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Spoiler-Free Synopsis
Wash Day Diaries tells the story of four best friends—Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie—through five connected short story comics that follow these young women through the ups and downs of their daily lives in the Bronx.
The book takes its title from the wash day experience shared by Black women everywhere of setting aside all plans and responsibilities for a full day of washing, conditioning, and nourishing their hair. Each short story uses hair routines as a window into these four characters' everyday lives and how they care for each other.
Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith originally kickstarted their critically acclaimed, award-winning slice of life mini comic, Wash Day, inspired by Rowser's own wash day ritual and their shared desire to see more comics featuring the daily lived experiences of young Black women. Wash Day Diaries includes an updated, full color version of this original comic—which follows Kim, a 26-year-old woman living in the Bronx—as the book's first chapter and expands into a graphic novel with short stories about these vibrant and relatable new characters.
In expanding the story of Kim and her friends, the authors pay tribute to Black sisterhood through portraits of shared, yet deeply personal experiences of Black hair care. From self-care to spilling the tea at an hours-long salon appointment to healing family rifts, the stories are brought to life through beautifully drawn characters and different color palettes reflecting the mood in each story.
At times touching, quiet, triumphant, and laugh out loud funny, the stories of Wash Day Diaries pay a loving tribute to Black joy and the resilience of Black women.
MY REVIEW
Thank You, NetGalley and Chronicle Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I love this!
First of all, I love the cover! Each character has a distinct personality, and you can tell just on their looks.
Now, back to the review. The first "Chapter, we're introduced who I believe is Kimamana , and the name of the chapter is "Wash Day." May I note, each character (4 in total) have their own Chapter, and they have a different story. We start off with her coming home for the night, waking up, getting and the shower and such. I like the inclusion of the bonnet, because people don't include those much, but I fangirled over seeing it in Twins by Varian Johnson, soooo. Anyway, there is LIGHT nudity, including her breasts, but I don't think that's really anything to worry about because it's human anatomy. I could understand if it were showing her full body, especially since I'm, yk, a minor. She peeks into her roommates' bedroom to check in on her before heading to get breakfast at what seems to be a corner store nearby.
She gets to her friends house, continues washing her hair, and they bond over smoking weed, and catch each other up with life.
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The second chapter is called 'Group Chat', where we follow a girl named Nisha. She enters her local hair salon, in need of a DESPERATE hair wash. Sitting at the wash station, she gets her hair washed, and whilst it's being braided, she chats on text with the other girls. She tells a story about her date (Small Spoiler, it went somewhat wrong, with a sneaky link crashing the party at one point!) Again, we have a light point where it's definitely proper to label this graphic novel as 'Adult' and 'Young Adult', with a small sex scene (One clip).
We end her chapter with her braids being tightened and done.
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The third chapter is called 'Bright Side', where we get to the mental health side of things.
We meet a character named Davene, who seems to be on the left side of life when it comes towards her mental health. She seems tired, and according to her friends, she hasn't been herself. Waking up, she realizes she missed her hair day, and messages a stylist letting her know. Davene ends up texting a friend (Cookie) who does her hair in cornrows for her, so she can wear a wig for the day.
Davene's place is a mess, and this is when we meet cookie, where she says that it isn't her for her place to look like this. They talk, allowing for Davene to realize that her friends miss her.
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The Fourth chapter, we meet our last main character, which is Cookie!!
We follow Cookie around and meet some valuable people in her life, including her grandma, who suffers from dementia.
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VERY last chapter is where we see the girls get all together and head out to party for the night. They all look stunning, They have romance problems, unwanted interactions, and romantic encounters, which is what made this book so enjoyable.
Five stars from me, I LOVED this!! Cannot wait for publish date. <3
Black Girl Reads,
Zoe Harris
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