Girl is an incredibly timely collection of essays having been finished up during the pandemic and written in the build up to the US election. This means Kenya Hunt has been able to touch on some of the emotions and feelings of 2020, particularly in the wake of June 2020 and the prominence of the Black Lives Matter protests. However, the collection of essays is much bigger than the landscape of 2020.

It covers a vast array of topics from the broader themes of terminology we use, communities and identities, Black motherhood, Black trauma and loss. To more specific situations such as the drama surrounding the British Royal Family and the anti-blackness exhibited towards Meghan Markle. There are also several contributed essays from other Black women such as Candice Carty-Williams who discusses the fallout to her book Queenie and how it's changed people's interactions with her.

From my own personal perspective what I found most interesting is that Kenya Hunt is an American expat living in the UK. This means she has a real critical insight into both the US and the UK political, social and cultural scene. For those that often consider the UK to be "not as racist as the US" I think this really brings home some stark realities.

Other elements that I really appreciated in this collection, which felt very relevant as I was reading this as the US election results were being counted, was the devastation she felt and discussed in response to Trump's election in 2016. Her focus on the hidden efforts and power of Black women to drive change. And then finally, not related to politics, but I really enjoyed her discussions about the power of Black Panther and Wakanda for Black culture.

Overall this was a fantastic and timely collection of essays that gave me a lot to think about and I devoured the whole thing in a few sittings. The length of these essays makes them really great for when you have short amounts of time to read. Thanks to @hqreads and @netgalley. Out 26th Nov.