Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Queenie

Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

73 reviews

peepmybookshelf's review against another edition

Stopped at chapter 16. I kept hoping it would get better and Queenie would snap out of it. I kept wanting to shake her and say, “GET IT TOGETHER.” She did not get it together. Her behaviour is sad because it shows how insecure she is, which is relatable in your early twenties. But ultimately it was too frustrating, too annoying, too damaging, too immature for me to think it redeemable.

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myfriendthatcanread's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jularcido's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I heard so much praise for this book (and a comparison to Bridget Jones??) so I HAD to read it. This story follows Queenie, a 20-something Jamaican Brit, and her life spiraling as she deals with heartbreak, a job that isn't what she dreamed it would be, a family who won't listen, and friends who don't know how to help her. All Queenie wants is to be seen, and to figure it all out.

•

The writing style and first-person narration really made me feel like I was listening to a friend. This made it all so much more frustrating when she kept making self-destructive decisions. These decisions were only some (not all) of the triggering content that made the story so raw and realistic. To me, this book wasn't as much a cute heartwarming read but more cathartic and relatable. Queenie's mental health issues were written well and I really liked her nonlinear path of recovery.

•

All Queenie's interactions really showcased the different forms of racism and sexism a person can face simply dealing with work issues, talking with friends, and dating trash men. While I cannot speak for the Black experience, as a POC myself, I connected with many of the micro-aggressions (and straight up aggressions) that she had to deal with, especially with men. The racial gaslighting that Queenie faced throughout the book really made my heart hurt. 😕

•

Although the book dealt with a lot of heavy topics, I feel that I found a friend in Queenie, and maybe you will too. 💕

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shancowie's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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jourdanicus's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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nsidhu's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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thevietvegan's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Alright, I have a lot of feelings about this book. This book does that thing where it'll specify when a character is BIPOC, but will not always specify if someone is white, as if to imply that white is default or the norm. I get that it's based in England, but I think that it matters to clarify, especially since anti-racism and microaggressions are a significant part of this book.

The beginning of this book was just self-sabotage after self-sabotage, with rough life decisions, irresponsibility, terrible communication and just a lot of emotional exhaustion. The first half of this book is ROUGH and pretty draining to read. I was just getting really frustrated at the main character, the crappy people around her, and some of the less supportive people in her life.

HOWEVER, the last 30% of this book is the reason why this is a 3 star review and not a 1 star. I really appreciated that there wasn't the typical "find love" happy ending. Queenie made a lot of progress but is still on her road to healing and coping. Her friends were really nice and supportive, and hammered down that friends are there for both the good and the bad, and you don't need to be a perfect, happy-go-lucky person to be deserving of supportive friendship.

Queenie's grandparents were my favourite in this book, especially her grandad. They were such vibrant and real characters, I loved them so much.

I enjoyed Queenie's journey in this book, I liked the patois peppered through the book, I like that it touched on gentrification and the impact on minority communities. There was a lot of heavy stuff for a person to go through and it was hard to see her internalize and minimalize a lot of stuff that happened to her.

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