... [Wong] paints even more indelicate pictures, in every shade of blue ... for come-lately fans wondering, Where did this tiny filthy phenom come from?!, Dear Girls fills in the gaps ... Wong’s skyrocketing success of late gets lassoed down to earth with humbling, early-years anecdotes about fearing for her life on seedy tours ... can be crude and flippant, LOL-dense and breezy — so breezy, in fact, you will be desensitized to the grossest of Wong’s gross-outs by chapter one, at which point you have already learned how to hold in a fart during yoga. But as with her stage comedy, she is also sneakily thoughtful about the public roles she occupies — Asian American, working mom, woman on comedy stages — and the come-from-behind grind they necessarily demand ... She even offers surprisingly tender takes on her immigrant-minded parents, her sensitive husband (who contributes his own chapter as an afterword) and motherhood, the match that lit her career on fire ... Wong’s daughters should consider themselves lucky to have a self-made, cultural touchstone for a mother, let alone one doling out personalized advice about dating rappers, the importance of travel and surefire signifiers of a worthy Chinese restaurant ... In print, Wong is every inch the crass-master she plays on TV, so gird your gag reflex.
Comedian and actress Ali Wong's first book is everything her fans would expect: raunchy, real and uproariously funny ... At times, Wong, 37, is definitively R-rated...Then, she’s vulnerable ... Through it all, she’s the best kind of funny.
... the frame works well even for readers who don’t happen to be Wong’s daughters ... Readers can expect both genuine LOLs and some pretty intimate truths, like the miscarriage Wong experienced, the prenup agreement that made her determined to keep pursuing her dreams, and the question she wishes people would stop asking ... A touching afterword from Wong’s husband adds another dimension and shares honest advice for navigating life with a famous, funny mom.
Throughout these topical letters, [Wong's] trademark candor is equal parts crass about sex, tender about her family's sacrifices, and sober about miscarriage, among other pains ... The author’s accounts of her initial forays into the comedy business and brushes with famous people add color and demonstrate the necessity of hard work, but it’s behind-the-scenes memories of Wong’s past that stand out for their pointed depiction of a Bay Area immigrant family. Her mother’s unsentimental love, which the author grew to understand after visiting Vietnam herself, is palpable. Wong also lays bare her young adult years, rife with dating disasters, with amusing self-mockery. Digressions on womanhood are refreshing in their nuances, and pride mixes with conviction in the power of expanding comedy beyond an Asian audience. An afterword by Wong’s husband gives insight on what it’s like to fuel someone else’s jokes. Under the raunchy writing—much of which repeats the highlights of Wong’s act—there's familiar, reassuring optimism ... A down-to-earth collection that is raw but not irreverent.
