""Acute portrait of agency, hope, and intergenerational trauma by Goffney."" โPublishers Weekly
""Add this title to collections where romance is in high demand."" โSchool Library Journal
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!
From Joya Goffney ofย Excuse Me While I Ugly Cryย comes a stirring YA coming-of-age, best-friends-to-lovers romance about a girl named Nikki who plans to run away from small-town Texas but ultimately finds that her oldest friend, Mal, just might be the one whoโs been there for her all along. Filled with heart and humor, this novel captures complex family drama, friendship, and love. For fans ofย I Wanna Be Where You Areย by Kristina Forest andย Counting Down with Youย by Tashie Bhuiyan.
Nikki canโt wait to leave Texas and follow her dreams of a music career . . . After a painful betrayalย by her sister and a heated argumentย with theirย mother, Nikki is kicked out and finds herself homeless. She decides to go to California to pursue her singing career. When her best friend, Malachai, discovers her plan to flee Texas, he begs her to spend the remainder of spring break with him. He believes that over the course of a week, he can convince her to stay in Texas, or to at least graduate high school. But their plans are interrupted when Nikkiโs little sister, Vae, goes missing.
Nikki is forced to work alongside her difficult mother as they set off in search of Vae, with Malachaiโs support. Will Nikki find a reason to stay in Texas, or will this spring break be the last time she sees them? Through her emotional journey, Nikki ultimately finds the love sheโs always been missing and discovers the power of her own voice.
Joya Goffney grew up in New Waverly, a small town in East Texas. In high school, she challenged herself with to-do lists full of risk-taking items, like โhug a random boyโ and โeat a cricket,โ which inspired her debut novel, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry. With a passion for Black social psychology, she moved out of the countryside to attend the University of Texas in Austin, where she still resides.