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A review by bgprincipessa
Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump by Ben Philippe
5.0
Something of a cross between a collection of essays and a memoir. I already love both of Philippe's YA novels, so I was predisposed to love this, and it was great. I also love how much of his life you can see in the stories he writes - the places he's lived, the jobs he's had, the relationships that have exploded.
I especially love when someone from my cohort writes a book with specific pop culture references that speak to my soul. Philippe got his start writing Xander/Angel/Buffy fanfic - I died listening to that. He references Gossip Girl approximately 1 million times, and The Social Network at least 5, including an "Eduardo Saverin style breakdown" during the breakup of him and his roommate "Mark." (And how often do you see male writers talking about the emotional upheaval of friendship?!)
Two of my favorite turns of phrase: "a Daisy Buchanan level of carelessness" and "the tragic Marissa Cooper, played by the even more tragic Mischa Barton." *chef's kiss*
There is an entire section in which he describes how he lost a significant amount of weight, and the reactions he got when he returned to school, that really rubbed me the wrong way.... and then he explicitly acknowledged how that section would sound to readers, and how the 2000's were a different time, and turns it on its head in such a fascinating way. It reminded me of Bo Burnham's Inside and how he both acknowledges the problematic work he has done and apologizes for it, while also realizing it's still there anyway. Then Philippe rewrote that section using 2020 terminology and it really shows you how the culture hasn't changed, we just use different words to make it sound better.
There is also so much anger in his writing about #BlackLivesMatter, which I can't do justice. Overall it just gave me so much to think about, and I really enjoyed the ride. I was already shouting his praises all over the place, but now I will even more.
I especially love when someone from my cohort writes a book with specific pop culture references that speak to my soul. Philippe got his start writing Xander/Angel/Buffy fanfic - I died listening to that. He references Gossip Girl approximately 1 million times, and The Social Network at least 5, including an "Eduardo Saverin style breakdown" during the breakup of him and his roommate "Mark." (And how often do you see male writers talking about the emotional upheaval of friendship?!)
Two of my favorite turns of phrase: "a Daisy Buchanan level of carelessness" and "the tragic Marissa Cooper, played by the even more tragic Mischa Barton." *chef's kiss*
There is an entire section in which he describes how he lost a significant amount of weight, and the reactions he got when he returned to school, that really rubbed me the wrong way.... and then he explicitly acknowledged how that section would sound to readers, and how the 2000's were a different time, and turns it on its head in such a fascinating way. It reminded me of Bo Burnham's Inside and how he both acknowledges the problematic work he has done and apologizes for it, while also realizing it's still there anyway. Then Philippe rewrote that section using 2020 terminology and it really shows you how the culture hasn't changed, we just use different words to make it sound better.
There is also so much anger in his writing about #BlackLivesMatter, which I can't do justice. Overall it just gave me so much to think about, and I really enjoyed the ride. I was already shouting his praises all over the place, but now I will even more.