This is a slice of life graphic novel about four different best friends! The theme connecting theme of the stories, hair care, is woven into each story. The art style is both cozy and expressive, with each woman having her own color scheme. These stories take place mostly during the summer, and it really feels like a summery story! Unfortunately over the course of the story, one friend tells another that she shouldn’t get antidepressants and gives her a crystal instead, and we see the depressed friend simply crawl back into bed afterwards. While this story is slice of life and we don’t really follow up on any of their individual stories, this was the least cozy story that I wish had a better ending, and knocks the rating down a quarter star. 4.75 stars.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel; from the detailed graphics to the strong friendships created by four best friends, Kim, Tanisha, Davenport, and Cookie. Seeing the quartet bond and grow together was both inspiring and lovely, showing readers that it's possible to build deep friendships and sure is worth it when you have someone to lean on. The stories and voices of each character was beautiful, along with getting a look at their wash day routine and hair styling.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange of an honest review.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

An amazing view into the hair care rituals and friendship between a beautiful and diverse group of women. We journey with them through life events, dating and dealing with depression. This would make an amazing televised series or movie. Can't wait for part 2.

My thoughts 💭: I loved the friendship between the women and using hair care as a connecting between the different stories. It follows 4 black women who are friends that lives in the Bronx and it starts with each other either washing their hair or styling their hair and different stories about their current life situations, like mental health, dating and careers these are some they talked about. I definitely recommend this graphic novel

The illustrations in this novel are vibrant and real. We get to walk with these women through their lives as the face challenges, that make them stronger empowered women.


Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank You Netgalley for an arc, here is my honest review.

I love this book so much! The illustrations in this graphic novel are stunning!! The details for everyone’s hair are amazing. I loved how everyone had their own hairstyle!

The best thing about this book is the friendships between all four girls; it’s heartwarming and reminded me of my friend group. There’s even talks about mental health that I think were done mostly great, though one characters reaction slightly annoyed me, everything else great.

I can’t wait for this to come out so I can have a physical copy!

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Roser & Robyn Smith
⭐️3.5
Stunning art & vibrant colors. I love the book's message by empowering young women to stay true to themselves. It tells the story about the friendship that four young women share about their wash day.

I just wish there was more text. Even with the artwork which is incredible, I still felt like I didn't know the characters. Like I missed some big secret.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Typically with all anthology stories, I tend to have a problem where I really like certain stories and dislike others. I felt this way about Wash Day Diaries. I loved some of the girls' perspectives, while others needed a reality check. For example, I loved Cookie and Davene's portions. Davene's felt very relatable with her issues of depression and struggling with a career path that may not be right, and Cookie's heartfelt day with her estranged grandma was sweet. However, Kim and Tanisha just came off as annoying to me. They bothered me so much that I struggled reading the portions of the book where they were all together.

Overall, I would say give this book a read. I'm sure there will be portions you enjoy, and like me, you may have issues with a few parts as well.

Such a gorgeous, slice of life about a group of friends and the ways their lives unfold and intersect over the course of a couple days. The artwork is just stunning, the story is emotional and lovely, the friendships are real. I especially liked that the women didn't fight among themselves or have any frenemies crap going on, just real support and love. I loved the way real life issues were woven into the story, the keys between the fingers, cat callers, angry white people on the train, and the well meaning friend suggesting crystals to cure depression.

I would like to thank Chronicle books and Netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the depiction of friendship, family and mental health in this book. Their relationships and characters felt so real and the art was gorgeous.

You will want to be friends with all of these women; at least I do!

The story tells you about four friends that are each dealing with their own struggles, however they are supporting each other. The topics that are raised range from domestic violence to a sassy love triangle. My favorite part of the book was the represention of different sizes, colors, and personalities. As a plus size women it is encouraging to see people like me in a graphic novel. The only complaint I have about this book is that I wish there was more. I really loved the characters and started to be invested in what was going to happen next.

As a graphic novel the illustrations were fun and easy to understand. I was able to learn a lot about the girls hair routines and their personalities. My favorite part was the group chat chapter. They use innovative ways to show the girls having a conversation together with flashbacks.

I plan to post this review on my bookstagram account where I have over 1,000 followers; it will be posted closer to the release date.

An amazing graphic novel depicting the beautiful intricacies of Black friendship. We see complex and dynamic characters whose vibrancy shines off the page. There’s a fierceness among them as they explore everything from mental illness to romantic relationships while supporting and loving one another.

I loved this graphic novel. The art style and color choices were great. I liked how in each section we followed a different character but they still all tied into each other. I would definitely read from this author again!

This was a beautiful graphic novel about everyday life, friendships, relationships and love. The is rep and mental illness in this book was well done. I related to all the characters and want to give them all great big hugs.

This graphic novel was sweet and endearing. The reader was taken on a journey of friendship and 4 different perspectives of wash day. These girls were loving, funny, and supportive. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy because the artwork is so whimsical. What I loved the most is that wash day was visually self-care, rather than an arduous task.

CN: street harassment, mental health concerns on page (depression), dementia, bi phobia, mention of hair discrimination (possibly teasing), ex with progressive threatening behavior (consider a restraining order), on page marijuana use

I DNFed this book about halfway in. The story has graphic images and curse words are repeated multiple times. Although I don't mind reading books with curses if the story is worth it, this one was too much. I didn't understand the characters or the storyline at all. The drawing and colors were pretty okay, but i wasn't hooked to the book or anything.

Thank you Net Galley and Chronicle Books for allowing me to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This comic book is full of black girl magic while also providing relatable events when it comes to managing hair, relationships, and battling everyday life challenges. I was initially drawn to this book because I am a black woman who goes through the daily struggles of wash day and trying to find the best hairstyle to accommodate me but as I began to read the comic an discover how each of the girls bonded with each other it made me realize that the value of friendship is important, it is important for women to uplift each other and stick together.

I want to start off by saying that I am not own voices so please seek out those reviews first and take everything i say with a grain of salt.
I really enjoyed this. The art was beautiful and I really enjoyed the plot. The stories were really sweet and I felt like i learned a lot about each woman in the short time I had with them. I also found the story to be extremely heart warming.

I flew through this book in less than an hour. "Wash Day Diaries" is about the friendship between four natural (hair) queens. The story stays true to the title in that the entire book is entangled with the attention and routines placed in caring for natural hair. It also embraces the struggles some have with living in a society where natural hair isn't always considered "professional" or "acceptable" and the desire to cover their own beauty to appease the masses. The book is not just about hair. "Wash Day Diaries" also tackles mental health, some stigmas associated with minorities, and how easily people can overlook/ be oblivious to your pain when you force a smile on your face. It weaves in some common scenarios minority women face on a regular basis internally and externally. This isn't a long book so I do not want to discuss every topic it covers in this review. I will sum it up by simply saying every woman, especially a woman of color, can find herself in one or all of these women.