Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley, HarperTeen, and Joya Goffney for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I received the audiobook as an ARC a while ago and I only now got a chance to listen to it, so here it goes.

First of all, Jordan Cobb is a great narrator. I knew when I heard her in this one that I remember listening to her somewhere else and I’m glad to see that she’s actually the narrator in a few other books that I’ve been wanting to read, so I’m glad that I’ll be able to listen to her in the future. Her voice is very smooth and easy to follow whether it’s at 1x speed or faster. I usually listen to my books somewhere between 1.5x – 1.75x and I was able to follow her at either of those. To me, that’s important because if I can’t understand what’s being said as it gets to a speed that I usually listen to, it makes it more difficult for me to follow, oddly enough.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I saw the title, but it definitely wasn’t what I thought it would be. I like to go into books without reading much of the synopsis or other reviews so I just knew that it was a YA romance. I could see why it was said to be a romance, but I personally wouldn’t have said it was. For me, this was way more of a coming of age novel where the main character is having to learn about herself and unlearn certain things about herself too. It was more of a journey of self-discovery, and she ended up falling in love with a guy on the way. Nothing is wrong with that, but I personally wouldn’t have considered it a romance since it wasn’t the main point of the story.

Everything that was talked about in this book though was done well. Quinn is a black teenage girl and while she may not “act black” whatever that means, she is very much a black girl. But on the other hand, she also does have internal negative conceptions about black men. There was a scene where she and Carter were in a restaurant trying to get food after a road trip and she was really hesitant to get out of the car with him because there were a lot of black people around. She had to think about WHY she was afraid of other black people when she was also very adamant that people shouldn’t be racist towards black people. You can be both, and unfortunately it happens in real life. There was also a part in the book where she said that while her father is proud to be the first black surgeon (I want to say it’s surgeon but I could be wrong) or important doctor person at their hospital, it doesn’t mean that he’s proud to be a black man. And honestly I felt that so much that it kind of hurt. Can someone be proud to be the first black someone, but at the same time not be proud to be black? Yes.

I’m glad that there was punishment for the cyber bullying that occurred, but I hate that it took Quinn’s mom being a literal lawyer coming into the school to make it known. Livvy was dealing with harassment for months by the time Quinn started dealing with hers and while I’m glad that the two girls finally told Quinn’s mom so that she could get involved, I was upset that nobody did anything about it earlier. I get that this is a reflection of real life too, and honestly I don’t even know what would happen if this were to happen in real life, like what would the school administration do if they didn’t have that recording as proof of who was behind it and how they were vindictive and manipulating Quinn.

This was an amazing debut novel and I really appreciated the conversations of internalised racism that Quinn and her father had, and how Quinn had to confront and deal with it. I mean hell, Carter didn’t feel safe around Quinn’s dad when they first meet! That feeling is so serious and I’m so glad that Quinn’s mom called her dad out on that nonsense.

I also appreciated getting a chance to see the complicated relationship of Quinn and Hattie, and why Quinn had been avoidant of her since the accident. I mean, I understood why from the beginning, and while I also understood her dad’s side of why he wanted to force her, I think it was important to see both sides and for them to have that conversation of why it was such a hard thing to do.

Thoughts are so scattered right now. Basically, loved it. Highly recommend. Can’t wait to read the rest of her work. Jordan Cobb is doing an amazing job as a narrator and I look forward to listening to more books with her on them.

I enjoyed this book but it's been awhile since i've read it. I'm trying to update the books on netgalley that i've read already so I can focus more on the ones that I haven't read. I'm hoping to be better about reviewing books as I read them.

An entertaining, heartfelt and relatable story full of unexpected twists and turns. I enjoyed reading it and will recommend it to my students.

A lovely YA read, full of high school angst and new love. Quinn is dealing with many things when her journal is stolen and she is forced to complete a to-do list to get it back. I was interested to read about Quinn’s confusion over her racial identity, relationships with her best friends and past enemies.

I particularly liked how Goffney approaches the race issue. Quinn is black but surrounds herself mainly with white people who don’t understand what it’s like for her, and so inevitably, problems arise. It was powerful to mention that while a friend may try to appear “colourblind” that’s not always the most helpful approach. Colour is part of your identity and it can’t just be ignored. This book tackles thoughts and behaviours that other books don’t

The story is full of drama, but what YA isn’t? It’s important to note that while it’s a YA, it’s also very readable from an adult POV, so I’d recommend to adults too.

A nice and light read with plenty of entertainment and at least one lovely guy to boot. The only thing that could have been improved perhaps was the fleshing-out of some of the secondary characters. I feel like Auden, Matt, Gia and Destany would have added more had their personas been more rounded.

I was approved for the audiobook arc of this book on netgalley back when they were first getting into voice to text audiobooks, and was not able to get through the first chapter because of how disjointed the voice to text speech was. There was no inflection or natural pauses. The voice was so monotone it was honestly hard to even know when one sentence ended and another began. So I abandoned the audiobook arc without finishing the story.

HOWEVER, after this book came out I picked it up almost right away because it was one I was very much looking forward too, and the book itself did not disappoint!

