My Week with Him

By: Joya Goffney

Narrated by: Marcella Cox

"Acute portrait of agency, hope, and intergenerational trauma by Goffney." —Publishers Weekly

"Add this title to collections where romance is in high demand." —School Library Journal

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!

From Joya Goffney of Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry comes a stirring YA coming-of-age, best-friends-to-lovers romance about a girl named Nikki who plans to run away from small-town Texas but ultimately finds that her oldest friend, Mal, just might be the one who’s been there for her all along. Filled with heart and humor, this novel captures complex family drama, friendship, and love. For fans of I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest and Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan.

Nikki can’t wait to leave Texas and follow her dreams of a music career . . . After a painful betrayal by her sister and a heated argument with their mother, Nikki is kicked out and finds herself homeless. She decides to go to California to pursue her singing career. When her best friend, Malachai, discovers her plan to flee Texas, he begs her to spend the remainder of spring break with him. He believes that over the course of a week, he can convince her to stay in Texas, or to at least graduate high school. But their plans are interrupted when Nikki’s little sister, Vae, goes missing.

Nikki is forced to work alongside her difficult mother as they set off in search of Vae, with Malachai’s support. Will Nikki find a reason to stay in Texas, or will this spring break be the last time she sees them? Through her emotional journey, Nikki ultimately finds the love she’s always been missing and discovers the power of her own voice.

©2023 Joya Goffney (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Beautiful Coming of Age Story

Joya Goffney is a master at writing relatable and emotional stories about the black coming of age experiences. The main character's self-realization is so reflective of where many young people find themselves when they are transitioning to adulthood. The author did a superb job of addressing some heavy topics, which makes this a great book for YA and adults readers.

all the feels!

such a cute black girl coming of age. I felt like I was one with Nikki!

Cute, Cute, Cute!

I loved this story! This was a really great read. Niki’s mama was VERY clearly unhinged, but her story was told in a way where we got to learn more about her humanity, which was…decent. lol

Can’t wait for more from this writer; I’ve enjoyed everything she’s written so far!

PURE PERFECTION!

This is my time reading a book by Joya, and it did not disappoint! The development of characters, the way she delicately describes the emotional and mental effects of parental emotional abuse was done so eloquently.

This book encompassed all the things that a great book possesses: love, conflict, back story and growth! I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author.

LOVE the characters! Story... Ehh....

Love, love, LOVE the narrator. The story overall was just ok. One of the resolutions was a little anti-climactic, and the language was more vulgar compared to "Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry" (Which I loved more than I have characters to type).
I appreciated the budding romance and character development. I think Joya did a wonderful job humanizing characters you'd otherwise want to hate.
Not my favorite, but I'm glad I listened.

Great teen story

i liked that all the main characters had flaws that played a role to improve the whole story. no bad guys. it was a story of hope in spite of and a lot of love.