The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

December 15, 2014
Rae is a rising star in the world of comedy and television as the writer, producer, and star of the award-winning YouTube series Awkward Black Girl. Here Rae expands on her favorite theme, awkwardness, by exploring her multicultural, trilingual, suburban, Internet-obsessed upbringing in Los Angeles, by way of Senegal and Maryland. Amid uproarious recollections of her after-school hours spent cat fishing dudes in online chat rooms, an ill-timed make-out session that led to her first brush with Senegalese corruption, the blatant lies she told to classmates about her ability to dance and her access to Missy Elliot's latest single, and her deep, deep love affair with food and eating alone, properly, Rae details her transition from desperate-to-be-cool Jo-Issa Diop to (awkward) girl-about-town Issa Rae. This charming, sparkling memoir is recommended for fans of Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? (2011) and Samantha Irby's Meaty (2013). Already a strong voice for diversity in media, Rae is someone readers of all stripes will love getting to know, however awkwardly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)