In PRETTY FOR A BLACK GIRL: Compliment or Insult?, Curry delves into a discussion of how beauty is defined among the black race.  Most often than not, it comes down to skin color--lighter-skinned black women are thought to be more attractive than darker-skinned black women.  Skin tone is a large part of it, but it goes much deeper.  It even involves certain physical features, which are deemed better to have than others.  Curry reaches into her childhood memories where she heard statements like, “You’re pretty, for a black girl” and incorporates her experiences with the racial divide of being almost pretty enough.  Her experiences are shared as she lays out the inequities black women face with women of other races and with black men and women as well, as they relate to how they are perceived. 

This is a very good conversation piece and does beg an answer on whether we as black women are complimented or insulted when addressed as being pretty for black girls.  In fact, Curry’s style inspires conversation and eases the reader into some the harsher realities of life and some much grander thinking.  My only problem with this book is it could have stood some additional editing, which would have enhanced my enjoyment further.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers