Nailah Williams

It’s definitely an interesting book, and I like the modern day spin on “Pride and Prejudice” although it starts off slow. What I do not particularly appreciate is the author’s repeated calling out of characters who are not white. Example: “...Caroline was handing drinks to Charlotte Lucas, as well as Keith, the other new emergency room doctor Liz had met at the Lucas’ barbecue, and to an attractive woman, also black, whom Liz guessed to be Keith’s San Diego fiancée. (Ms. Sittenfeld had already pointed out Keith’s race earlier in the book stating “...Keith, is another new emergency doctor—the man in question was black, the only non-white person at the party...” There are certain instances where pointing out ethnicity is important, but when it adds nothing to the story and is done in an awkward way to reflect the fact the person is among the non-white default characters it is offensive and unnecessary. I hope that she and other authors who reflect these thoughts and biases in their writing can evolve and expand their world view. This is the first book review I have written, but I feel like it is important to point out these issues. Sometimes, many times, people are just people.