Essays
Trick Mirror
Debut
We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Jia Tolentino, on your first book!
Quick take
Essays for the modern millennial feminist, covering everything from social media to gender and faith.
Good to know
Feminist
Critically acclaimed
Brainy
Buzzy
Synopsis
Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about how hard it is to see ourselves clearly in a culture that revolves around the self. In each essay, Jia writes about the cultural prisms that have shaped her: the rise of the nightmare social internet; the American scammer as millennial hero; the literary heroine’s journey from brave to blank to bitter; the mandate that everything, including our bodies, should always be getting more efficient and beautiful until we die.
Member ratings (2,311)
Amelia P.
Molalla, OR
I would not really consider myself a “woke” person, sometimes I even feel guilty for that, but the Seven Scams essay made me realize why I don’t want to be awake and aware in this nightmare world.
Leona G.
New York, NY
I loved these essays - reading “We Come from Old Virginia” as a UVA student felt necessary. Will likely return to these essays a bunch more throughout my 20s, and I’m excited for more of her work.
Chelsey N.
Vineland, NJ
I really really resonated with almost all the essays in this book. Especially the ones about heroines. Tolerating writes with such passion and elegance and reality that I couldn't help but be captivated
Taylor W.
Madison, WI
I want to shove this into the hands of everyone I know, especially other millennial women. It sounds so trite and overused, but I truly feel “so seen.” Every subject she touches is lofty & profound.
Isobel M.
Brooklyn, NY
Incredibly incisive, loved to tumble down the densely packed rabbit hole of Jia Tolentino’s mind. I especially loved “The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams” and “We Come From Old Virginia”