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Review and Study Guide for Leah Johnson's You Should See Me in a Crown
A high school girl enters the prom queen contest to win a scholarship but finds more important values at stake.
by Ari Armstrong, Copyright © 2026
I read this book as part of my review of the books suppressed by Colorado's Elizabeth School District. See the main document.
You Should See Me in a Crown
Leah Johnson
Scholastic Press, 2020
Reading Notes
I confess I was skeptical. The gimmicky premise of You Should See Me In a Crown is that a girl competes for prom queen to win a scholarship, which she needs to attend her college of choice. Yet I loved this book and finished it in a single day (even though I am hardly a member of its intended audience). I love the lead character and her friends, and I love what the book says about resiliency, courage, and being true to yourself.
Why was this book suppressed by Christian conservatives in the Elizabeth School District? The author herself is religious; in her acknowledgements, Johnson writes, "The first thank-you for this book, this life, always, is due to God, who has shown me an almost-unbelievable amount of grace and mercy over the past twenty-five years." The book promotes education, hard work, honesty, family bonds, and community involvement, all widely admired values.
The book prominently features an "f-bomb," but only once that I recall, and to good effect. The book does not portray smoking or much drug use (although one background character had to go to rehab), and it portrays drunkenness only once in order to portray it as bad. There's no sex in the book, just kissing. There's no portrayal of violence or suicide. There's a bit of discussion about such topics as "intersectionality." So there's just not much controversial about the book.
But the book is largely about the budding romance between the main character, Liz Lighty, and the new girl at school, Amanda "Mack" McCarthy. It is a very wholesome relationship and in many ways a model relationship (despite Liz's mishandling of aspects of it). But it is a gay relationship, and, apparently, that is enough for some conservative reviewers (or community activists who didn't actually read the book) to try to suppress it. And that is ridiculous and shameful.
Questions for Discussion and Review
1. Johnson inserts a quote by James Baldwin at the beginning of her book, "The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it." How do Liz's academic interests, her skin color, her financial status, and her sexual orientation create challenges for her fitting in, and how does Liz work to create a space to fit? To what degree do people have a responsibility to help others fit in, especially others with unusual or unique characteristics? Granting that some societies exclude certain people to varying degrees, to what extent does Baldwin here express a truth applicable to every individual, that each of us needs to work to find a place to fit? When is it appropriate to try to fit in and when is it not? Does creating a place to fit necessarily mean fitting in socially?
2. At what point does the desire to fit in become toxic, crossing the line from healthy self-presentation to unhealthy self-suppression? How does Liz learn to put herself out there while being true to herself?
3. How do Rachel and Liz differ in the way they understand themselves and relate to other people? What is the difference between asserting yourself and trying to dominate others? How does authentic self-expression fit with promoting others' well-being? Does Rachel fail to see that connection, or does she reject its importance?
4. Liz narrates, "When you already feel like everything about you makes you stand out, it just makes more sense to find as many ways to blend in as you can" (p. 5). When is trying to make yourself invisible a betrayal of self? When can trying to stand out or gain attention also be a betrayal of self? How do you remain true to yourself while participating enthusiastically in society?
5. At the beginning of the story, Liz anticipates that in college at Pennington, "I'll be . . . surrounded by people like me, in a place I fit" (p. 3). To what degree is she displaying the mentality, "The grass is always greener on the other side"? Does her limited ability to fit in at high school say more about her or more about the high school?
6. Early on, Liz calls Campbell Confidential, the local social media app, her "worst nightmare" (p. 3). Eventually she largely makes peace with it or at least views it with less anxiety. What are the harms and what are the benefits of the app and of social media more generally?
7. Liz narrates, "I grinded hard, kept my head down, and survived growing up poor and black . . . because that's the Lighty Way" (p. 19). In what ways is such an attitude admirable and often necessary for success, and in what ways does such an attitude push Liz down the path of anxiety and self-denial?
8. Liz's relative poverty dramatically affects her thinking and actions, including her decision to enter the contest. (Yet the wealth of Gabi's family hardly makes them happy.) What is the novel saying about the challenges of poverty?
9. How do the illnesses of her mother and brother, leading to the death of her mother during Liz's childhood, affect Liz?
10. How does Liz's anxiety affect her thinking and actions? What does she do to alleviate anxiety, and how do her strategies develop over time?
