Jasmine Nicole

Luster is the story of Edie, a young, Black woman who is weirdly relatable at times. She doesn’t have her shit together and she is constantly making bad decision after bad decision. She is only 23 and we learn how soon she had to grow up. Her mother was an addict turned Seven Day Adventist who killed herself, and her father was a promiscuous former soldier who suffered from PTSD, she’s had it hard from the beginning.

Along the way, we find out that at 16 she had an abortion after getting involved with an older man at her job. And we meet her in the present-day, getting ready for a date with Eric, an older, white man she met online but will meet in person for the first time. He is also married, with an adopted Black daughter, Akila.

The writing in the novel is what I like to describe as, THICC. It was rich and for me what made it so was the in-depth stream of consciousness throughout. It didn’t even feel as if I was just simply reading Edie’s diary, but truly, seeing, feeling, and thinking, Edie’s thoughts with her.

As a reader, I can’t help but have a soft spot for Edie. She turned her workplace into her sexual playground and it was because of her office promiscuity, she was fired and shortly afterward found herself homeless. Edie made so many mistakes sure, but I respected that she never once felt sorry for herself. She always made an effort to get up and keep moving.

She often did things that some may consider extreme or impulsive, but Leilani writes her so well that I hardly questioned her at the moment because I was so invested in the truth of her life.

The most enjoyable parts for me are when Edie interacts with Akila. Akila’s past parallels a bit with Edie’s as she too has lost her mother at a younger age. And while we don’t get a full story, she too has experienced some traumatic event. They build this connection with each other that is unique between a young Black woman and a young Black girl. Edie helps Akila with her hair, sticks up for her when she is faced with racial discomforts and adversity and affirms her interests and talents. It’s honestly beautiful and I wish we were given more of those moments through the book.

I saw someone say that this book is like “sad girl” literature and I agree with that. I love this type of trope though because not every Black girl is walking around with Black Girl Magic ordering their steps. Some of us don’t have our shit together and some of us don’t have all the answers or aren’t living our best lives.

This book is a letter to Black girls who aren’t there yet but are trying. I give Leilani’s book 5 stars. It was beautiful.