Maurene captured my half-Korean heart with her sophomore novel, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, so there was no question I was eager for The Way You Make Me Feel. I even posted about the cover reveal a few months ago, and have been eager and hopeful for an ARC of some kind.
Well, the book gods have surely blessed me because I’m thrilled to be a part of this book’s blog tour! Read my review below and then enter for a chance to win a hardcopy of the book, which is open internationally!
Thanks so much to Macmillan Children’s for giving me a free, digital copy in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour! 🙂
Title: The Way You Make Me Feel
Author: Maurene Goo
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Expected release date: May 8, 2018
Genre: Young adult, contemporary
Length: 336 pages (hardcover)
Synopsis: (via Goodreads) “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.”
Ugh, can I even contain my excitement about this book? The answer is a resounding NO! So can you imagine my excitement that I’m part of this blog book tour? Maybe! 😜
I dove right into this book and stayed there for a long time. Clara Shin is an amazingly funny, down-to-earth character, always ready to be the joker–so much that it lands her right into trouble toward the end of the school. Due to her antics, her dad punishes her by making her, alongside a schoolmate named Rose, work in his food truck, the KoBra, an ode to their Brazilian-Korean heritage.
The best part about this book is that Clara learns–that Rose isn’t all she portrays herself to be, her friends might not be exactly who they say they are, and her father has done more for her than she originally thought. I loved every part of Clara’s discovery. I enjoyed romping through Los Angeles with Clara, Rose, and eventually Hamlet. I’ve only visited LA once but I was quite happy to see I recognized a few of the places in the book! 🙂
I also enjoyed how we dove deeper into Clara’s blossoming friendship with Rose and growing romance with Hamlet. I definitely think Clara needed both of these characters because they made her think a lot about her life decisions and situations. What Clara sees is surface level, but as we follow Clara and these characters, we see there’s something so much deeper, especially with Rose. I definitely like to imagine she and Clara continue to have a great friendship beyond the confines of this book.
My love for Goo’s father/daughter relationship started with I Believe in a Thing Called Love and keeps pace in this book, too. I’m always rooting for positive parent/children relationships since sometimes I feel like they are so rare, or if they exist, it’s the whole “my parents don’t understand me” routine. Not the case here at all! Clara’s relationship with her mom wavers, but that’s something she learns on her own, too.
Can I just mention once again how amazing it was to follow Clara and her father, Adrian, in their food truck? The descriptions of the food! Hello, my mouth was watering! Everything sounded so delicious. I loved how at home Clara felt wherever she went, seeing how she connected to each place, and she brought Rose and Hamlet along with her. The three of them make a great pair!
Clara is the person I wanted to be in high school. (Which is really saying a lot because I didn’t like high school very much.) I’m glad she’s here for others, especially Korean-Americans who (hopefully) see themselves reflected in Goo’s work and on her covers! I love the innate mentions of the kimchi squat and not patting down the rice because who wants matted-down rice? That’s right, Clara! You can just tell my husband that because he insists on doing it! Ugh! 😛
You can pre-order this book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, or other major booksellers. Don’t forget to add this book to your Goodreads shelf, too! If you’ve already pre-ordered the book, you can submit your receipt here and get some cool goodies!
Now for the giveaway! This is open internationally and ends on May 5!
Click here to enter for a chance to win a hardcover copy of THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL by Maurene Goo!
Good luck!
About the author:
Maurene Goo grew up in a Los Angeles suburb surrounded by floral wallpaper and piles of books. She studied communication at UC San Diego and then later received a Masters in publishing, writing, and literature at Emerson College. Before publishing her first book, Since You Asked, she worked in both textbook and art book publishing. She also has very strong feelings about tacos and houseplants and lives in Los Angeles. You can find her on her website, Goodreads, or Twitter.
Check out the rest of the tour schedule below:
a myriad of books 
Great review! ❤ I'm loving this book right now. And you're so right about not seeing enough positive parent/child relationships in YA books, so I love this one, too!
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I’m so happy to hear such a good review for her next book! I loved her first, and so I was really anticipating this one!
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Thanks! I hope you enjoy this one too!
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