Loved this audiobook!! The representation and discussions here are amazing and so important. The queer platonic open relationship was super well explored and I wish we had more of it in YA books. My least favorite part of the book was the competition part of the book, since it's not something I enjoy reading about.

If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann is a coming of age YA story that tackles LGBTQIA issues, fat shaming, race, and family drama. Yet the writer was able to provide humor and a bit of romance.

Every summer Winnie enjoys working at her Granny's diner. This year is bittersweet because it is the last before she starts college.

She knows things will never be the same when she wins the Summer Queen contest. Her curvy figure is not usually beauty queen material. Then she is paired with the winner of the Summer King contest. The most popular boy in town. Not everyone is happy especially Cara her ungirlfriend. What is an ungirlfriend? My older generation brain is still not sure.

Narrator Caroline Sorunke gives some tender readings when we realize this isn't a perfect ending but it is somewhat an honest one.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from OrangeSky Audio via #Netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this fat-positive, LGBTQIA-positive contemporary YA novel! The book has been out for a few years but is finally coming to audiobook and I liked the narrator but sometimes she was very flat and emotionless, it was a bit weird. The story was great. I loved almost everything about it! I love loved how normalized it was for Winnie and Cara to be ungirlfriends/partners and that there had previously been F/F and M/M and even a thrupple (throuple?) Summer King and Queen! It was refreshing and SHOULD be normal because it's noooo one's business who is with whom. Winnie's grandmother on the other hand, whewwww I could have some words with how she's treating her granddaughter. And I don't like where that relationship ended. But like in life, not all relationships are good or healthy or happy or even necessary because even if they are family, they do not need to have a place in your life if they are bad for your mental or physical wellbeing. I also didn't like how Cara handled Dallas liking Winnie and asking Cara for her phone number during school season. I didn't really like Cara in general. But I did love that Goldeen's was named after Winnie's favorite Pokémon when she was 5! lol! Great novel!

*4.5 stars
I received an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had some really excellent conversations about navigating a polyamorous/QPP relationship and experiencing fatphobia from loved ones. There was clear thoughts behind each topic, but they also weren't clear cut. The author gave the characters room to be messy and make mistakes, which is great especially in YA. Winnie and her family felt especially real to me. However, I do think the romance got a bit lost in everything else. Compared to Claire Kann's previous book, I didn't feel particularly connected to the relationship.

As always, Winnie is heading to Misty Haven for the summer to spend time with her ungirlfriend Cara and work at her grandma’s diner. What she doesn’t expect is to be crowned Misty Haven’s Summer Queen, alongside her secret crush Dallas, the Summer King. In the meantime, Cara is entering a cooking competition in town, and Winnie decides that she should enter her grandma’s diner, too, with the hopes of putting the winnings toward getting a new oven for the diner.

This was the rare YA book that makes me wonder if I’m getting too old for the genre. Cara was supposedly ok with her and Winnie’s QPR being open for Winnie, but when someone else is interested in Winnie, she becomes jealous and sabotages it; I wasn’t a fan. There were a lot of side plots going on, making it feel like we didn’t get to spend enough time on any one plot. I did like the relationship between Winnie and her little brother.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Not my kind of book. It was good but I did not finished it. I got about 3/4 of the way done. It’s not horrible just not for me

Thank you to #Netgalley, Claire Kann, and the publisher for the ARC audio in exchange for an honest review.
This book was easy to listen to, but Winnie bothered me a bit with her quick temper and she seemed to be all over the place. She seemed to be upset by every little thing someone said to her. I did like the diversity of the book though and think it will be a great read for teens!

3.5 stars rounded up

Another book I have mixed feelings on. I love that this book is tackling anti-fat bias, fatphobia, polyamory, and queer platonic partnerships. I don't think I've ever seen a QPP in a YA book before and clearly that is confusing the hell out of some reviewers. I like the project of this, centering Winnie, a queer, fat Black girl coming of age and balancing her "ungirlfriend" with a crush on a boy and lots of family drama. This book isn't afraid to get into the messiness of human relationships, communication, jealousy, and standing up for yourself. The main character is a bit of a people pleaser who needs to learn how to thoughtfully advocate for her wants and needs, and then stand her ground.

That said, I think part of why some reviewers call the QPP she's committed to a co-dependent friendship is because there really are some toxic elements to that dynamic. Winnie pushes for open communication but Kara has done some messed up things and refuses to talk about it. I felt like her actions were a much bigger betrayal of trust than how they were handled on page. I also think they seem very young for the level of commitment they have to each other. I like that there is a YA book showing the validity of this kind of partnership, but the maturity isn't really there. Like I come away from this thinking, these relationships are not going to last long term but offer a good place for learning and growth. I would have preferred to see all of that handled a bit differently, but I do think there is a lot of value here.

