In a series of letters to her daughters, comedian Ali Wong shares stories from her childhood, and lessons on life, love, marriage and her rise to fame. If you have seen her Netflix specials, you know she has a crude sense of humor and this memoir is like a Netflix special in book form. There are some serious moments but in true Ali Wong fashion, she tells the truth but she makes it funny AF. I definitely read this with a smile on my face. I am not a big fan of stand up and I have tried to watch a lot of the different specials on Netflix but none made me laugh as much as Ali Wong. Maybe because I can relate to the topics of her jokes? Either way, I love her and I love this memoir.

This was about as crude, honest and unapologetic as you would expect if you've ever watched any of Ali Wong's work and I loved it. She was very true to herself and you can hear her voice coming through the pages as you read. She writes about her past life through letters to her daughters after realizing how much more she wished she had known about her Dad's life after his passing. From her past life as a rebellious teenager, to struggling to make it as a successful comedian, to meeting her husband and much more you get a pretty uncensored look into where she's come from. To be honest, I could have done without the last chapter, a letter written by her husband (get your own book, man!). but overall I enjoyed laughing out loud throughout the rest of the chapters. If you love Ali Wong's comedy like I did I would definitely recommend. Probably not right for the easily offended though!

Dear Girls is about the messy parts of life, but ends up being a bit of a mess itself. Stand-up and TV writer Ali Wong is hilarious, graphic, and sometimes frustrating in this memoir.

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A rough start, a great middle, and a frustrating end.

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The first chapters of Dear Girls don’t inspire confidence.

Ali Wong spends a lot of time emphasizing that she’s an “idiot” and entirely unqualified to write a book. It’s a little funny (who doesn’t like anecdotes about famous people googling obvious things?) but mostly, frustrating. Instead of coming across as good-humored self-deprecation, it comes across to me as an excuse. Don’t expect too much, Wong seems to say. If this book is terrible, it’s not my fault, I’m just too hilariously stupid. It’s a joke, but it’s also not.

The book needed a little work. Some refocusing and restructuring would have gone a long way. But I can look past a lot of that… this is a celebrity humor/memoir. Wong’s a TV writer and stand-up comedian, and those skills won’t translate smoothly to a book. It’s not ideal, but whatever.

But instead of letting me feel like she’s doing her best, Wong kept emphasizing that she’s not really worried about the book being good, and that doesn’t set me up well as a reader. Yes, it’s a little inspiring that she’s embracing imperfection, but she’s asking for my attention for 240 pages. Why aren’t I getting her best effort?

The first few letters weren’t any better.

I just didn’t buy the framing device. We all know this is a book, not actual letters to Wong’s daughters. The intended audience is a completely unrelated reader. For most of the book, I didn’t feel like I was hearing Wong impart “secrets” or “advice.” I was just reading long-winded, graphic descriptions of her sexual history. In Wong’s stand-up, those anecdotes are honed for punchy live performance; here, they’re stripped of context and overwritten. Stand-up requires tight joke density, and without that constraint, many of Wong’s stories flounder. Many of them never reach a point. There’s no punchline, no irony, no lesson. Just naughty words.

Halfway through, though, Wong finds a rhythm.

Ali Wong gets a lot of mileage out of her sexual misadventures in her stand-up, so it makes sense that she wanted to lead with that in the book. But Dear Girls doesn’t really get interesting until Wong moves on to other topics.

The graphic, gross sex stuff doesn’t really have a point. The graphic, gross parenting stuff, though? Indespensible. Wong doesn’t hold back on icky details of childbirth and infant care, and it gives those chapters real punch. We hear about all the gooey, bloody, humiliating, sticky stuff, partly to pop the bubble of idyllic, blissful new parenthood, and partly to really bring to life what that period of Wong’s life was like. When she describes her mother providing help and support after her childbirth, I felt the weight of that, because I was reading exactly what that entailed. The book is a love letter (in the abstract sense) to Wong’s girls, and the horror that Wong went through for them is a necessary piece of that story.

The book is at its best when it considers the other characters in Wong’s life. The chapters on her parents, siblings, and husband are fascinating and hilarious.

Unfortunately, the book ends on a sour note.

The final letter is actually from Wong’s husband. That chapter is almost there. He writes about what it’s like to be married to a (now) successful comedian, what it’s like to make less money than his wife after graduating from Harvard Business School… he is so close to self-awareness. The chapter could have been thoughtful and confessional, but it doesn’t quite get there, and ends up a little irritating.

The real disappointment, though, comes in the third-to-last paragraph of the book, when Justin Hakuta (Wong’s husband) drops this line:

Who were we to take care of you and nurture such magical beings? But then instinct kicked in, along with relatives and Sofiya, your magical Ukrainian nanny, and we were off and running on our new adventure.”

