What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume; narrated by Candice Moll
Penguin Random House Audio / Listening Library
Publication Date: April 5, 2021
ISBN: 9780593400296
Masie is spending the holiday with her family and best friend Anna at a cabin, but she’s not looking forward to it. Her parents are fighting, her older judgmental sister is coming and she’s feeling self conscious about her body. When Anna starts flirting with her long-time crush Sebastian, Masie decides to join the annual beauty pageant and prove she deserves to be called beautiful too. With the help of Beamer, the cute goofball and Leila her new supportive friend, Masie takes on the pageant and her low self esteem. This coming of age story has alot going on under the surface including sibling rivalry, parental deceit and friendship implosion, but it’s all satisfactorily wrapped up in the end without being cliche.
Set in Australia and written in diary format, this coming of age story is lifted to another level by charismatic narration. Moll does an amazing job at bringing Masie’s words to life giving them humor, personality and spunk. The issues surrounding Masie’s body are handled delicately and realistically, and her journey to self love is honest and uplifting.
For more reads about body issues and self empowerment try Love is a Revolution by Renee Watson and No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter. Read Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado if you’re looking for stories centered around family relationships, changing friendships and finding romance.
–Rachel Adams, King County Library System
Other Nominated Titles
- A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey; narrated by Frankie Corzo (November 10, 2020)
- Dawn Raid by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith; narrated by Tameka Sowman Vahatau (March 2, 2021)
- Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean; narrated by Ali Ahn (May 17, 2021)
The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.
Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten. The previous years’ lists are available on The Hub.