review: the way you make me feel by Maurene goo

From the author of I Believe in a Thing Called Love, a laugh-out-loud story of love, new friendships, and one unique food truck.

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn't so bad. 

Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?

With Maurene Goo's signature warmth and humor, The Way You Make Me Feel is a relatable story of falling in love and finding yourself in the places you’d never thought to look. ~ Goodreads

Source: ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Review: I was a little leery of reading The Way You Make Me Feel at first. I (mostly) enjoyed Goo’s I Believe in a Thing Called Love but took issue with the lack of growth of that books MC (Desi) over the course of the story.

When I saw that Clara was yet another protag that enjoys pranks (same as Desi) and was fairly unlikable at first I was sure I was going to bail on this book but what drew me in to I Believe in a Thing Called Love and kept me reading The Way You Make Me Feel was the family dynamics. 

16 year old Clara lives with her dad while her mom is a Lifestyle Influencer, traveling around the globe, documenting her life on social media, and is rarely in Clara’s life unless it ties in with a work assignment. Her parents had Clara when they were 18, never married and separated when Clara was 4 years old. Her dad, Adrian, is still young (in his early 30’s & a looker) and is fairly lenient with Clara since he once rebelled against his strict parents and tries to be a little looser with her.

Clara crosses a line at school with one of her pranks and dad cracks down. As punishment, she is forced to work with her arch nemesis, Rose, on her his food truck – KoBra (which serves  her father's native Korean/Brazilian food) for the summer in exchange for not being suspended at school.

I’m going to be completely honest and say that I think most people won’t like this book. Unless you make it to the 1/2 way point – all you will see is a self absorbed, flippant character who doesn’t really care about or take the time to understand anyone around her. Everything is a game or potential prank to her.

It wasn’t until Clara and Rose were thrown into a forced proximity friendship that Clara finally started to soften and think about the people around her. Rose is seemingly stuck up & judgemental but has her reasons and thankfully, calls Clara on her bullshit. They are really wonderful together once they open up a little.

If you make it that far (or don’t mind unlikable MC’s) - the exploration of changing friendships, letting yourself open up to new feelings – even if it means you might get hurt or let down and wonderful, tear inducing, family dynamics is well worth it IMO. It’s messy but real and I think would help teen readers relate to all the changes you go through at that age. Clara does grow and even becomes selfless in regards to others but it does take some time for her to get there.

The romance fell a little flat for me but that’s fine. It wasn’t the main focus and I loved how Goo showed that you can just date – or not – or date without it being love. That’s a really nice thing to see in YA.

But the real star of this book is Clara and her dad. My heart cracked and got pieced back together watching these two work through their relationship. Another rarity in YA are parents but is something this author does SO well. I grew up with just my dad (although under totally different circumstances) and it's such an awkward dynamic at times but it was written well. 

I know this isn't going to be the book for everyone (way to sell it Karen! lol) but if you're looking for a messy, realistic YA filled with diversity (I especially loved the descriptions of LA and the food)  and family dynamics that tug at your heartstrings - give this one a try. Despite a few heavy topics - it's a fairly light, fast read. Perfect for summer.