There’s… a lot to unpack there. I’ll put aside, for a moment, the unnecessary reference of the nanny’s nationality and the eyebrow-raising use of the descriptor “magical.” In his narrative, the nanny is something that “kicks in” naturally as he and his wife get their feet underneath them as new parents. She’s not a person also doing work to raise the children. She’s certainly not help that the couple is privileged to have the month to hire. She’s just… there, so obvious and natural that the primary author didn’t think to mention her.

It wasn’t until that last line that it hit me that, for all her detailed descriptions of post-birth infection and breastfeeding pains, Wong never once mentioned this nanny. She spends an entire chapter talking about the experience of being a stay-at-home full-time parent while on maternity leave, and how taxing it was. She spends paragraphs praising her husband for being so involved even though he still works. Never once, in her “unflinchingly honest” book, does Wong mention who is taking care of her children during the day. A woman instrumental in their upbringing doesn’t merit mention in letters to the girls.

I guess it’s good that this Sofiya gets mentioned at all, but the five words devoted to her soured my memory of the rest of the book.

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Thank you to Random House for providing an advance review copy of this title. No money changed hands for this review and all opinions are my own.

[…] I wanted to leave something for your girls when I die, besides a collection of oversized glasses for you to sell on eBay.

Ali Wong is a crude, honest woman with a heart full of love for her friends and family.

Having watched both her specials and Always Be My Maybe, I went into this book ready for Ali Wong’s mix of crude humor and heartfelt praise for her family. Dear Girls was all that and more.

I absolutely loved her letters to her daughters and how she sprinkled in anecdotes from her past as both a teenager and an adult finding her way in the world as an Asian American female stand-up comic. I especially loved how she includes her husband’s letter to their daughters at the end. I always love reading memoirs where you unexpectedly find that they are so full of love for another person and the words leave an imprint of the sheer emotional weight the reader feels while flipping through the book.

This book is really funny.
I probably won't ever use it in a class because the topics aren't really serious enough, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Ali Wong writes in such an informal, conversational way that it really does read like a letter from a mom to her kids . . . except maybe it's a cultural difference, but there is no way my mom would drop as many slang terms for genitalia when talking to me as Ali does when (supposedly) writing to her kids. But i still like it: I like the sex positivity, the unwillingness to shy away from uncomfortable truths, the stories about grown women peeing in their kids diapers. It was an extremely fun, light read.

If you've liked her comedy specials, you'll definitely enjoy this. If you haven't watched her specials, you should definitely watch those first. Knowing how she presents herself on stage, her tone and body language are pretty great in the delivery of her jokes. I could picture her on stage doing bits from this and it was pretty damn hilarious.

I love Ali Wong, and I was so excited for this book. I read the entire thing with her voice in my head, and laughed out loud several times. A winner for sure.

Ali Wong is hilarious and that’s why she has two amazing standups on Netflix. She is the right amount of raunchy and female comedy. Now I am not entirely sure when she wants her two little girls to read this book but I hope they will be at least 21 haha. She keeps her comedy consistent in the whole book and each chapter right when you may nod off she hits you with comedic gold and really makes you laugh out loud. There are some parts that are super boring such as the introduction which I just ended up skipping. The book was fun and silly and sordid and it was fun to read a book where it was no holds bar.. if you like Ali Wong’s standup and Chelsea Handler’s books this will work out for you!

Truly excellent and heartfelt collection of letters from Ali to her daughters, covering everything from her dating history to how to pick the best restaurants. It's a funny, introspective, and often moving account of her life told through the lens of hilarity and sometimes justifiable frustration. I absolutely loved reading this. More Ali please!

This book was even more of everything than what I expected to be. I knew I would laugh, but there were so many intimate and heartfelt moments that just blew me away. I loved reading about the challenges that Ali faced to get to where she is today and how honest she was about not only being a woman, but a mother in her industry. There were just so many raw and real moments that anyone could relate to. You could feel the love that Ali has for her family through every page. This is definitely a must read. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the ARC!

Ali Wong brought her hilarious, raunchy and over-the-top comedy to paper in her new book Dear Girls. I loved the format of this book, written as 14 letters to her two daughters, Mari and Nikki. At the onset, the premise is unbelievable because as a child, you would NEVER want to hear these stories about your parents but Ali takes uncomfortable and awkward stories from her life and produces gems of life lessons as well (for her daughters and her readers!) She talks about her family, her culture, her relationships and it’s a wonderful insight into the person behind the comic. I loved that this story was not chronological which I find to be so boring. She gets right into key moments in her life, the first letter being about how she met her husband. Speaking of husband, he has written a beautiful afterword, touching on some moments in their lives from his perspective. It was lovely to see his view and feelings about his wife, her career and their family. A definite must read!

