I have honestly never read a book like this. I started reading thinking I knew where it was headed but was blown away by the unexpected turns the story took. For fans of The Devil Wears Prada and Get Out!

This book was a solid winner for me (and likely resonates with anyone who has ever worked in publishing in any capacity) although I do think the Devil Wears Prada comparison does this book a disservice. This book has a slow build, pulling you in with characters and their experiences and what amounts to a (hopefully) somewhat satirical look at publishing before hitting you with some Big Plot late in the story. This book is so timely as a social commentary and I hear its being adapted by Hulu for the screen, where I'm going to bet it's going to do even better than it did as a novel. It read as more of a "quiet" book than I was expecting from the buzz, but I'll definitely be recommending it.

Being hailed as Get Out meets The Devil Wears Prada, this brilliant novel is unputdownable. Harris delivers a character-driven account of what Black women experience in the workplace—it, is a thoughtful examination of race, class, and power. The publishing world will be turned on its head much like it is in the book.

Thought-provoking and filled with twists, this is an incredibly original and timely read. Already named a most anticipated book of 2021, this powerful debut has something for everyone: acerbic wit, horror, mystery, and a contemporary edge.

Razor-sharp, biting, and authentic, The Other Black Girl is utterly electric.

I wanted to like this. My expectations going in from what I read about this one were high. I got pulled into it and it got me excited and then just as quickly became a little bit of a tedious read. The idea behind this book was interesting and intriguing, but the delivery got lost on me somewhere and I can't quite pinpoint where.
The first quarter of the book pulled me in. So many questions. What was going on?!!???!?!? What was going to happen??!!?! Couldn't put it down. And suddenly the plot just fell flat, went nowhere in my opinion. Maybe the comparison to Get Out threw me off. I was expecting some real suspense and heart-racing thriller and instead found that it was a book about black women putting down other black women. Just fell flat. The characters and storyline became boring as I waited for some big reveal that never came.

This one has been super popular on Instagram, and I was so excited to read it since it had been described as a mixture of Get Out and The Devil Wears Prada (two movies I loveee). Here's a quick review of my thoughts!

Things I liked:

•The discussions around racism in the workplace. I thought this book did a really good job of still keeping that thriller~ vibe while making some strong statements about what it's like to be a BIPOC in the workplace.

• I REALLY liked the story up until the very end. I thought it had a lot of potential, and it kept me on my toes. I was super paranoid for the main character, and was rooting for her the entire time!

• The setting!!! Reading a story that takes place in a publishing house was so fun! It was so cool getting to see behind the scenes (even if it was just fiction!).

Things I didn't like:

• The ending 🙈 I think I understand where the author was going with this, but personally I wish it ended a different way. Honestly, this is complete personal preference, and I'm sure some others loved it! I also want to point out that this ending makes for a really good discussion 😂

• There were some unanswered questions/unfinished story lines that I wish were addressed. By the end of the book, I felt like there were characters that just completely disappeared.

Overall, I think this was a pretty strong debut! I will definitely check out anything that Zakiya Dalila Harris puts out next because I thought that this book was really good up until the ending!

This book was a bit of an enigma for me. I really enjoyed it but I did feel like it could have gone through some more editing. I thought getting a view into the real experiences of a Black woman in such a heavily white industry was fascinating and excellent, but up until the last quarter or so I have to say I was a bit mystified by the huge hype. This was both good and bad because when it did ramp up so aggressively that I found myself confused about where certain characters found their footing. I enjoyed this, but it was just too long. A lot of "tell, don't show".

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for allowing me to read this title early in exchange for an honest review.

