Welcome to the What I Like About Me Blog Tour!
To celebrate the US release of What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume on April 1st, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive original content from Jenna, as well as 10 chances to win a finished copy of What I Like About Me and WILAM pocket mirror, as well as one grand prize giveaway of a book, mirror, beach towel, and sunglasses!
You know all those movies where teenagers have, like, THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES? This vacation is probably not going to be that.
The last thing sixteen-year-old Maisie Martin thought she'd be doing over vacation is entering a beauty pageant. Not when she's spent most of her life hiding her body from everyone. Not when her Dad is AWOL and her gorgeous older sister has returned to rock Maisie's already shaky confidence. And especially not when her best friend starts flirting with the boy she's always loved. But Maisie's got something to prove.
As she writes down all the ways this vacation is going from bad to worse in her school-assignment journal, what starts as a homework torture-device might just end up being an account of how Maisie didn't let anything, or anyone, hold her back.
Jenna Guillame’s American debut features a plus-size protagonist with a compelling, funny, and authentic narrative voice. This relatable and charming novel about friendship, confidence, and self-love will draw readers in as Maisie’s realistic emotional journey unveils the importance of embracing one’s body and celebrating one’s self.
Praise:
“This is the book I would hand to teen me.”
—Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
"Funny and heartfelt. I loved it."
—Melina Marchetta, author of On the Jellicoe Road
“Debut author Guillaume's novel features funny dialogue and fresh takes on body image and personal relationships as
well as a plucky heroine who slowly but surely comes into her own….Perfect for fans of Dumplin’, a hilariously sweet yet complex romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Buy: Amazon | Indiebound
What I Like About Me Playlist
by Jenna Guillaume
by Jenna Guillaume
When I was writing What I Like About Me, it played out like a movie in my head. Like the main character, Maisie, I’m absolutely obsessed with pop culture and movies myself, so I guess my imagination is hard-wired to be ~cinematic~. Because of this, I
found myself thinking a lot about what music would form the soundtrack to certain scenes. I also listened to specific songs to get in the mood for writing each day (although I weirdly can’t listen to music while I’m actually writing). I collated some of these songs into one handy What I Like About Me playlist:
Here’s a little insight into some of my fave songs on the list:
“Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer
There’s a moment in the book when Maisie sees her crush, Sebastian, emerging from the ocean. She feels as though the scene plays out before her in slow motion, with a song imploring her to kiss him playing over the top. This is that song! I chose it for no other reason than honestly, it’s one of my all-time favorites and always, always puts a smile on my face.
“Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
This is the song Beamer plays to try and get Maisie up and dancing on the beach. It’s the perfect feel-good song to shake off bad feelings. I was inspired to include it in the book after my husband, on a day when I was feeling really down, suddenly started playing this song and got me up and dancing. It made me smile on a day I really didn’t think I could—so that little bit of real life went into the book!
“Dancing on My Own” by Ruins
I listened to so many songs with “dancing” as a theme while writing What I Like About Me. Not all of them made it to the playlist, but this one did! For me it really connected with Maisie’s feelings of isolation and her complicated feelings about the changing dynamics of her little vacation friendship group. I chose the Ruins cover over the Robyn original because, well, it matched Maisie’s extra sad mood.
“Shut Up” by Anya Marina
To be honest, this just felt like it’d be a really great make-out song, so it’s my pick for a certain poolside scene (*cough*). The repetition of “shut up” in particular felt appropriate for the couple in question. I will say no more because SPOILERS.
“White Wine in the Sun” by Tim Minchin
What I Like About Me is set over the December holidays. Specifically, an Australian Christmas. Australian Christmas is kind of odd, because we still do a lot of the white Christmas traditions (Santa! Reindeers! (Fake) Snow!), but Christmas Day itself is in the middle of summer, on a very hot day, and it typically involves a lazy day in the sun. “White Wine in the Sun” is a song that perfectly encapsulates Australian culture, and Australian Christmas, better than just about anything else.
“Fallin’” by Jessica Mauboy
This song really conveys what it’s like to fall for someone for the first time and all the excitement and fear that goes along with it. Because as fun as it is to connect with someone, it can also be really, really scary, and something that a lot of us resist. That’s certainly what Maisie experiences!
“Can’t Get Enough of Myself” by Santigold
I listened to this song SO MUCH while writing What I Like About Me. It has the exact self-love energy I needed to channel into Maisie, especially towards the end of the book. The bonus of listening to it is that it also put me in a really good mood and made me feel as though I could take on the world.
