The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

DNF @ 15%

Do you like nasty, selfish, intolerant, mean-spirited, self-absorbed piece of shit heroines who don't care about anyone but themselves and take a savage glee in making everyone around them miserable? Then read THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL by Maurene Goo. Otherwise, throw this book in a fire.

It's been ages since I was repulsed by a book so much. The premise sounded amazing. I love food trucks. I love diverse YA. I like mischievous, pranky heroines. But then I met Clara, who decides to throw tampons at the audience for prom election on the pretense of feminism but really to stir the pot, and after she gets into a fight at prom with this black girl named Rose, they end up setting the school on fire. Clara doesn't feel sorry at all, and is only mad that she doesn't get to go on vacay with her equally selfish "influencer" mother, instead working in her dad's Korean-Brazilian food truck with her "enemy," Rose as punishment.

The thing is, Rose actually seems pretty nice. High strung and rule-abiding to a T, but really nice. And when they're working in the food truck, Clara immediately starts a campaign to be as mean to her as possible, in front of the customers, no less. Does she get punished? Not really. I was reading this book with gritted teeth but what made me DNF was when Clara gets mad about Rose calling her out on cross-contaminating the pork and veggie pans, when Rose says that Muslim people can't eat pork at all - ANY pork - and Clara says, "What they don't know won't hurt them. They'll just have to wonder why their food is suddenly more delicious. Hint: pork."

WOW

I have no interest in seeing this little shit get a happy ending. She needs sensitivity training and anger management courses. Not a meet-cute. What an absolutely terrible heroine.

P.S. Her dad is adorbs, but not even he was enough to redeem this book.

Thanks to Netgalley/the publisher for the review copy

1 out of 5 stars