Hey everyone! I’m so excited today is my stop on the blog tour for The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo, hosted by Tin from The Book Maiden! I’m going to be sharing my thoughts about the book and some of my favorite quotes. Also, be sure to check out the end of this post, because there’s also a giveaway for a hardcover copy of the book! 🎉

Alright, let’s get started!

Title: The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Pages: 288

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Published by: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc. (May 8th, 2018)

Summary

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.

Pre-Order on Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

What I Thought

*I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. A huge thank you to the publishers!

Going into this book, I really didn’t know what to expect. The synopsis sounded interesting, though, so I decided to give The Way You Make Me Feel a chance. I’m so glad I did!

Like I said, I didn’t have too many expectations going into this book, but even the few that I had, were so completely surpassed.  It was just such a sweet read!  I really just loved everything about this book.

One of the things I really loved were the characters, and how much diversity was included.  When I first started reading, I expected Rose and Clara to have the typical rivals personality, and I’m so glad the author didn’t go that route.  Rose wasn’t that popular, “mean girl,” and I really loved watching their friendship grow.  I also really appreciated the anxiety representation.  There was one particular scene in the book, where Rose was describing what it is like to have anxiety, and as I read it, it was just such a “yes” moment for me.  I so related to her experience and vulnerability, and it was just so accurate and such an authentic portrayal.

Another aspect that I just loved about this book was the family dynamic.  Clara and her dad’s relationship was just so sweet and real.   I also liked how, despite the fact that Clara’s mom left them, and they weren’t super close, that the author still didn’t go the villain route with her.  Family relationships are complicated, and can be so easy to make cliche, and I am just very glad that Maurene Goo wrote Clara’s family in such an honest way.

Then there’s Hamlet…*happy sigh*  He was just the sweetest guy!  I loved him so much!  His and Clara’s relationship was so sweet, and I adored his grandparents so much, too.

Last, I want to talk about the KoBra.  I just loved reading about the food truck, and Clara, her dad, and Rose working there.  It was so fun to read about, and it made me oh so hungry!  The whole LA setting was just wonderful, too.

Overall, I really adored this book far more than I expected to.  It never gets too frustrating.  It does feature a few cliches, but in the absolute best way.  It has incredible characters.   The Way You Make Me Feel is such a sweet and summer-y read.  It is just one of those books that makes you feel like summer.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves summer, food trucks, cute romances, and contemporary novels.

The wind made the trees around us creak. “I’m sorry, that sounds stressful,” Rose said after a few seconds, giving me a tiny smile.  “I know I apologize a lot.  But maybe it’s not a bad thing.  Maybe it’s considered a bad thing because it’s something girls do a lot.  Maybe it’s actually something nice that keeps the world humane.  It’s a gesture.”

BOOM! I love this quote so much.  As someone who knows she says sorry so much, this quote really made me think.

“Where are you going?” I asked as I added more sriracha to my eggs.

My dad plopped down on the stool next to me with his own plate of eggs.  “Santa Barbara.  Wine tasting.”

I almost chocked. “What? Who are you? Diane Keaton?”

“Yeah, I”m Diane Keaton. Surprise.”

I just thought this quote was super funny and witty.  It really describes Clara and her dad’s relationship and their back-and-forth banter.

“I can’t even imagine liking a guy enough to call him my boyfriend, so you’re preaching to the choir,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.  She looked at me.  “But you know, why is it that we’re supposed to feel bad about this part of our lives? Like, if we don’t have a boyfriend we’re loser weirdos.  If we date too much, we’re ‘sluts.'”

I chewed my fourth slice of pizza thoughtfully.  “Maybe the truth is…nothing is weird about dating in high school.  Everyone is different, and we need to stop reading so many magazines giving us dated-ass relationship advice.”

This is another quote I loved that has so much truth to it.  There’s so much pressure, especially when you’re in high school, to date and have a boyfriend, but not too many.  I loved the emphasis that everyone is different, and that’s okay.

“Of course.” She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “I know what it’s like to need a distraction when you’re worried about stuff.”

I was hesitant before I asked, “So, is that how you cope with your anxiety?”

And to my surprise, Rose didn’t shut it down.  She fiddled with her straw. “Kind of.  Sometimes I think it’s just me being a worrywart? I’ve always been this way.  I worry about everything.  And sometimes the dumbest stuff keeps worrying me, days and weeks after.”  A breeze hit us then, and it felt so good.  She lifted her face up to it.  “It’s like this pitch-black field where I’m forced to walk, and I know there’s a giant hole somewhere waiting for me.  So I’m constantly thinking about it, when I’m going to drop into this pit.”

Rose’s description of anxiety is so like mine.  I really related to all her discussions of anxiety, and I just so appreciated her as a character!