The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl – Issa Rae

Issa Rae, a writer, actress, and producer, tells of her years growing up as the awkward black girl.  Born in Los Angeles, Rae spent time growing up in Senegal, her father’s homeland, and Maryland before returning to LA in the sixth grade.  This led to her being the odd-fitting one wherever she was, either the American in Africa or the black girl in a predominately white Maryland neighborhood, which fed into her storytelling style, leading to the web series Awkward Black Girl and, subsequently, this book.

To be honest, my interest in Rae’s work is more recent and this book, released in 2015, predates any of the things I am familiar with.  That must be why I didn’t really connect with this.  Not saying it was bad in any way, but I wasn’t as hooked as I have been by other memoirs from her peers.  Maybe there will be a follow up one day, with tales of her move from YouTube to Showtime and the big screen.