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Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship
Brief Summary: Queenie is a woman trying to find herself after a devastating breakup. However, the more she tries to avoid her problems the more problems she seems to have.
Thoughts: If I was rating this book simply on writing it would be 5 out of 5. Carty-Williams writes with such emotionally vivid gripping detail that you can't help but sympathize or empathize with her characters. That being said this book was a lot. The book blurb describes it as Bridget Jones meets Americanah and I did not get the quicky, cheery vibes of Bridget Jones until the last 10 pages of the book.
I appreciated how this was written to read as if we were reading Queenie's thoughts as if she were writing in a journal because it made her seem vulnerable and relatable. There were quite a few points where I was yelling at Queenie to not do that thing. Carty-Williams wrote her in such a way that you immediately felt that Queenie was your friend and you wanted the best for her. I think the nuance of Queeni and every other character in the book was my favourite part.
Of course, there were a few people I did not like in this book even though they were well-written. Men whose names start with T, random Guys, and backstabbing friends were the villains of this book. On some level, I do think these subplots highlight the mess of being a woman in your 20s and on another level that some people truly never leave high school.
I also really liked the journey that Queenie went on with therapy and her family. The arc of that plot line was beautiful to see and highlighted how people can sometimes surprise you.
This was a really good book and I would recommend it as a read. However, this is more a coming-of-age story and what it takes to discover who you are as a person, rather than a rom-com. It is exquisitely written.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Medical content, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Self harm
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Miscarriage
Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
The first half of the book is heart wrenching. The ending warmed my heart. Queenie shows great strength in this world where she is mistreated repeatedly. She picks herself up by accepting therapy which is not accepted in her culture. She slowly recovers with the help from her realistically imperfect friends and family.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
I would also fully recommend checking the content warnings for this book if that’s something you need.
Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship
Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Police brutality
Graphic: Sexual violence
Moderate: Racism, Self harm