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing
OF COURSE I had to include this song! I think it’s played at least three times as part of the actual story. What I Like About Me is very loosely inspired by Dirty Dancing—I wanted that summer-resort feeling, with an Aussie twist. Dancing is important to Maisie, and so is the movie Dirty Dancing, and both play a central role in her journey with not just her sister, Eva, but also her relationship with her own body. This song is also just a really good vibe to end the playlist (and the story) on.
Here’s a little insight into some of my fave songs on the list:
“Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer
There’s a moment in the book when Maisie sees her crush, Sebastian, emerging from the ocean. She feels as though the scene plays out before her in slow motion, with a song imploring her to kiss him playing over the top. This is that song! I chose it for no other reason than honestly, it’s one of my all-time favorites and always, always puts a smile on my face.
“Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
This is the song Beamer plays to try and get Maisie up and dancing on the beach. It’s the perfect feel-good song to shake off bad feelings. I was inspired to include it in the book after my husband, on a day when I was feeling really down, suddenly started playing this song and got me up and dancing. It made me smile on a day I really didn’t think I could—so that little bit of real life went into the book!
“Dancing on My Own” by Ruins
I listened to so many songs with “dancing” as a theme while writing What I Like About Me. Not all of them made it to the playlist, but this one did! For me it really connected with Maisie’s feelings of isolation and her complicated feelings about the changing dynamics of her little vacation friendship group. I chose the Ruins cover over the Robyn original because, well, it matched Maisie’s extra sad mood.
“Shut Up” by Anya Marina
To be honest, this just felt like it’d be a really great make-out song, so it’s my pick for a certain poolside scene (*cough*). The repetition of “shut up” in particular felt appropriate for the couple in question. I will say no more because SPOILERS.
“White Wine in the Sun” by Tim Minchin
What I Like About Me is set over the December holidays. Specifically, an Australian Christmas. Australian Christmas is kind of odd, because we still do a lot of the white Christmas traditions (Santa! Reindeers! (Fake) Snow!), but Christmas Day itself is in the middle of summer, on a very hot day, and it typically involves a lazy day in the sun. “White Wine in the Sun” is a song that perfectly encapsulates Australian culture, and Australian Christmas, better than just about anything else.
“Fallin’” by Jessica Mauboy
This song really conveys what it’s like to fall for someone for the first time and all the excitement and fear that goes along with it. Because as fun as it is to connect with someone, it can also be really, really scary, and something that a lot of us resist. That’s certainly what Maisie experiences!
“Can’t Get Enough of Myself” by Santigold
I listened to this song SO MUCH while writing What I Like About Me. It has the exact self-love energy I needed to channel into Maisie, especially towards the end of the book. The bonus of listening to it is that it also put me in a really good mood and made me feel as though I could take on the world.
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing
OF COURSE I had to include this song! I think it’s played at least three times as part of the actual story. What I Like About Me is very loosely inspired by Dirty Dancing—I wanted that summer-resort feeling, with an Aussie twist. Dancing is important to Maisie, and so is the movie Dirty Dancing, and both play a central role in her journey with not just her sister, Eva, but also her relationship with her own body. This song is also just a really good vibe to end the playlist (and the story) on.
*****
Blog Tour Schedule:
March 30th - BookHoundsYA
Jenna Guillaume was the editor-at-large for BuzzFeed Australia, where she wrote about pop culture, identity, feminism, social media, and, most importantly, Chris Hemsworth’s biceps. Previously, she worked in the features department of Girlfriend magazine in Australia, writing about everything from bullying and body image to bad kisses and boy bands. She also contributed to Girlfriend Life Hacks, an essential guide to navigating a girl’s completely-awkward-but-totally-awesome teen years. Guillaume lives in Australia. Visit her website at jennaguillaume.com.
- 10 winners will receive a finished copy of What I Like About Me and WILAM pocket mirror
- US/Canada only
- Ends 11:59pm ET on 4/18
GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY
- One winner will receive a finished copy of What I Like About Me, WILAM pocket mirror, beach towel, and sunglasses
- US/Canada only
- Ends 11:59pm ET on 4/18
What I Like About me is entrancing, delightful and gives me great enjoyment. This is needed at this time and is a beaut. A beautiful ode. a beach is the locale.
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