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.
______
I've been sitting on this review for a WHILE now. I haven't been able to wrap my head around all of my thoughts and feelings. I know this is an important piece of fiction. I understand that it is powerful and significant and screams to be heard. I also know that I was not the intended audience/reader/receiver for this book. The author was not thinking of me or people who look like me when she wrote this. In fact, as a white-passing invisible minority, I feel like I should read, take in the author's message, talk about the book with others, and move along. My perspective, my opinions don't matter here. I will not talk over the voices who should be heard. Please search out #TheOtherBlackGirl and find the many, many voices speaking about this book.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for the ARC of this book for review

Nella Rogers is the only Black woman working as an editorial assistant at Wagner Books until Hazel arrives. Delighted about this, Nella and Hazel start to bond over things while working. Hazel is a breath of fresh air for Nella after dealing with microaggressions and isolation over the years in her publishing position. But then, things start to change as Hazel becomes the office “it girl” very quickly.

And then notes start arriving, addressed to Nella… LEAVE. WAGNER. NOW.

Hazel couldn’t be leaving these threatening notes, could she? Or is it her editor, Vera? Could it be the author of the book that Nella found overly problematic?

I think a lot of folks expected this book to be comedic for some reason, but I think it’s more of a blended genre: some horror, some thriller, and some drama. It isn’t a fast paced read, more of a slow burn -- but I read it quickly. I needed to know what was happening.

I loved this book. There were so many twists and turns that I did not expect at all, especially at the end. I could not put it down. I went through so many emotions along with Nella: anger, fear, paranoia, etc.. I haven’t watched Get Out (more of a reader, less of a movie buff) but now I want to see it. And I really think this book should become a movie or a limited series, so if anyone responsible for producing tv shows or movies is reading this-- please get the ball rolling! I also wonder (and hope) there will be a sequel or a prequel as I have so many unanswered questions right now!

I think going into this book, the reader should know it's not exactly what the blurb about the book says. It's definitely not a "thriller" as its tagged. That aspect is a little misleading. I was excited to read this book because I wanted to know more about the issues within the publishing world addressing diversity in a fictional context that was going to have some mysterious twist. The blurb written about the book makes it sound so intriguing. While what I read had some good aspects, I just overall felt mislead about what I just read. That's my first issue. My second issue is there are multiple narrators and the timeline jumps back and forth. With tighter editing this could have been streamlined better and enhanced the story instead of confusing the reader. I went into this book with a bunch of questions about the subject topic. By the end of the book I felt I had even more questions with none of the original ones answered. On the point of the "twist", I felt more explanation needed to be provided around it. I feel it's safe to say this book will attract a lot of readers outside the African American community and many of these themes, concepts or lingo we may not be familiar with. It was a great opportunity to be a learning tool for those of us in that category and I feel I walked away not understanding fully when I should and wanted to. (I'm trying to not give away any spoilers here).

The reviews on this book have been either loved it or it was just okay. On the latter reviews the big complaint has been around being confused (either with the narrators, the timeline, the twist in the story). So I would encourage you to go into this book with a completely open mind and see how it lands for you.

I read this book as a buddy read with a group and it brought up many great conversation points. Could be a good book to consider for book clubs.

My thanks to the author, Atria Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read 60% of this book and I just couldn't get into it. I found myself not enjoying the pacing or the characters so while I might try it again someday, it is not for me at the moment.

First of all, many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an advance reader copy of The Other Black Girl in exchange for an honest review.

Nella Rogers is the only black employee at a publishing house in New York City and she’s tired of the microaggressions and racism she experiences every day. Imagine how thrilled she is when another black woman is hired as an editorial assistant, with a desk right next to hers. But then notes start being left for Nella warning her to leave the company. Who is leaving the notes? Can she trust her new co-worker? These are the big mysteries to be solved in the course of the novel
.
Unfortunately, the mystery is not very compelling and the pace at which it unravels is excruciatingly slow. There are flashbacks to other timelines that are confusing and slow down the story and so many characters that it’s hard to keep track of them.

However, this book works very well as social commentary. I really enjoyed the relationships between the women and the discussions and events that centred around race and misogyny. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it hadn’t been billed as a mystery/thriller, because I felt let down.

The author has a distinct voice and strong point of view, so even though this book was a disappointment, I look forward to seeing what she does next.

I really struggled with this book. While the author gave insight to how it is being “different” in the work place it was difficult to relate. I see this book as The Devil Meets Pravda meets One Flew Over the Coocoo’s Nest. I was left with a feeling of hopelessness.

