This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry (review)

Henry, Katie This Will Be Funny Someday. Tegen/HarperCollins, 2021 [400p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780062955708 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062955722 $8.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 9-12

Isabel can't get a word in among the chaos at home, and she's learned to keep thoughts to herself around boyfriend Alex, but he only wants to know where she is and who she hangs out with because he cares, right? When Isabel stumbles onto the stage of an open mic comedy night, she begins to wonder if she might have things worth saying after all. In her typical fashion, Henry (Let's Call It a Doomsday, BCCB 10/19) packs a lot into an otherwise standard teen girl Bildungsroman, especially with the sharply observed relationships. College comedienne Mo is the cool, collected friend who selflessly guides Isabel into the world of amateur standup without realizing Izzy is only sixteen. Alex seems initially sweet and attentive, but his gaslighting and abuse (including an all-too realistic assertion by Isabel that he's never actually hit her) ring true. Mom's workaholic nature and loving assertion of how "easy" it is to raise Isabel will hit home for all the Good Kids, but there's no dramatic shift in her levels of attention at curtain call; instead, in a raw, tearful conversation, Mom explains that being a mother isn't the most important thing in her life. There are some bracing truths here, and Henry puts into words what her readers perhaps cannot, offering understanding and compassion in a world often too demanding of their growing up.