Read: Yes
Length: 224
Quick Review: Issa Rae has entered our homes and hearts as the quirky, awkward, lovable, black girl through her YouTube, writing, TV show, and more. Her book makes her even more relatable.
I am behind on the times, so I discovered Issa Rae about four months ago when I binge watched Insecure. I immediately fell in love with her writing, acting, and message. As a self-proclaimed bookworm/nerdy girl, I could completely relate to her bathroom mirror pep talks and internal dialogues. The cover of her book intermittently popped up on my Instagram feed since I started, and after watching her show, I put two and two together. So I ordered her book.
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is honest. One of the more, honest memoirs. She tells things straight (as straight as personal memories can be). Her sense of humor drenches the novel with gripping laughs. She is self deprecating in the way only someone who is truly comfortable in their awkwardness can be.
Rae pulls you in with her familiarity and wit. The words “black girl” in the title lead me to believe the book would be fairly politically charged. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Rae has her moments of political and cultural commentary, but for the most part she just tells her story, which being a black girl is a central element. Blackness is a central theme throughout her book. She emphasizes the importance of not having a black cookie cutter because one size does not fit all.
At only 200 pages, it is an incredibly quick read definitely worth your time.
P.S. Issa Rae… I LOVE Tootsie Rolls. Like really love Tootsie Rolls. I was the kid that dove for them at parades. Thinking of which, I was the only kid diving for them at parades. I have also dated Asian men. I had never thought of it until you brought it up… but I guess there is a correlation. Which means! Like Asian men, Tootsie Rolls are under-coveted.
Memorable Quotes
“The gamut of “blackness” is so wide.”
“Black women and Asian men are at the bottom of the dating totem pole in the United States.”
Title: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
Author: Issa Rae
Publisher: Atria Paperback (Simon & Schuster)
Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 9781476749075