The Other Black Girl started out strong for me. I was drawn right in by Nella's experiences as the only Black woman in a primarily white workplace and her drive, as well as her conflicting feelings about Hazel's arrival in the office. This definitely wasn't the typical thriller I'm used to reading. I'm not even sure I would call it a thriller. It was very much a slow burn, and while I wanted to know who was behind the notes and why they were writing them, I didn't feel the kind of edge-of-your-seat anticipation that I love.

The bouncing between past and present and the different POVs felt a tad confusing at times and didn't really come together in the end for me. There was one point that it started to fall flat, and I found my self thinking ".......really?". I felt like the ending was a little disjointed from the rest of the book, or maybe I just missed some important key details somewhere. I'd say more but I don't want to give any spoilers.

I will say this though, up until that one point I was invested in figuring out what was going. I am left curious to see what Zakiya Dalila Harris comes up with next.

The build-up and suspense that happens throughout this book is amazing! I was genuinely loving it and couldn't wait to see what the big twist was going to be. The author did a great job making you wonder about different characters. However, the twist was just not my cup of tea. It was so much shocking as it was unrealistic. Maybe I need to suspend disbelief a little more, but up until the point of the twist, it didn't seem like a book that would take such a turn.

I feel like this book is so incredibly timely. It really made me think about my own actions as a white woman and how to be a better ally to people of colour, especially to Black women. The essential lessons about race are tightly wound into an absolute killer of a plot. This story begins with a short prologue of a woman fleeing from something or someone in a panic. What exactly is not clear, but it imparts a feeling of terrible danger and a strong dose of paranoia. We begin with a bang!

This transitions into a more ordinary story with Nella in the office of a publisher, Wagner Books. She is the only black employee, other than the delivery man and a security guard at the front desk. At the end of a shift at Wagner filled with micro-aggressions and unintentional racism from her white co-workers, she unwinds with her black friends and tells them of all the ways she faced racism in her day. I have to say that it sounded exhausting and frustrating. It made me more aware of my own actions and to be mindful of these offenses in my own behaviour. It is not just the bigger things we label racist like police shootings or a business hiring only white people, it is also the myriad small things-the little actions and reactions that POC face all day, everyday. I don’t think you can read about Nella’s life without getting angry about how differently and unfairly she is treated, just because she is black.

If the book just dealt with these issues, it would have been a compelling story, but things take a turn into the weird and horrific and I could not have been more into it! Ominous things start happening when Wagner hires another Black girl, Hazel. At first Nella is thrilled to have an obvious collaborator in the office-someone who understands the black experience. But is Hazel really an ally and friend or is she part of something more sinister? When it all shakes out at the end it is even more bizarre and shocking than I could have imagined. I have read straight-up horror novels that were less frightening! I would never have guessed the underlying horror and it astonished me. The way that the author brought the seemingly disparate pieces of this story together was masterful. There was all the suspense of a thriller enmeshed with meaningful social commentary. It was as far from a brainless plot as possible yet maintained a tension that had me racing through the pages. It was hard to put down but impossible to forget!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Atria Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Rating: 3.5 STARS
2021; Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Canada

The Other Black Girl was a hard one to rate. I loved the message and writing of this novel, but something about this one kept me from rating it a straight 4 stars. The Other Black Girl has been compared as a cross between The Devil Wears Prada and the movie, Get Out. I enjoyed both of those works, and I think that is a fair description. For me, the mix wasn't enjoyable. I was more interested in Nella's story about working at Wagners. If I had read this book, instead of listening to the audiobook, I would have probably skimmed the other sections. Thank gawd I did not as I would have been super confused. I am happy I read this book, but it is not one I will rereading or recommending it to everyone. I think this one is for those readers that like a bit more fiction with their fiction.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

The Other Black Girl is a novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris, who has made it difficult to attach a genre to her debut work. Thriller…science fiction…mystery…society criticism…

Nella is an assistant in the office of a book publisher. She finds herself struggling being the only Black person with a desk job there and is enthused when she sees another Black woman come in for an interview and is further buoyed when she is hired. As luck would have it, she is also an assistant and takes over a desk right across from Nella. Hazel, the new hire, relies on Nella to show her the ropes but soon appears to become the favourite, both in the eyes of Nella’s boss and the rest of the office. Opinions go further sideways when Nella outwardly criticizes the new work of the companies most popular author, calling into question the insertion and background of the sole Black character. Nella is then the recipient of a few handwritten notes suggesting she leave the company immediately. She discusses this with her best friend and decides to do some digging to find out who wants her out and why.

