Black women have always taken pride and joy in the versatility of our hair. From natural afros, perms, braids of all styles, twists and so many more. The styling of a black woman’s hair has been the catalyst of us showing our personalities, fashion, creativity, and black girl magic. So how befitting that we receive a graphic novel to publicly display the beauty within just a portion that describes black women.

Wash Day Diaries is a graphic novel written by Jamila Rowser and illustrated by Robyn Smith. The story follows four best friends living in Bronx, NY and how they not only navigate their everyday lives but most importantly, their hair routines. Following the theme of friendship and love, our main characters Kim, Tanisha, Davine, and Cookie support each other through everyday obstacles such as facing family trauma, battling mental health, gossiping over their dating lives and even setting boundaries for those who served seasonal purposes in our lives. Wash Day Diaries was truly in ode to the experiences of black women.

This was my first graphic novel read ever and I can truly say that I more than thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Following our four main characters on their different journeys as black women from across the diaspora was heartfelt, emotional and refreshing. It was amazing to consume such a fluffy novel. The illustrations in this novel were definitely the highlight of the experience. To see the techniques of a variety of black hair styles such as braids, wigs and roller sets be illustrated so beautifully practically healed my young inner black girl.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for anyone looking for a heartfelt laugh and a feel good read. Once again, a true nod to black women and our creativity. Even when it comes to our beautiful and amazing hair!

Content Warnings

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

cw: emotional/verbal abuse, mentions of eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia), alcoholism, use of slurs (r-word), mentions of schizophrenia, marijuana addiction, infidelity, death of a parent, mentions of cancer, sexual content (18+), graphic descriptions of binging and purging food, age-gap relationships

“My Life Purpose has always been to make mom happy, to be who she wants me to be. So without Mom, who am I supposed to be now?”

I’m Glad My Mom Died is the riveting memoir brought to us by Jennette McCurdy. Jennette is well known for her role as Sam Puckett from the hit Nickelodeon show iCarly. But this memoir is about more than just her time as a well-known childhood actor, this memoir takes us on the journey of her simultaneously interesting and difficult relationship with her mother, Debra McCurdy. In the very beginning we are met with the scene of Jennette and her three older brothers gathered around their comatose state mother who has spent years battling stage four breast cancer. As an attempt to wake her, Jennette informs her mother that she has finally met the weight goal that was set upon her..89 pounds. Jennette begins the tale at the age of 6 when she has her first acting audition. Her mom always had a dream for acting herself and told Jennette that she wanted her to have the life that she deserved, the life she [Debra] could never have. At an early age Jennette wanted nothing but to always make her mother happy, for them to be bonded as mother and daughter, best friends, forever connected. This drove Jennette to do whatever she could to please her mother, even if that meant doing things that drastically made her uncomfortable. The pedestal that Jennette put her mother on would soon become the very tool that drove Jennette to unhealthy habits that not only could ruin her outside relationships but ultimately could be detrimental to her very own life.

From the beginning Jennette never liked the idea of acting or going to auditions. Jennette even expresses this to her mother and she [Debra] reacts in hysteria and states how this is “their dream” and she can’t quit. Jennette immediately takes back what she says and her mom instantly calms down. Jennette isn’t the only victim to her mom’s erratic and violent behavior. Her father too was emotionally/verbally abused, sometimes even being chased around their home with knives and other sharp objects. Jennette and her brothers were showered at the same time by her mother. As Jennette grew older and her mom’s conditions worsened, Jennette went from being the apple of her mother’s eye, to now being one of the receivers of her mom’s violent and erratic behavior. Jennette takes on her journey of being the very person her mother wanted to mold her to be, to actually beginning to learn who Jennette McCurdy really is.

I can definitely say that as my very first nonfiction read of the year, this memoir took me through a whirlwind of emotions. I listened to the audiobook while reading along with my physical copy and I must say that the audiobook was definitely a game changer. To listen to Jennette narrate her own story really helped captivate the stories that she recollected from her childhood to present day. My heart truly goes out to Jennette because I know recollecting these events in her life wasn’t easy. I’m Glad My Mom Died sheds light on the impact Jennette's family and her career had on her mental health. We learn about the difficulties of starting our healing journeys and that sometimes, you will have to start again, and again and again. We learn that sometimes two broken people can’t fix each other. And most importantly, we learn that it’s okay to not be ready to forgive the very people that hurt us and still be able to heal and move forward positively.the While this was such a moving and necessary memoir, I must recommend that you take caution of the content/trigger warnings listed above before beginning this book whether it be physical, ebook, or audio. This was definitely a very heavy read and can be difficult to continue once started. So proceed with caution. All and all, thank Jennette for trusting us with your story and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you in the future.

Rating: 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Content Warnings

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

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5.0

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jass_readingnook's reviews 23 reviews

jass_readingnook's reviews
23 reviews