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A review by debbiewakefield10
Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King
5.0
This was such an enjoyable read that had me reflecting on my own childhood nostalgia.
My husband suggested I read this book because he knows how much I like trashy tv like reality tv shows. I’m not sure how he heard about this book but he was right, I did enjoy the book.
I did skip right to the essay about Americas Next Top Model because we can all agree that’s the greatest reality tv show. I wasn’t expecting the essay to be a reflection not only about how awesome the show was but also her childhood friend and how watching ANTM bonded them more than they realized.
I admire the author’s deep self reflection in each essay. Like yes, each one is about something in 90s-00s pop culture but also it’s about her growing up, relationships, sexuality, and family.
Even the essays I didn’t connect with on the surface, like I’ve never seen Degrassi or Josie and the Pussycats, I could appreciate and admire those essays for their self reflection and depth.
I just loved her honest, creative writing. Like why yes, the Cheesecake Factory bread does taste like the color brown. Or in an essay about Guy Fieri, “the host drives a Camaro whose red is the reason that color Tv exists.”
Her essay about watching The Jersey Shore with her father almost brought tears to me eyes. My own dad and I bonded over watching Survivor, American Idol, and The Apprentice.
I wish I’d thought to write such essays like these. If I did write these, mine would be about me and my dad watching reality shows, Neopets and meeting strangers on the internet, Backstreet Boys and my middle school crushes, Britney Spears and my teenage insecurities, Disney World and the relationship with my mom, and playing Quidditch and falling for a boy who didn’t like me back.
My husband suggested I read this book because he knows how much I like trashy tv like reality tv shows. I’m not sure how he heard about this book but he was right, I did enjoy the book.
I did skip right to the essay about Americas Next Top Model because we can all agree that’s the greatest reality tv show. I wasn’t expecting the essay to be a reflection not only about how awesome the show was but also her childhood friend and how watching ANTM bonded them more than they realized.
I admire the author’s deep self reflection in each essay. Like yes, each one is about something in 90s-00s pop culture but also it’s about her growing up, relationships, sexuality, and family.
Even the essays I didn’t connect with on the surface, like I’ve never seen Degrassi or Josie and the Pussycats, I could appreciate and admire those essays for their self reflection and depth.
I just loved her honest, creative writing. Like why yes, the Cheesecake Factory bread does taste like the color brown. Or in an essay about Guy Fieri, “the host drives a Camaro whose red is the reason that color Tv exists.”
Her essay about watching The Jersey Shore with her father almost brought tears to me eyes. My own dad and I bonded over watching Survivor, American Idol, and The Apprentice.
I wish I’d thought to write such essays like these. If I did write these, mine would be about me and my dad watching reality shows, Neopets and meeting strangers on the internet, Backstreet Boys and my middle school crushes, Britney Spears and my teenage insecurities, Disney World and the relationship with my mom, and playing Quidditch and falling for a boy who didn’t like me back.