RaveThe Washington PostQuestions burn and throb with a haunting clarity in El Akkad’s first work of nonfiction ... Muscular ... This book isn’t quite a memoir, though El Akkad does weave in the story of his family’s various migrations ... [An] excavation ... It may also stiffen the resolve of readers who come to it craving moral clarity.
Aisha Harris
PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewAt its best when engaging with those risks and the thorny questions of her profession ... A blend of memoir and cultural analysis ... Harris braids her personal pain with incisive critiques of the trope and its limitations ... For all its range, Wannabe contains occasions that demand more rigorous engagement ... For readers already inclined to read culture to understand themselves, Wannabe is a compelling affirmation that they’re looking in the right place.
