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allieak44's review against another edition
3.0
An honest, great and important perspective. This book will reasonate most with people interested in fashion and media but an eye opening perspective nonetheless. My only gripe is while she seems to be in a much better spot than she was in 20s (which i am proud of her for), she is still so young and has more healing to do but reads as if she thinks she is done healing / growing.
molly_lieberman's review against another edition
I appreciated the author’s honest reflection of her past and current struggles with anti-blackness, fat-phobia, and disordered eating. How she wove all those things together fell flat for me by the end. I also found it interesting to read other reviews, particularly those from Black women on how they received the book’s messages.
dmargomez's review against another edition
2.0
Did not finish. I had a bit of a hard time reading this book and therefore, connecting to it.
The tales of bullying both given and received by the author, were rough to swallow. While I feel for the hardship and heated emotion the writer faced throughout life, I was expecting a climb out of the sadness that never wound up coming. IMO, there’s little pride and happiness written in the novel, which made me sad. As I know life surely doesn’t always have “happy endings”, I wanted so desperately for the writer to write of found gratitude and strength from the lessons learned throughout her life.
If we live a life without gratitude, we wind up getting lost in the overwhelming darkness that surrounds us.
I am, however, thankful for the strength it took to be as honest as she to tell her tales of life. The stories in the book are real life accounts of the hardships faced by women of color. I have come to realize, that I have a privilege to not have to encounter any similar extent of bullying or trauma because of someone else’s preconceived notions of my skin.
The tales of bullying both given and received by the author, were rough to swallow. While I feel for the hardship and heated emotion the writer faced throughout life, I was expecting a climb out of the sadness that never wound up coming. IMO, there’s little pride and happiness written in the novel, which made me sad. As I know life surely doesn’t always have “happy endings”, I wanted so desperately for the writer to write of found gratitude and strength from the lessons learned throughout her life.
If we live a life without gratitude, we wind up getting lost in the overwhelming darkness that surrounds us.
I am, however, thankful for the strength it took to be as honest as she to tell her tales of life. The stories in the book are real life accounts of the hardships faced by women of color. I have come to realize, that I have a privilege to not have to encounter any similar extent of bullying or trauma because of someone else’s preconceived notions of my skin.
tma9876's review against another edition
3.0
A part of me wishes I had read reviews before starting this book. They're quite mixed with people either loving or hating it. I fell in the middle.
I admire the author's ability to own up to her past mistakes and speak candidly about her behavior and motivation. The book gave me an appreciation for situations and experiences I haven't been exposed to but also had relatable content.
That said, the majority of the book is a collection of anecdotes and specific scenarios. I kept finding myself feeling like the author presented herself as an unlikable character. I wish there had been more emphasis throughout the book on her takeaways and learning experiences - what she would do differently, but eventually she did redeem it by the end.
I admire the author's ability to own up to her past mistakes and speak candidly about her behavior and motivation. The book gave me an appreciation for situations and experiences I haven't been exposed to but also had relatable content.
That said, the majority of the book is a collection of anecdotes and specific scenarios. I kept finding myself feeling like the author presented herself as an unlikable character. I wish there had been more emphasis throughout the book on her takeaways and learning experiences - what she would do differently, but eventually she did redeem it by the end.
veronicasbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great book. There were so many things I have never heard or thought about. I highly recommend this book. I don't think white people understand or realize the hurtfulness we are causing and that is on us. We need to read more books like this.
I will say, there is a lot of talk about eating disorders, fat-phobia, and fat shaming so be prepared if you are plus sized or recovering from an eating disorder.
I will say, there is a lot of talk about eating disorders, fat-phobia, and fat shaming so be prepared if you are plus sized or recovering from an eating disorder.
zari_safari's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
scijessreads's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this book brought back personal memories of growing up during the late 80's and early 90's and all of the media and expectations held toward girls and women at the time. Which is probably not far off from some version of the same that has happened for all generations of women. But here, in Danielle Prescod's memoir, it also puts all of that through the lens of a black girl (and woman) living in America and having to deal with trying to fit into white society. Or if not fit in, at least not stick out so much that it makes things worse.
While there is a lot here that makes you think about how you might have been the perpetrator of your own microaggressions that at the time didn't feel like anything wrong, it also feels like it was trying to be multiple memoirs at once, with individual threads about dealing with weight, living as a black woman in a predominantly white area, working in fashion, and a sociological look at women in general. Instead of cohering into a woven narrative, it always felt like things were being told in parallel. And there was a heavy dose of "mean girls," often at the hand of the memoirist herself, and very little in-depth reflection on her past actions other than a brief "sorry" in passing at the memory of the events that showcased her own ruthless attempts to fit in.
While there is a lot here that makes you think about how you might have been the perpetrator of your own microaggressions that at the time didn't feel like anything wrong, it also feels like it was trying to be multiple memoirs at once, with individual threads about dealing with weight, living as a black woman in a predominantly white area, working in fashion, and a sociological look at women in general. Instead of cohering into a woven narrative, it always felt like things were being told in parallel. And there was a heavy dose of "mean girls," often at the hand of the memoirist herself, and very little in-depth reflection on her past actions other than a brief "sorry" in passing at the memory of the events that showcased her own ruthless attempts to fit in.