Dear Ali: a Review of Ali Wong’s Dear Girls
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc of this book I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Dear Ali,
I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this book.
I’m not going to lie; I’m not a huge fan of comedy. I often find the jokes too easy and I don’t like laughter that feels so inorganic. This makes me really popular with the hubby as I am sure you can imagine.
I was still excited to read your book, though. While I don’t always like stand up, I (for some reason) really like to read the memoirs comics write. Yours was, frankly, significantly better than most.
You were so frank and honest and it was touching to read how direct you were in a book that is marketed as a letter to your children. It was so sex positive and, as you know, it’s so unusual to read something that treats sex as so natural without handling it with kid gloves. I like that you were real about your mistakes, but just as real about how beneficial some mistakes can be.
I loved that you talked about your bush. That probably sounds weird, but again, it feels like most writing about body positivity is so contrived. Like people are always complaining about the same body parts in the same ways. The truth is, body hair can be really annoying and embarrassing and I love that you highlighted such a non-cliché struggle women face. And fuck that guy who told you that you had too much hair! Did he shave his balls? I’m guessing no.
No one asked for a favorite thing about the book, but I have to say, it’s your views on Motherhood. You are so real, so authentic. Again, its not the same old story of that time you accidentally sent the baby to school in mismatched socks (gasp!). It’s a look at (and a laugh at) how relentless and exhausting and worrying motherhood can be.
This book was at once light and funny and also serious and profound. It was dark truths told in a way that made you stifle a guilty giggle. It was fun, and decadent, and irreverent, but also clever.
Dear Ali, I loved it.
4/5
