These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.

In her debut novel, The Other Black Girl, Zakiya Dalila Harris spins searing commentary on the publishing industry through the eyes of a 26-year-old editorial assistant named Nella Rogers. Nella is the sole Black employee at the fictional Wagner Books—until Hazel-May McCall arrives and quickly rises in the ranks as an office favorite. Initially excited by Hazel’s presence, Nella is unnerved when notes start appearing on her desk demanding that she leave the company. Could Hazel have something to do with this? The novel transforms into something akin to a thriller, and while its twisty narrative might prove over-ambitious, Harris pokes at her subject like no author has done before. In blunt and darkly funny terms, she underlines the unsettling inner-workings of a very white industry and the daily microaggressions Nella endures while navigating it.

Buy Now: The Other Black Girl on Bookshop | Amazon

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com.

EDIT POST