The Two Dope Queens podcast was one of my favorite things, so I was devastated when I heard that it was coming to an end. The good news is that Phoebe Robinson, one half of those Dope Queens, released her second book just in time to console me.
Like its predecessor (You Can’t Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain), Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay is basically Phoebe on the page. This is both a strength and a weakness. It’s a strength because Phoebe is a badass, irrepressibly funny woman who is almost compulsively open and relatable. It’s a weakness because Phoebe writes exactly the same way she speaks, and that style doesn’t always work in a book.
You see, Phoebe is really into asides, abbreviations, and hashtags. Conversationally (like when she’s doing standup comedy), it works and functions as part of her charm. On the page, it frequently feels distracting and irksome. It’s like a twitch that just won’t go away. I think Phoebe’s challenge as a writer is finding the correct balance between talking the way she does in person and being more formal for the page. The good news is, Everything’s Trash is a marked improvement from her first book, You Can’t Touch My Hair–so she’s already on the right track.
Even with that complaint, I love this book and its raw honesty. Her relatability on tough issues and the trash news cycle we live in is really thoughtful and helpful–even if just to help you get some catharsis in your day. Phoebe is a brave and funny woman more than worth dedicating your time to. She will never disappoint you.
Supposedly Fun 