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It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen but what if Mahalia had a Coming Out Party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, black joy and queer pride. Mahalia Harris wants. She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend Naomi. She wants the super cute new girl Siobhan to like her back. She wants a break from worrying--about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it. Then inspiration strikes: It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a Coming Out Party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms. The idea lights a fire in her, and soon Mahalia is scrimping and saving, taking on extra hours at her afterschool job, trying on dresses, and awkwardly flirting with Siobhan, all in preparation for the Coming Out of her dreams. But it's not long before she's buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and enough drama to make her English Lit teacher blush. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia's party be over before it's even begun? A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you.
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0A cute, bright & bubbly story about coming of age and coming out on your own terms. Despite dealing with some darker topics, it's overall a joy-filled book, a celebration of being queer, being Black, being young and in love. And of big poofy dresses.
I found that the overall writing style and specifically the MC, Mahalia, both felt quite young, which is appropriate - it's for teens! She acts like a teen! That's good! - but didn't stop me from occasionally wanting to shake Mahalia for being self-centered or a bit bratty (on the other hand, who wants to read about a perfect protagonist?). The writing, though, entirely aside from reading appropriately YA-ish, had some weird flops throughout, like several times when someone reacted to a verbal conversation as if it was written (e.g., when Mahalia introduces her mom, out loud, to Siobhan, she notes the fact that her mom pronounces it correctly). A lot of details like that, that just really threw me over and over, despite each individually seeming really trivial and picky. And on a larger scale, it all felt a bit rushed; it's a short book, and I felt like many elements could have been developed more, given some room to breathe. Still, despite these misses on execution, it's a cheesy, cheerful, rainbows-to-the-max story that I'm sure will resonate for many.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy.
Content guidance: financial insecurity, homophobia, racism, one instance of fatphobia, parental neglect, surgery/hospital stay, vomit, use of the N-word (in a quote from Huckleberry Finn, contextualized).
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