11. Rachel quickly outs herself as the villain when she suggests that Liz might benefit from "affirmative action" in the contest judging (p. 41). While the novel explains the context for the mistakes of other characters, it never explains why Rachel acts as she does. By contrast, Gabi eventually understands why she treated Liz shabbily and apologizes (p. 287). In the end, Rachel is just as antagonistic as ever. What is Johnson's purpose with this character, and why does Johnson never provide Rachel with a sympathetic backstory or redemption arc? What would Rachel have to change about herself, and what would she have to do, to earn Liz's forgiveness?
12. Mack explains her rules to Liz: "I never let terrible people get away with doing terrible things. And . . . if something is wrong, I say something about it. Always" (p. 42). How do different characters either succeed or fail to live by these principles? Why are they sometimes so difficult to follow?
13. Johnson drops many pop-cultural references throughout the novel (e.g., Hunger Games, Breakfast Club), and a (fictional) band plays a large role in the story. What role do popular artworks play in the novel, and why does Johnson pepper her story so heavily with such references?
14. Liz loves music, feels comfortable with music, uses music to express herself, and defines her identity partly in relation to music. She wants to go to Pennington to study pre-med and to participate in the college's high-level band. She connects with Mack over band and their love of a music group. What role does music play in Liz's emotional development and her expanding sense of identity?
15. Relatively early on, Liz narrates, "Lightys don't get fairy tales" (p. 48). Once Liz changes strategies in the prom queen competition, her message becomes, "F... your fairy tale" (p. 230). But in the end Liz gets her fairy tale (p. 324). What is a fairy tale, and how does the novel interrogate the idea of the fairy tale?
16. During freshman year, one of Jordan's friends makes a racist comment about Liz, and Jordan does not defend her (p. 65). Horribly, Gabi kept Jordan's apology letter from Liz, destroying the friendship between Liz and Jordan (p. 218). Liz blames this lack of reconciliation for her fear of humiliation and her forcing herself "to the fringes" and "hiding in [a] tiny protective bubble" (p. 224). Obviously Gabi's action was a huge betrayal. To what degree is Liz justified in blaming Gabi for her problems here? How else might Liz have responded to Jordan's betrayal and his (mis)perceived lack of remorse?
17. Britt says the prom competition is "a system designed to benefit people like Rachel Collins" (p. 107). To what degree is that a metaphor for broader problems?
18. Liz narrates, "Silence and shame aren't the same thing" (p. 109). However, both Gabi and Liz fear that, if Liz comes out as gay, that will tank her chances to win the competition. Why do they put so much stock in the opinions of their classmates? Why do they underestimate the good will of their classmates? Thankfully, coming out as gay in the United States is much safer than it was in the past and than it still is in some parts of the world. How does a person know when it's safe enough to come out? How does the act of people coming out make it safer for others to do the same?
19. Why does Liz say to Mack, "I'm sort of terrified of you"? (p. 169)
20. While arguing with Mack, Liz thinks, "The stakes are always higher for me. . . . I don't get the option of not being in control" (p. 209). To what degree is Liz pointing to real external problems, and to what degree is she rationalizing her mistreatment of Mack? Notably, soon after this, Liz narrates that she has "learned how to say when enough is enough" (p. 225).
21. After Rachel outs Liz in an effort to humiliate her, the school principal reacts by excoriating Liz. Why does he respond this way, and how are Gabi and Ms. Simone able to overcome his stance? In what ways is this a metaphor for larger social problems?
22. Dr. Frederickson tells Liz, "You are not your brother's keeper" (p. 275). To what degree has Liz taken on too much responsibility for her brother's well-being, and what responsibility does she actually have toward him? How do responsibilities change with context?
23. Liz develops intense friendships, and her friends play a huge role in her life, happiness, and development. What is a virtuous friendship, according to the novel, and why do we need virtuous friends?
24. Although Liz and Mack go to the prom together, they are not officially allowed to attend as a couple. Liz narrates, "There's no mistaking that we're together. And that small act of resistance feels good to me" (p. 307). Should they have fought harder for an inclusive prom, or was their "small act of resistance" adequate or appropriate under these circumstances? In general, when should we take our victories where we can find them within the system, and when should we condemn the system?
25. One approach in youth fiction, and in youth life, is for the "enlightened" kids to shun things like prom and school spirit. But Liz ultimately embraces such things. Liz defends prom as "feeling special in a town that doesn't feel special at all" (p. 311). Liz even makes friends with the "cool kids" such as Quinn, who turns out to be a very kind person. What is the novel saying about hometown spirit, popularity contests, the artificiality of a lot of social divisions, the possibility for reconciliation, and the building of genuine community?