Synopsis:
Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she’s thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust.
Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.
It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there’s a lot more at stake than just her career.
A whip-smart and dynamic thriller and sly social commentary that is perfect for anyone who has ever felt manipulated, threatened, or overlooked in the workplace, The Other Black Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twist.
📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
Title: The Other Black Girl
Author: Zakiya Dalila Harris
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Thriller
I finished, The Other Black Girl, quite awhile ago and have struggled with a rating and a review. You see . . . I began hearing rumblings of this book all the way back in January and it was being talked up as the “thriller of the year”. I was so excited to read it! Except. It wasn’t really a thriller, IMO. I’ve had some conversations recently with other bookstagrammers about how a synopsis, blurb, or category can set up our reading experiences for success or failures. What do you think?
The Other Black Girl is a debut novel for author, Zakiya Dalila Harris, and her writing is suburb. I really wish they would’ve categorize this book under satire because the satire was brilliant. But that’s only about 70-80% of the book then it takes and unexpected turn into magical realism or maybe even sci-fi. (These are both genres that I don’t read often enough to know if this book fall under their official categories.)
So, I think that’s where this book loses a lot of readers being categorized wrong and just unbalanced. It was a very slow burn book and then boom it just changes!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 I listened to the audio and thought it was really well done. It is narrated by a full cast including Aja Naomi King who played Michaela Pratt on How to Get Away With Murder. (I freaking loved that show!) Also fan favorite Bahni Turpin is part of the cast too. I also enjoyed that the book was about the publishing industry. I think other book people will enjoy this too.