Fire T-Shirts, New Releases, and Books Like Abbott Elementary!

Any of Robinson’s books’ll do ya, to be honest. In this one, she covers a wide range of topics — including her hair, the BLM movement, the commercialization of self care, and even some parental values (see: the title). Through all her essays, she offers a similar kind of humor and earnestness —and pop culture reference — as Abbott Elementary does.

And can I just say that the title is a word. I’ve literally had to tell people this before, smh.

Liz Lighty is shy, awkward, and trying to secure her way to an elite college. When she doesn’t win a scholarship, despite her stellar grades and extracurriculars, she’s convinced to try and win the prom queen scholarship. She’ll just have to deal with the competition, spotlight, and internalized self doubt that comes courtesy of growing up as a Black person in a very white, Midwestern area. There’s a bright side to all this, though, in the form of Mack, who is also running for prom queen. Lovely romcom shenanigans ensue.

Liz reminds me of Quinta’s character Janine in Abbott Elementary. Although she’s younger, she’s still kind of awkward, smart, and very hopeful about her future. She is also real about the racism around her.

The show’s entire premise is based around the struggles of trying to teach in an underfunded school in Philly, and while this provides many scenarios ripe with humor, it’s not nearly as funny for those living it. So I wanted to share a book that actually looks at the city’s education system. Here, Urban education scholar Camika Royal analyzes 50 years of education reforms in Philadelphia and how they’ve helped the largely Black student population, as well as how they haven’t. Royal makes the point that most of the work to reform schools has been done by teachers, just like in the show.