are all over, how toxic behavior can make you question yourself. It was interesting to see how Isabel would recognize the problems with her relationship with Alex, but then would explain them away or justify them as a trade off for him doing something nice.

I really liked this book and found Izzy V to be super relatable and fun! I was surprised by the twist with the videotape at the climax and appreciated how Izzy made amends with her new friends. I would have liked to see the idea of her love of plants seeded a bit earlier and more fully.