*advanced copy received in exchange for an honest review

Dear Girls is definitely worth a read - Ali Wong is a smart, funny hustler and it shows - but I don't know if I would read it again. It's a by-the-numbers comedian's book - you laugh at the funny bits, cringe at the gross bits, feel feels at the painful bits. I wanted more details from some stories - um, your hot fuck-buddy went missing and you just end the anecdote there?! - but that is because I am a nosy bitch. I also would have preferred a more linear narrative, but this is really a series of letters and not a strict memoir. I will probably bump up a star once I hear the audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The most hilarious and solid advices, I've ever read in a biography. This is a perfect mix of raunchy comedy and more insightful and down to earth to Ali Wong. I could see her telling the comic part of the book onstage as a show. I love the insightfulness advice she gave to her girls as well as her readers. I can't say know her through this book, because you truly never know a person. However, I saw a different Ali that is not on stage. The serious and perceptive side of Ali is refreshing and lovable. I am looking forward to her next book and movie.

Ali Wong writes a series of humorous and revealing letters to her two daughters that I would probably hate to read from my own mother, but I imagine by the time her daughters read these, their mother's sense of humor will be old hat to them.

Ali reveals a lot of details of her life and gives a lot of advice that will serve her daughters well, but her stories are also entertaining and great advice for those of us who aren't related to Ali.

This is a quick, fun read, and while Ali's letters are superb, I found the Afterword to be the most poignant part of the book. Written by Ali's husband, he give his daughters advice about how to approach having a famous mother and what's important about Ali's work. He discusses his journey to coming to terms with Ali's work and content and it serves as a really fitting end to this series of letters.

This book was everything that I thought it would be and I loved reading every single word in it.

Most people know of Ali Wong through her two Netflix Comedy Specials which were done while she was heavily pregnant. She has spawned many Halloween costumes and also cute babies dressed up like her. She is hilarious and amazing.

I loved this book so much. It was so exhilarating and exciting to read a comedic memoir written by someone who looks like me. Don't get me wrong, I adore Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, and Tina Fey. But this was really the first time that I could relate to someone's childhood and feeling of racial prejudices.

This book is also hilarious. It has all of Ali's trademark humor and her raunchy jokes. Please read this book!!

Ali Wong makes me laugh....
...she is not only hilariously funny...but underneath her raunchy humor, she’s a down-to-earth sweetie-pie luv-bug!

“Dear Girls” is her memoir - -non-fiction book for her fans - ( I’m one of them), and anyone curious about her.
It’s written as a letter to her two young little girls....
with instructions: NOT TO
BE READ UNTIL AGE 21!

I loved this book... I loved reading about Ali.....
*everything Ali*!!!

We learn about Ali’s upbringing- and her personal life.... with love for her ‘handsome Asian husband’, and her two daughters...
the heart-of-what-matters-most!

A few excerpts below:

“One of the worst places I performed regularly at was
‘Our Little Theater’. It literally seated eight people and was located in the heart of the Tenderloin district. That neighborhood was home to Southeast Asian refugees, a million drug addicts, and a truly remarkable amount of human feces on the street. There was no time to think about my set when walking to ‘Our Little Theater’ because I was too busy trying not to get robbed and jumping over doo-doo and syringes on the sidewalk. That’s a game of hopscotch you ‘need’ to win. Because if you lose, your consolation prize is ebola”.

WORDS of WISDOM from
Ali to her daughters:
“At some point you gotta go. Mama loves you but it’s so important to get out of your hometown and get the fuck away from your family. As the youngest of four kids, I was always being observed by my siblings, who would judge my every decision.
They had a set idea of who I was and it affected me. It was limiting. Everything I said generally had no credence because I was at least ten years younger than every single person in my family, so what did I know? When I got away from them, I finally felt like I could be the person I was meant to be, which just happened to be a person who talked about her wish to put nail polish remover in men’s buttholes so she could accomplish two things at once. Chances are that neither of you is also that person”.

“My family had always told me how to speak and how to feel about things. Part of what was so liberating about being on stage was that I could say whatever I wanted without having loved ones comment on it. Regardless of how the strangers would respond, at least they were strangers who didn’t know me or have any real authority over who I was. I loved the anonymity of my conversations with an audience”.

