i thought this was fine. i really wanted to love it, but it ended up being just okay. the middle part was LOOOOOONG. it felt like Ted Mosby sharing every. little. detail. that is not relevant to the story in HIMYM. Kendra Jones was sharing things that i think didn't matter to her overall story of being Black at a boarding school so i got bored listening to just the daily experiences she had. the ending was strong though when she was talking about the microaggressions she delt with while at Taft. biggest issue was that this book was long and it lost it's way before a great ending - great meaning the writing, not all the BS James went through while at Taft and being an alumni ( )

Three and a half stars. The blurb I read for this book was right! I'm so thrilled when that happens. James shares some indeed funny memories, and frames others in a humorous light for the first half of the book. I'm proud to announce I got ninety percent of her pop culture references, and I, too, read "Spying on Miss Muller" as a kid. I went back and read it as an adult a few years ago, and wow, my perception changed due to knowledge and life experience. It was -wonderful- to read someone so much like me: goth, scared of everything, we read many of the same books and watched many of the same TV shows, and had the same reasons for things, and friends online across the word when that wasn't cool. There are a few "blink and you miss it" references to "The Craft," even, which is probably always going to be my second-favorite movie of all time and favorite horror movie. It felt so good to laugh and go "Same here! I get the reference!"

James acknowledges she has rose-tinted lenses about Taft, her boarding/prep high school. She still manages to portray boarding school realistically, and in a way that you can sort of--I lack the vocabulary beyond "her writing is great and I appreciate this." That's the first half. The second half is when she goes on and ON about college admissions and her tone shifts completely. All these schools did was pressure kids about college and life timelines. Gap year? BAD. Deferment? DEATH SENTENCE. The racism and racist comment she had faced since day one skyrockets here, or it did to my notice. She addresses why she returned to help other students of color acclimate and her choices at every moment around that. It must have been exhausting, but at no point in the book does she seem exhausted. Grimly determined at most, but overall "I chose this and here's why." I'm so glad I got to read this, and I hope it's widely read. I learned a lot. ( )

A candid look at being Black at a New England board school that is at times funny and at time infuriating. ( )

This was great fun to read - Kendra James' narrative voice is so engaging, and I appreciated the humor and sarcasm she used liberally throughout. I did not find the content particularly surprising, but do think the racist foundations of schools like Taft are something that should be brought more to light. I will definitely look for more by this author. ( )

NOT the best book I ever read, but if you've ever spent time in a remotely elite independent school, you'll know it's real. ( )