It is a way for us to examine cis-centrism, heteronormativity, classism in this institution that often goes uncritiqued. JOHNSON: I wanted to use this as a vehicle to look at who we hold-up as the standard and who we push further and further into the margins without ever really noticing it. The book is centered in fictional Campbell Indiana, and instead of striving to fit in, Liz really works to create a space for herself as a young woman who's living in a town predominately white. And so I wanted to take that girl who's been told as the gold standard of girlhood –– move her to the side –– make her a peripheral character and put the character that we ignore, make her the center of her own love story.
And so I wanted to interrogate those ideas through an institution that is as American as apple pie and that's prom.
All these ideas are hailed as the gold standard of girlhood. What does it mean to be the prom queen? You're supposed to be skinny, you're supposed to be white, blond, probably a cheerleader, probably also wealthy even though nobody ever talks about you being rich, but it's just sort of implied that you're rich. LEAH JOHNSON: So, 'You Should See Me In A Crown' is an attempt to upend all these ideals that I internalized about what it means to be the all-American girl, and all the time, those ideas come right back to the prom queen.
Leah spoke with WFYI's Robert Moscato-Goodpaster about her inspiration to challenge the image of the all-American girl, the importance of representation in YA literature, and the advice she'd give her high school self. Her book was the first YA novel to be chosen as Reese Witherspoon's book of the month pick.
Her debut novel, "You Should See Me in a Crown" follows Liz Lighty who must fit in with the prom-obsessed high schoolers to get out of small-town Campbell Indiana while ultimately making a space for herself to create her own happy ending.The book explores many issues around race, class, and sexuality. Author Leah Johnson's debut novel, "You Should See Me in a Crown" follows Liz Lighty who must fit in with the prom-obsessed high schoolers to get out of small-town Campbell, Indiana while ultimately making a space for herself to create her own happy ending.
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