A beautiful graphic novel from beginning to end. From the illustration to the storyline, Wash Day Diaries was a tender insight into four Black women's lives and their relationships with one another and their haircare routine. Their friendship was so delightful to read about and I wish I could have read more about them and their day-to-day. Seeing this take place in the Bronx added a layer of familiarity and realness to the lives of these four women. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this eARC of Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith. This was such a fun read and the end had me smiling from ear to ear! This is a fantastic story of female friendship and solidarity. Wash Day Diaries follows four close friends as they navigate romantic relationships, mental health struggles, careers, and family reconciliation. This graphic novel was touching, encouraging, and absolutely beautiful. The graphics and coloring were absolutely gorgeous. 10/10 recommend if you're looking for the perfect pick-me-up read.

This was such a cute graphic novel!! I loved getting to know each of the girls and seeing them all come together in the end. Each chapter was focused on one of the main girls and how their friendship all tie together in the end showing their love and support for each other no matter the situation.

The illustrations are extremely well done and it was super enjoyable to read this slice of life. I think the author did a wonderful job writing each character and did a great job making each one super unique. The author also included many different topics and situations that people can relate to; we saw mental health topics be discussed, family struggles, toxic ex's, lgbt representation, and much more. I loved how quickly I was able to binge this graphic novel and how each character while all are different have some sort of relatable aspect.

I was able to pick this up as an ARC from Netgalley and I am so glad that I did.

The joy of this book is in the details. There is so much being said without being said. Jamila and Robyn utilize this form of literature to the fullest. You really have to slow down and look, and I mean look, at every page. Scour every panel or you will miss it. I know that this book is directed towards young black women but this is a story for all women. I found that I laughed, nodded, and commiserated with many of the situations of these four lovely women.

A huge thank you for my e-ARC, which was provided by the publisher, author, and illustrator via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Would I read it again?
Unlikely

Would I recommend it?
It depends on my audience. This book is most likely for a mature audience. There is some language, drug use, and sexual situations.

Is it a permanent addition to my library?
No

Content Warnings?
There is a chapter dedicated to Depression and I would avoid it if this is a difficult topic for you.

*Received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Chronicle Books. All thoughts are my own.*

Wash Day Diaries is an interconnected short story series of four friends--Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie--as they go about their lives in the Bronx. Each story uses the character's relationship with hair and the care that it represents to give an intimate peek into their lives. But it's also an overall story about the power and beauty of female friendships that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

What I loved about the stories in this collection was the depth of emotions each story captured in a short amount of time. One of the things that wowed me about this graphic novel was how it used silence so beautifully, which is a testament to Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith's collaboration. There were several pages where Rowser let her characters just be in the moment and soak up themselves--no thought bubbles or narrative asides to disrupt the page--but they got to just be present in a way you don't see in graphic novels very often. And this also let Smith's art shine and take center stage.

This graphic novel also has one of my favorite visualizations of group texts. The way the art interacted with the text exchanges welcomed you into the friend group and felt like you were a part of the conversation. The art, in general, was stunning and the monochromatic color palette for each character gave such effortless vibes for each individual.

As a reviewer, I can't personally speak to the representation of the Black experience since it isn't my own, but I want to call out how much love and care Rowser and Smith put into these characters because it emanates from the page so clearly. Both in the sense that it's clear these creators love these characters and what they represent, but also that the characters clearly love and respect one another. And wow is that a powerful thing to read about! I don't think there are enough examples of loving female friendships in media, and this is my new favorite example of what good looks like.

Try this if you...
-love tv shows like Girlfriends, The Bold Type, or Insecure
-miss the feels of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
-live for a beautiful, femme aesthetic

Content Warnings [All Minor]
-Stalker ex
-Depression/anxiety
-loved one with dementia/Alzheimer's

Have you ever open a book and knew that you would immediately relate to it. Well this is how I felt as soon as I seen the first illustration of washday diaries 🔥

This manga gave me life like no other manga I have read has. It had everything that you would think of in the day-to-day life of a BIPOC group of women. It included group chats, messy situations, and forgiveness. As a BIPOC it was refreshing to see myself within these pages. As well as see people who resembled me. I also loved the inclusion of the Spanish language and Latin community. It was a easy read, and I felt like I knew each of these characters. I felt one with the pages and there were several times I had to stop from Laughing so hard. Let’s not fail to mention the art style was flawless, it had texture and color my word the colors. From the characters skin tones/hair textures, to the backdrops it was so well done. It was so relatable and I was sad when it was done, I hope this author creates more content like this. I will gladly give my money for it.

If you are someone who loves good tea, ride or die friends, and some messy situation this manga is for you.

I just finished Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith. This was a celebration of natural hair, beauty, and friendship! The artwork was beautiful! I loved how relatable and humorous each story was. There are a total of five stories that dealt with self care, dating, family relationships, mental health and friendship. I loved how relatable the pictures of all the haircare pictures were. This was the first graphic novel I’ve read that had connected short stories. I enjoyed reading each one and the release date is June 14, 2022.

Disclaimer: This ARC was provided by Netgalley and Chronicle Books.

I am in love with Wash Day Diaries. Jamila Rowser pulls together an awesome creative team with Robyn Smith drawing (and coloring), and Bex Glendining, and Kazimir Lee. Wash Day Diaries follows four friends over the course a couple days as they go through their different beauty routines and their daily lives and how those two things intersect and bring them together. I loved learning even more about hair care routines of minority women since they do differ so much from my own. The art captures the long processes in quick succession giving a wonderful overview of the daily hair care challenges different types of hair textures present. On top of the celebration of different hair, there's wonderful friendships between four strong women. Seriously such a good read.

