A review by tdotrenae
The Only Black Girl in the Room by Alex Travis

lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Reader Copy!!
 
This was a quick read, that made me feel extremely seen and heard as my experiences as often the only Black girl in the room. This debut novel about Gen, an ambitious and well-qualified reporter and her experiences both with romance and racism at her job. This book has all the things, dynamic and fun characters, loveable friendships, interracial dating, coming of age, figuring out your life, and taking control of the narrative that you tell about yourself. Without giving away too much, this book starts off very fast paced (in my opinion) with Gen and Jude’s break up, then fast forwards to Gen’s life after that as an underutilized, but very talented writer. I feel like this book has a good balance of romance and contemporary/women’s fiction vibes to fit in either category. As a romance girlie, I wanted a touch more romance and maybe to get to know Jude a bit more. I enjoyed Jude and Gen’s banter a lot and might have me believing that all second chance romances are not terrible. I
 
Now, as someone who studies, researches, and experiences racism, this book is spot on with the microaggressions and overt forms of racism. I feel like as someone who is very attuned to these things, I wish the book went a little deeper into those experiences and perhaps more of the emotional frustration and/or compartmentalizing that Black women have to do at work to survive. However, I feel like it is a great first look at racism and workplace discrimination that Black women specifically experience, especially if you have never had a Black woman share her experiences with you.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings