As the only Black woman working at prestigious Wagner Publishing in Manhattan, Nella Rogers yearns for another Black female colleague, someone able to empathize with the stresses and pressures Black people face on a daily basis, working in industries and socializing in work-related situations which, like publishing, are rife with the challenges of classism and racism, despite efforts exerted by the powers-that-be to pretend otherwise.
When Hazel-May McCall, the latest Wagner hire, an editorial assistant just like Nella, arrives on the scene, Nella’s relief is palpable. At last, a potential friend and supporter, another Black woman who Nella can support too! Life as Nella’s known it has just changed for the better.
Or has it? Hazel’s mixed messages and competitive edge leave Nella disoriented and confused. When Hazel begins spending long, secretive sessions with Nella’s direct boss, ultimately swooping in to advise on a manuscript Nella was supposed to assist in editing, Nella begins to feel threatened as well . . . and not just at work.
The Other Black Girl (2021) shifts seamlessly from “realistic chick lit/women’s fiction,” into another genre entirely. As it does the plot thickens, the intrigue builds, and the questions and implications raised about the professional emotional challenges people of color continue to face deepen. What conflicts may arise, what pressures may need to be surmounted, what sacrifices may need to be made regarding achievement and authenticity? Zakiya Dalila Harris deftly explore such questions and more, in this, her first page-turner of a novel. I look forward to reading her next.