Deciding to move to NYC after four years of doing stand up in San Francisco was hard for Ali. She was 26 at the time, and there were girls just out of college ordering her around who had nicer bags and shoes and she did”.
“Every day in NYC was about spending as little money as possible. I didn’t see any movies or eat out unless they went out on a date, or it was pizza or falafel. Ninety percent of the time I cooked at the SoHo loft. I’d buy lentils from a bulk bin at the East Village co-op and boil them to eat with salt, like a medieval peasant. And then I’d steam some vegetables from Chinatown. For three dollars and fifty cents, I found a place that sold half of a cooked chicken that was probably loaded with enough antibiotics to turn my blood into Purell”.

Pretty much the worst thing about being a woman and stand-up is that you are always forced to socialize with male stand-up comics’ girlfriends”.

Comedy requires taking risks, and Ali takes them.
She’s had nights of people yelling ‘boo’.
She learned from those devastating nights. She’s a comic that seriously works hard at her craft. She learned early to diversify her crowds. She said yes to every opportunity to do a set in other cities, even if it meant losing money.

Ali gives advice to her daughters about stand-up...[don’t do it]...
about men, dating, [men should pay on a first date], sex, pregnancy, family, [things she learned from her Vietnamese immigrant mother, siblings, etc.], shoes, [wear flats],
about making mistakes [make them], and about the many choices they will make in their lifetime.
Ali also shared with her daughters [ and us], shameful things she did in her youth.
....smoked her first cigarette at age 11.
....shoplifted lipstick
....”One New Years Eve when I was seventeen, I made out with thirteen boys and three girls. That’s basically an entire high school production of ‘Oliver’”.
...etc. [she promised her daughters that things get way better after their teen years].

How anyone can’t see Ali Wong’s greatness - her warm-hearted honest goodness - her gift to the world as an unguarded human being - is beyond me.
Yep... I love Ali’s stand-up...
And reading this book was a deeply pleasurable!!

The last chapter, the Afterword, is written by Ali’s husband, Justin Hakuta
He writes a letter to his girls...
“Dear Mari and Nikki”.....
Justin is mensch of a husband and father!!

Looking forward to listening to the Audiobook! I can already imagine how enjoyable it will be to hear Ali read it!!

Thank you Random House, Netgalley, and Ali Wong

I'm delighted to report that Ali Wong's book DEAR GIRLS made me laugh as much as her Netflix film Always Be My Maybe did.
After reading her honest hilarious and heartfelt book, I've realized wONG is an egg. She seems 'white' on the outside because of her wardrobe and vernacular, but she is actually Asian at heart, with her strong will, family loyalty and food choices.
Like the other funny female bios I've read: Tina Fey's BOSSYPANTS and Anna Kendrick's SCRAPPY LITTLE NOBODY, Wong is apologetically herself: strong, assertive and Asian American.
She definitely imparts valuable wisdom to being a female Asian creative, although as she points out she can relate to all people regardless of race and gender.
Besides being a funny book that can cheer you up, Wong shows diasporas how to embrace their heritage and inner selves, to succeed at all costs. The afterword by her husband is icing on the cake.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Funny and unapologetically honest, I really enjoyed this book of “letters” to her daughters by Ali Wong! I have watched Ali’s specials on Netflix and am a fan, but it was great to learn more about her and her life growing up as well as her life as a wife and mom. Lots of very funny and relatable moments.

Let me tell you, it is such a relief to have a funny, well-written book from a comedian that I admire. Man, I've been burned so many times before with mediocre books from comedians that I barely dared to hope with this one. But Ali Wong really delivered.

If you are a fan of Ali Wong, you will like this book. I pinky-swear promise. The beginning of the book is pure Ali Wong humor, and if you think think that means vagina and pubic hair jokes, you would be 100% correct.

Ali Wong is purely who she is, and I love that about her. I think people underestimate her (though not so much anymore, thank you "Always Be My Maybe"!), but she is one of the most honest, crassly-amazing comedians out there. I love that she is a parent now, and I related to her stories a ton, even though our upbringing was completely different. I ate up the stories about how she met her husband and how he compared to the (multitude) of men she had dated in the past. She gave me the intimate content I was craving, and, no, I don't mean of her sex life (get your mind out of the gutter!).

The second half of the book was a bit less funny and more of an exploration of her ethnic background, which I also enjoyed. Ali Wong showed me a lot about who she is and where she is going, both in her own journey to learn about herself and with her comedy. Sometimes, I think it's too early for a comedian to write a book, but with Ali Wong, it was just right. Both funny and poignant, Ali Wong really nailed it with Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, and Advice for Living Your Best Life.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I am a fan of Ali Won's stand up and Always Be My Maybe. This memoir is filled with her signature raunchy humor posed as a letter to her daughters. It was interesting to learn about the beginnings of a successful comedian, and also first hand experience of what it means to be Asian American.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC!