Relatable, sharp, and endlessly funny, She’s Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good is a new collection of essays by writer Mia Mercado. I first heard about this book on an NPR podcast, and found myself riveted listening to Mercado discuss agreeability and why she’s always felt slightly uncomfortable about her presumed persona as a Nice Girl. She talks about how she minds her manners and goes with the flow because she wants people to like her, because society expects it of her, because that’s how she was raised to act. But she often wonders, without all of these motivations, would she still be nice? And should nice even be the objective, if it comes at the price of her sense of self? These questions act as the backbone to the book, flowing through essays like “How To Wife,” “Here To Make Friends,” and “Nice Girls Finish Eventually,” in which Mercado writes about the stereotypes she deals with as an Asian woman, what she’s learned about herself from watching Love Island, and the perils of transactional niceness in dating. Mercado writes with an unflinching, confessional honesty that made me laugh out loud, and runs the gamut from serious to frivolous, delivering a critique of our performative like-and-subscribe culture as well as a breakdown of which ‘90s television characters would have (probably) let her sit at their lunch table.

I absolutely devoured this book. Reading Mercado’s essays felt like talking to my sister, like reading my middle school journal, like seeing my tangled thoughts about identity, expectations, and goodness made intelligible in writing. Granted, we are of similar age (I, too, loved a Zany Brainy store as a kid and watched every single Mary-Kate and Ashley straight-to-VHS movie) and temperament (I am also a people-pleaser trying desperately not to be), so many of the essays felt personally meaningful and applicable. However, I don’t think you need to be any of these things in order to enjoy this book; wanting to be liked and wanting to be good are concepts we can all relate to. Mercado’s sarcastic and irreverent wit shines in essays both traditional and out-there, and it’s impressive to see her play with the form in such smart ways. She’s Nice Though is a funny and inspiring book with essays I know I’ll return to again and again.

I’d recommend this book to…

• Anyone looking for a book that will make you cackle while offering deep insight about our messed-up culture… it’s similar in style to Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
• Anyone who appreciates self-deprecating, generous honesty in an essayist… it’s similar in tone to I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein
• Anyone who loves funny stories about trying to fit in and find acceptance… it’s similar in theme to Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling