Trick Mirror

It's a confidently smart collection of essays informed by a lifetime on writing on the internet. Which is to say a traditional collection of literary essays feels a bit one directional, the author invoking their well-researched thesis and disseminating it outward. Mic drop and move on. But on the internet, especially I imagine for a woman of colour with an opinion, there's an almost immediate response. Mansplaining in the comments, hot takes, internet trolls, the occasional nuanced rebuttal, emojis, gifs and tangental conversations as a result. (Kidding, nuanced rebuttals don't exist online)

And so there's an understanding that it's a journey. That the essay isn't the end of the conversation and Tolentino is writing her discovery in the moment. She's building toward understanding. She's learned to, as she puts it, “suspend my desire for conclusion.”

Academic noodling shored up by personal experience working towards a better understanding and Tolentino is our guide hacking through the underbrush of the internet, scammers, barre classes, reality TV and the wedding industrial complex. It's writing acutely aware of the current moment we're living in.