The novel draws on many current issues in society: interracial marriage, the struggle minorities face in the workplace & the advancement there-in, how one needs to suppress their true feelings to adjust to societal norms, and even black hair.

I rather enjoyed the behind the scenes look into the publishing world and being briefly exposed to what goes into the books we hold. I know I’m supposed to love this book as it’s being dubbed as the book of the summer and is compared in story to Get Out. However, I found the telling of the story too disjointed. There is not a suitable layer of background as the narration flips between parties from chapter to chapter. It presents itself as murky from the jump. The reveal at the end is presented well and is a great read but it left me wondering if Harris didn’t start with the reveal and work back. If so, her editor should have helped more than Nella ever did,

If you have a few days and a clear head to follow a muddled story, pick this up. If not, wait for the inevitable film.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing a copy for review.

3.5/5 Stars

26 year old Nella is the sole Black employee at Wagner Books, facing multiple microaggressions a day. When Hazel, another Black woman is hired, she is excited to have someone at the next cubicle who gets it. Some uncomfortable encounters happen around the office which makes Nella begin to question if Hazel has ulterior motives for befriending her. Then threatening notes begin showing up on Nella's desk and she begins to suspect it may be Hazel, trying to climb the corporate ladder. Nella begins to investigate Hazel and who she really is, uncovering some shocking secrets.

I enjoyed this, but I didn't LOVE this. It definitely goes into very important social commentary surrounding racism that needs to be talked about. This felt similar to Alyssa Cole's When No One is Watching, told in an office setting, instead of in a neighbourhood. Nella was an intriguing character, and I enjoyed learning more about her and her work environment as he story progressed, and the suspense grew thicker. I thought the book started off strong, but I became boring pretty quickly. It's definitely a slow burn, and I think I wasn't expecting that, so I was a bit disappointed. I did like how we got other perspectives, not just Nella's. It made the story a bit more interesting, and I think it was a clever way to tell the story.

I think this is a book you need to be in the mood for to thoroughly enjoy. I think the comparison to The Devil Wears Prada is a bit of a stretch, but I definitely see the Get Out comparison for sure.

<i>The Other Black Girl</i> has received tons of hype and early praise, but unfortunately, I was disappointed for several reasons.

Let me start with what I liked about the book. I enjoyed the glimpse into the publishing industry and was particularly interested in the way office politics, microaggressions, and code-switching were explored. I desperately wanted to know who was sending Nella those notes and uncover the nefarious goings-on that were being hinted at from early in the book.

However, the pacing of this book was uneven and it took way too long for anything to happen. There were little moments of suspense and intrigue in the early parts of the book, but it wasn’t until the 60% mark that a bigger reveal occurred. Then it slowed down again, before ramping up to an incredibly rushed and unsatisfying ending that left me with so many questions. There were also several different POVs sprinkled throughout the book which were interesting at first, but ended up being more distracting than enlightening. I wish these POVs were expanded on more. Similarly, while I thought the big reveal was interesting, I wish the author spent a little more time exploring the ins and outs of it rather than wrapping everything up so quickly.

TLDR: Interesting premise, disappointing execution.

I am conflicted about the book. I think it covers a lot of very important topics and would be a great jumping off point for further discussions and deliberation of social justice issues. However, I feel like the structure of the book could have been more polished. It feels loose and uncommitted. For example, it either needs more or less POVs. This in-between is distracting and doesn't use the literary tool to its full advantage. That said, I really believe that this author has great potential and I can envision how her future works will surpass this work.