The way the author handled anti-fat bias and fatphobia was AMAZING! I wish this had existed when I was growing up because she really nails it and it's wonderful to see someone happy in their skin and dealing maturely with external ideas and opinions. The audiobook narration is pretty good, not a standout but good. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

First published in 2019, I was fortunate to get a digital copy of this audiobook from Orange SkyAudio via NetGalley for an honest review, pending it's late 2021 release.

The story follows Winnie as she embarks on her summer working at her grandmother's diner, Goldeen's. (I may have cheered while listening to this on my walk when Winnie says the name came from her favorite pokemon, Goldeen! :-D ).

Winnie is black, queer and overweight -- all of which come up and play a part in this storyline. But above all Winnie is funny, thoughtful and relatable. I think every teen who is deemed "overweight" should read the scene between Winnie and her doctor. It was like she spoke for us all!

While the many elements to Winnie was a win in this book, there was a LOT going on. A homecoming-esque Summer King/Queen romantic plot. On top of that, Winnie's open relationship with her ungirlfriend Cara. A summer cooking competition. Winnie's toxic relationship with her Grandmother. Working at the diner. A LOT. I think it started to take away from other plot points, and I wish the cooking competition was not an element. It started to run long for me, so I feel having so much going on eventually became a distraction.

The narrator was excellent. This book is heavy on characters and heavy on dialogue, and the narrator was able to keep up with it all, giving each character a unique tone and sound.

I would recommend this book to young adults, as Winnie is a powerful, confident voice that one can benefit from hearing.

this is the audio book if a book that I have actually read and loved for a few years now so I knew I would enjoy this book. This book has some great representation and of one of the very few examples of polyamory i have ever seen in a ya book. The narration was perfect for this book as well. This is just as amazing as an audio book as it is a physical one.

I loved many things about this book. The main character is relatable and funny. The relationships between the teenage characters was as warm as anything by Julie Murphy or TJ Klune. I loved the main character's confidence, growth, and self-awareness. This is great fat-positive representation for a YA audience.
I was a little disappointed about the ending. *spoiler alert* I needed Winnie to reconcile or set firm boundaries with her grandmother. The story is so much about the relationship between the two of them and they are important to each other, but in the end, Winnie just goes home? I would still higjly recommend the book, but I was not satisfied with just seeing Winne be right. I wanted her to talk to her grandma and have the chance to be heard.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-Audiobook copy of this book. My opinions are my own and are unbiased.

I really enjoyed this one! I read "Let's Talk About Love" earlier in the year by the same author, and wanted to pick up another book by the author. I've been reading less YA Contemporary recently as I'm getting a bit further away from being a teenager myself, but I really wanted to try this one.
This book has a queer, fat main character called Winnie who works in her Grandmother's diner during the summer before she goes to college. The book details the different things that she goes through, and her relationships. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a queer YA contemporary, with hard hitting themes as well as some very cute moments. I'd also really recommend the audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job of portraying the story.

I would check trigger warnings though, as there is some fat shaming, and difficult relationships with family members, so take care.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Did it have an actual plot? Not really. Winnie is planning on spending the summer working at Goldeen’s, her granny’s restaurant and hanging out with her cousin and brother. That’s it. When she surprisingly wins a local competition she didn’t enter, her plans change. I liked the fact that the MC was happy but still flawed and struggling. I liked that she was still figuring out who she was and the types of relationships that she wanted. I liked that she brought up those struggles to her loved ones. Some people around her understood, while others didn’t. It felt like a realistic look at how one person views themselves and assumptions people make about others. It brought up the idea that while communication is key sometimes you still aren’t truly heard. This book was not what I expected but spoke deeply to me. I would have given it 5 stars, but after learning a great deal more about QPR from the reviews I don’t think that aspect of the story is explained clearly and made things a little confusing. Overall, it was a great listen. It’s not a story for everyone, but it highlights some valuable lessons. I would recommend it to others as an interesting book.

It was /very/ interesting to see an open, “un-girlfriend” relationship amongst teens portrayed. Kann does a great (as far as this otherwise ignorant acespec in a het romance can tell) job at it.

The part that was more troubling, as a fellow person who struggled with her weight as a teen (and still today, though less and differently), was Winnie’s weightloss storyline. I genuinely was proud of how she handles the doctor’s appointment, but less pleased with the rest of the story. Especially when [spoiler] happens to her brother.

Then there was the diner and food competition storyline. And the arguing-with-Granny storyline. It’s a lot to juggle. Mostly, Kann does a good job, but I did find myself zoning out more than once while listening to the audiobook. Narrator did a good job, though.

The narrator of the audiobook was very good but something was lacking here for me. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the influx of subplots. But I definitely enjoyed it. I think the fat/queer/ Black rep was great, but there were also some really toxic family dynamics. I think this would be great for teens, esp Black plus sized girls to see themselves.

