For the pop culture-obsessed millennial. Sign me up.

Aisha Harris is someone I’m familiar with thanks to NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour and we are the same age, so I was really excited when I saw that she had written a book.

Parts I Loved: how, despite recent strides in incorporating diversity, television and movies still routinely incorporate the Black Friend trope; her opinion on how intellectual properties (or, IPs) will never die and that originality when it comes to visual storytelling is a bit (a lot) lacking; how we’re maybe too nostalgic for the magic of our childhoods.

To that last point, Wannabe also continues this pattern re: millennials being critical of the pop culture of our youth. Some of her essays are reminiscent of those in the book We Are the Babysitters Club from a few years ago: as a now-grown adult, it’s okay and even encouraged to point out problematic content from what we used to consume, but still look back on it fondly.

I thought her personal memoir parts were spread out a little uneven, as they were very prominent in the beginning but then just sprinkled out throughout the rest.

This was a really fun books of essays. I enjoyed Aisha Harris’s writing style and wit, and the essays all made me both laugh and think. If you’re interested in millennial pop culture at all, I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this when it’s released.

Thank you to HarperOne and NetGalley for the review copy.

Pub Date: June 13, 2023

I love Aisha. I first heard her on a podcast several years ago and she is so smart and witty. This book is full of that charm and humor!