Review: If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann

"High school finally behind her, Winnie is all set to attend college in the fall. But first she's spending her summer days working at her granny’s diner and begins spending her midnights with Dallas—the boy she loves to hate and hates that she likes. Winnie lives in Misty Haven, a small town where secrets are impossible to keep—like when Winnie allegedly snaps on Dr. Skinner, which results in everyone feeling compelled to give her weight loss advice for her own good. Because they care that’s she’s “too fat.”

Winnie dreams of someday inheriting the diner—but it'll go away if they can't make money, and fast. Winnie has a solution—win a televised cooking competition and make bank. But Granny doesn't want her to enter—so Winnie has to find a way around her formidable grandmother. Can she come out on top?"






5 STARS!!!!!!!!!

I've given myself about 24 hours to absorb this book, and here are my thoughts. I F**KING LOVE CLAIRE KANN, I KNEW SHE WAS BOMB!!!!!

Listen folks, I read Let's Talk About Love right after it came out, check out my review of that gem here. I'm still so emotional about it all. First, technically, I guess Kann could be considered a "New Adult" writer. As a side bar, here's how I feel about that. I haven't found many new adult titles that I like. They're too... sex driven for me. I'm not talking down on books that are chalk full of people getting it on, but when I want that type of content I'll go get it. The reason that I like new adult authors like Claire Kann, and Colleen Hoover (I know some people hate on her but I don't care) is because I'm an almost 32 year old lady with no spouse, no significant other, no kids, and no cats. I'm basically a 24 year old with better morals, weaker joints, and more student loan debt. I can't relate to the story of the 30 year old divorce with a screaming toddler. The closest I come is to the 23 year old still trying to pull it together.

Winnie loves herself and her body. She is black, big, and beautiful. Just look at the cover of the book if you don't believe me. Does she have anxiety? Yes. Does she sometimes care what other people thing? Yes. Does she want to please the people around her? Yes. And while some of these attributes can be looked at as a downfall, that does not take away from the fact that Winnie is confident and comfortable in who she is as a bigger woman, and who she is as a black woman. At the same time she's human. She has the same insecurities that plague us all. That's what I love about Kann's characters, (something that we're admittedly beginning to see more in female black characters) they show a vulnerability due to the normal hardships of life, not self hate.

Winnie is a particularly great because she has that vulnerability, but she also has a fiery temper and will only put up with so much of someone's s**t. In case you're wondering, exactly like yours truly. Kann, in both this book and Let's Talk About Love has created full, real, well rounded female black characters, and THANK ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THIS WORLD that we're finally getting to a point where we can find these books.

I'm not gonna lie though, I'm dying to learn more about the cranky grandma.

Yall, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of everything that makes this book amazing.

If you want to see black females depicted as real people, read this book.
If you want to see sibling love, read this book.
If you want a great, real, slow burning romance, read this book.
If you wan to see someone interested in alternative romantic lifestyles, read this book.
If you're a human being, read this book.

That is all.