AAPI Month Spotlight: The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

I have read ALL of Maurene Goo’s YA novels (and her adult novel ONE & ONLY is sitting in my TBR stack) and THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL is my favorite one. I’ve read it 2-3 times and have also listened to the audiobook. Yes, I’m a re-reader and so are my kids. There’s something about coming back to a book you loved and not only discovering new things but also finding solace and warmth in an old friend.

THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL follows a relationship between Clara Shin and her single father as they spend a summer together working at his food truck after a high school prank has gone awry. Unlike the stereotypically dutiful and respectful Asian daughter, Clara is loud and funny and always clowning around. Probably my opposite but I love how Goo makes me relate to Clara anyway. A lovely summer of growing up, making friends in unexpected places, falling in love, and also discovering oneself while also discovering one’s parent.

I grew up LA adjacent (Orange County + UCLA alum) and love how this book makes me love the area even more—and also makes me super hungry for the food they are cooking in Clara’s dad’s Korean-Brazilian fusion food truck. Goo has a knack for really getting into the nitty-gritty of a character and setting and taking the reader on a journey. The food truck experiences are so quintessentially LA and Clara’s journey also is a quintessential coming-of-age story that will make you laugh, sigh, and sometimes want to wring her neck.

For AAPI heritage month, Bookshop asked booksellers for their top five AAPI-written/centered books in various categories. My top five recommendations were hard to narrow down, but are included in the 15% off discount for AAPI month on bookshop.org through May 15, 2026. You can get the discount on the main list or find it here to support Bookdragon (AAPI26). You won’t regret choosing any of them!

If you are of a certain age, you likely have that Michael Jackson song stuck in your head now. I know I do whenever I come across this book. You’re welcome.

Since I am wearing my Cinderella toile de jouy style patterned dress (18th Century French pastoral scene), I will say that Maurene Goo’s THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL is exactly the kind of book that Cinderella would read. It involves a ruined dance, a lot of hard work, and a discovery of self. Plus, I’m willing to bet that Cinderella—though vastly different than Clara Shin—is a romantic at heart.

I’ve been doing a series pondering which book a Disney character might read. See my IG account for my not so surprising choice for Belle and for Maleficent.

And now I’m off to re-read THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL again!