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the positive side: a Black, fat, queer MC in a QPR? Yes, please! I absolutely adored Winnie. I loved how confident she was in herself, her body, and her queerness. I loved the discussions about race and being fat, they were done so well. I loved Winnie's relationship with her younger brother, it was so precious.

I wish the same attention to detail was given to the QPR. First of all, because the book never gives you a definition, let me tell you that QPR is a queer-platonic relationship, which is often seen as an alternative to a romantic relationship. It's a committed relationship with the romance (and often but not always sexual element) removed from the equation. It's the second book I've ever read with a QPR (after Royal Rescue) and, since I'm aromantic, it meant so so much... but also it wasn't handled well.

In the book Winnie is in an open queer-platonic relationship, with an understanding that both parties might seek out additional partners. And that's what happens to Winnie, as she starts to spend more time with her long-time crush (crash? don't ask me, I'm aro, i don't know allo terminology) that she doesn't believe have any chance of becoming something more. However, it's obvious that her "ungirlfriend" doesn't want Winnie to have a romantic partner.

Now, that's a brilliant set up and it could have been done so well. It could have explored these insecurities and where they stem from (and they stem from the way romance is prioritized above other sorts of relationships in our society). Instead, for most of the book Winnie's "ungirlfriend's" insecurities are downplayed and presented in a pretty arophobic manner as she's painted as a villain. Yes, she does some horrible things and I really think these were unnecessary, it could have been handled way better. We get so, so few aro characters in books, we didn't need her to be a villain.

Because of this representation and the lack of explaination of the relationship between the girls, most of the reviews are arophobic. And it pains me especially coming from an aspec author who wrote one of my absolute favorites, Let's Talk About Love. Why couldn't we approach aromanticism with the same sensitivity as LTAL did for asexuality? Why aromanticism always has to be villanised?

My other issue was that I didn't understand the plot at all. Maybe I lack some vital US knowledge but I didn't understand what the kings and queens thing was about, I often lose track in plots like these.

All in all, I'm on the fence about this one. I finished it yesterday and I'm still not sure if I liked it.

This was a really heartwarming story. A lot was going on, so it never felt boring or predictable. i can see how it can scare off some people that there were a lot of different plots, but I really enjoyed it. The characters were amazing and felt very real.
As someone, who has alwasy been to the skinny side, this was kinda an eye-opener. I have friends, who are fat, so I have learned what not to say/do for them to feel comfortable, but this book showed sides I've never imagined. The scene at the doctor is something I would never even had thought about.
The family feud also felt very real, and as someone, who believes that blood relations doesn't mean you should just let them walk all over you, I really related to Winnie. The whole putting yourself and the people who care about you before someone who is just a blood relation is something I will always need more of in books.
This is definitely a book, I would recommend to anyone who struggels with their size, self confidance or family feuds.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of the If it Makes You Happy audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like If it Makes you Happy so much more than I did. There was so much going on throughout the book. There were so many plots but at the same time, all those plots seemed to mean nothing. It was a very character-driven novel despite having so many potential plots; the big ones being a baking competition and a small-town royalty thing, as well as dealing with different relationships (familial, romantic, and platonic) and fighting against fatphobia. The book could have been so much better if it had focused on one of the major plots. None of the plots got enough attention because there was too much going on at once.

I'm giving this 3 stars instead of 2 only because of the massive representation throughout the book (queer, black, and plus-size main character, queerplatonic relationship rep, polyamorous rep, as well as a character who sounds to be on the aro/ace spectrum though it's not specifically stated but very much implied). I did enjoy the relationships between the characters, especially between Winnie and Kara. I loved exploring a queerplatonic relationship and the ups and downs of being in that type of relationship as well as being polyamorous and exploring how that affects the relationships.

Audiobook specific: I struggled with the narration. There were times when it was ok but others when I couldn't stand it. One of the reasons I struggled with the narration was because the narrator made Winnie's cousin Sam, who is supposed to be 16 years old, sound like a whining child. I kept thinking she was at least 10 years old by the voice the narrator gave her.

Overall the book had potential but it didn't live up to my expectations.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an audiobook arc of this! I really enjoyed this book, It made me smile so much! I love to see a queer fat black girl living her life and finding joy. I loved Winnie’s bond with her brother throughout this book as well, it was so tender and made me miss my own sibling! Honestly I don’t mind this book being character driven. There wasn’t much plot wise but I really did like the characters here and I found the relationships interesting. I really loved dallas as well he was a sweetheart! The audiobook narrator for this was perfect for the story and I feel like they really gripped me.

Claire Kann is an absolute delight of an author. If It Makes You Happy is a recommended first purchase for HS and YA collections in all formats.