This story follows Quinn, an 18-year-old black girl whose coping mechanism to deal with her emotions is to write them down to-do list style – and so she is devastated when her journal goes missing, and she begins to be blackmailed by whoever took it. By teaming up with Carter to find the blackmailer, she is able to start opening up and conquering her fears. I loved Quinn and the characters were all loveable & enjoyable to read about especially reading about their friendship with each other. I though the plot was really well done and the romance was fun. One of my favorite ya books I've read.

I really enjoyed this! I like how the author tackled the microagressions, cyber bullying, and overall drama in an older YA setting without it feeling like it was shoehorned in for extra theatrical value. The character interactions were very natural and genuine. Definitely a must read in today's racial and technological climate in addition to the romance being gush-worthy.

This was A five star read! Loved the characters, the joy, basketball. Perfect YA read and look forward to reading more from this author

This was a good book with a great narrator. I enjoyed it!
Smart, witty, and relatable as a list-maker myself. The embarrassment and horror at thinking of people getting a hold of my personal lists/notes.... it was a fun story to envision - although sometimes I was holding my breath at the thoughts it provoked haha

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook version of this publication. In return, I have promised to provide an unbiased review.

The cover grabbed me on this one, and once I read the synopsis I couldn’t say no. Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is Joya Goffney’s impressive debut and is Angie Thomas meets Talia Hibbert — truly the dream.

Protagonist Quinn is a Black high school senior in a predominately white Texas town trapped between the expectations of her affluent peers and her rich, high-expectation parents. She grapples with life via a journal of lists, things like her worst memories, favorite movies, and things she wants to accomplish before graduation.

Enter Carter, one of Quinn’s few Black peers at school, who she’s convinced has both stolen her list journal and is using it to blackmail her. To prove his innocence, Carter promises Quinn to help track down the journal and figure out who’s setting her up.

Along the way, Quinn makes new friends, comes to terms with her identity and the expectations of those around her, and maybe gets to kiss a cute boy a few times (!!!!).

Touching on relatable issues of growing up, having a crush, and trying to tell your friends saying the N-word is Bad, Joya Goffney seamlessly weaves lighthearted romance with the heavier issues plaguing teens today.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to listen to (!) this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I waffled a bit on my rating for this one. In the end, I think the plot centered around themes of dealing with racism, especially as it relates to friends of different races really makes this book shine. Had that not been done so well, I probably would’ve rated this a 3 because part of me thinks the romance bit was unnecessary and took away from it a little.

I also listened to this with a synthetic narrator, which was certainly an interesting experience. I definitely don't think it was much different from an audiobook narrator but I should add the caveat that this should be taken with a grain of salt because I consistently listen to audiobooks on x2 speed.

The audiobook was so weird and I feel like it ruined the entire experience for me if I am being honest. I wasn't a fan.

This book was so great. It tackles anxiety in a really interesting way. The conversation around race and the impact of being one of a few Black people in an all white school was really important especially the way this book addressed advocating for oneself and setting up relationships where you have supports to keep you afloat through the racism you face. I loved this book so much.

The narrator of the audiobook was a synthesised voice LOL so it was weird to hear the n word coming from a faceless entity

A book that not only gives a good love story but also talks about important issues like rasicim and cyber bullying.

Amazing YA story! I ended up purchasing the book after. I loved Quinn's character development with managing her anxiety and friendships. It wasn't just a cute love story there was a lot of depth to the story and even the characters surrounding Quinn.

It was good until the reveal of who stole the journal. I thought, at that point in the story, that Quinn knew enough about the person to forgive them, but her reaction ruined her character for me. I did like reading the lists, though-- they were my favorite part of the story, along with Quinn's friendship with Olivia.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and I’m reviewing it voluntarily. I attempted to read this book several times. It could not keep me engaged. I DNF’d this one.

This is a fantastic coming of age novel that deals with so much more than love and heartbreak. There’s also a slew of serious issues such as racism and bullying that are touched on with care.

I couldn’t help but immediately gravitating towards Quinn and rooting for her throughout this story. Also, this title is way too accurate.

A complex coming of age story. Quinn is a girl who keeps lists of things that matter to her in a journal. Her journal gets misplaced and someone finds it and begins to torture her by creating a to-do list of their own for Quinn. She’s hopeless and hurt. Feeling violated she teams up with the last person to have the journal as they go on a quest seeking the culprit. What they find on the journey is discovery of new awakenings in family, friendship, and love.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

What do you do when your most prized journal goes missing? You turn to the one person you can’t stand but secretly like to help you find it. Afterall, it’s their fault the journal is missing in the first place.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the digital review copy. As a note, this audio was a synthetic voice and was actually quite good! After the first few minutes, for the most part, I forgot that I was listening to a synthetic voice altogether and was wholly impressed with the quality and would definitely recommend this digital review copy to those who are interested.
In Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, we follow Quinn a High School Senior, how loves to make lists of everything. Unfortunately, Quinn’s spiral notebook/journal gets swiped by mistake during a study session by a classmate. When she tries to get it back from the classmate, she finds that he accidently lost the journal. Now together they try to figure out who is holding Quinn’s journal ransom before all of her secrets get released. I enjoyed the friendship between Quinn and Olivia. Olivia was funny and a real tough girl. The romance was blah. But overall, the book is worth a listen/read.