Wash Day Diaries is a graphic novel focused around four best friends in five connected short story comics. We follow Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie, each having their own story within the novel. We get quick glimpses into their lives in the Bronx. The novel depicts their life experiences but also shows their different wash day routines in the midst of estranged family relationships, love triangles, and complicated ex drama. We go through days with these four friends together and separately.

While reading this novel, it’s important to note that they are short comics, while this novel does tackle important topics of being a black woman, it’s going to be as much about what is said but also what is shown by the illustrator. I enjoyed this book and held a constant smile on my face while reading it. It was the epitome of authentic life as a black woman, getting up early for wash day, the different stages to managing my curls, complete with twisting and drying and styling. Each woman has a different approach as do we all with how we manage and style our hair. The illustrator utilized the unspoken to depict these things while we learned of the women’s lives through texts, conversations, and flashbacks. There was also a moment that resonated with me most with Davene’s short story. This story had some of the telltale signs of mental health issues. There were subtle signs in the illustrations that spoke volumes of a messy house, avoiding work, missing appointments, and declining invites with friends before it was even spoken by the character that she was dealing with depression. There was also a moment with a friend that truly played upon the stigma surrounding therapy and depression.

The moment was short-lived and as a short story it wasn’t completely dealt with, but later in the story, support was shown and unspoken understanding that essentially spoke volumes and counteracted the reaction in earlier panels. Each woman has a story of turmoil and strength, and this book is also a celebration of friendship. It’s a reassuring tale that despite it all, friends are always there to support each other. It has black woman magic on each page - spoken and unspoken.

I was glad to have the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley. Wash Day Diaries is out June 14, 2022.

This was a fun story to read. I was able to read an early review copy through Netgalley.

I loved how the stories were told through the lens of haircare. I'm a big fan of Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the theme of hair in this graphic novel made me think of the hair themes in that book.

I also appreciated the mental health representation. I think the way that the character's friend responded to her depression was a good depiction of how a situation like that may play out in real life.

Overall this was a fun book, introducing us to a fun set of characters. While this was a set of short stories interwoven together I think that certain characters were given more "air time" than others. I'd like to see future books delving deeper into each of the characters.

Link to Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4541894713

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book! I loved this and the artwork is so cute. I would love to see more from these characters!

*eARC provided by Netgalley and Chronicle Books, review provided by ya girl ;)

Beautiful stories, beautiful illustrations! My only complaint about this comic is that I want more!!! I got to the end and was like, wait, where's the rest? Inside this comic, you'll find tension, drama, sisterhood, family wounds, mental health struggles, and dreams. Throughout every struggle Cookie, Tanisha, Devane, and Kim face, their girlfriends are right there to support them.

I loved seeing myself in all the black women shown in this book, it's a type of representation that I don't get very often without the addition of gratuitous pain or turmoil. Quick, calm, and easy read. Wish there was more

Yes to more incredibly and diverse graphic novels where you see characters just living their ordinary lives, where nothing major happens but you see and learn and feel so much <3

Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie are four black women in their twenties who are friends with each other and we follow them throughout their wash day - the day in which they take some time off to care for their hair, whether that involves "simply" washing it or braiding it and so on and... we see what happens on that day in their lives.

The graphic novel is almost "divided" into short stories, each one focusing on one of the girls, but we see them telling each other stories through group texting, meeting each other, going to one's house or a party; they come in and out and it all blends in seamlessly.
I loved the drawings, I loved how the artists showed through words and color the beauty and gloriousness of these black women and their hair and how messy and complicated and also happy their lives are; the amount of timea and the care their hair requires, the racism they experience everyday, the mental health stigma...
I loved the colors and shapes and I absolutely adored how the images were placed on the page, the uhm... imaging montage?

I'd recommend this to anyone and I can't wait to see what these authors will put out next!

This is a short, cute book addressing friendship, specifically the power, encouragement, and support that comes from a tight friend group.

I love this so much! The art amazing. The friends group squad goals for real. I can't speak on any of the cultural things because I am white but I still loved this and appreciated their stories. I really hope we get more. I'd love to see how the group grows and what happens with everyone going forward.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this graphic novel. I didn't really feel particularly one way about this book. It was a fine read. I quite liked the art. I also loved the friendship element to this book. It was just a bit confusing in the beginning, and like I mentioned before it didn't make me feel strongly one way or the other at all.

This was such a nice slice of life graphic novel! The art and different depictions of the four women's hair was beautiful. It covers so many topics in a short space of time, but it does it beautifully.

There was a little group chat section that reminded me of spilling tea with my own friends and it made me really happy.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I say myself and my friends in the story. Art is really and colors are vivid. This is must read. The characters friendship are warm to the heart.

This was really cute/fun. I especially enjoyed the 2nd story, it was funny and genuine in a way that made me feel as if I was a part of the group chat, hanging on to what would come next. Most of the other ones felt to me to be a bit too thin. Only skimming the bare surface of a story with depth. While it's not necessarily needed to dive deep in what is intended to be a slice of life story, it seems that there was some unutilized potential. Like, I said, cute fun story, but very little to make it stand out as a special reading experience.

*arc review