Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Queenie

Title: Queenie
Author: Candice Carty-Williams
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 2.5
Pub Date: March 19, 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Compelling • Vulgar • Important

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Queenie Jenkins is a twenty-five-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, caught between two cultures and not feeling entirely comfortable in either. She has worked hard to obtain a job at a national newspaper, but finds herself comparing herself to her white, middle-class peers. After a break-up with her long-term boyfriend, she seeks comfort in all the wrong places and making a string of bad decisions. As her life unravels, she questions her place and meaning in the world.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams debut, tackles a host of themes, including but not limited to female friendship, modern romantic relationships, racism, sexual harassment, mental health, childhood trauma, abuse, and interracial relationships, with candidness and honesty. Yet, because it tackles so much, at times it felt like the author's purpose was unclear and/or lost completely.

What stood out for me was definitely the writing. The natural dialogue, use of mixed media (texts, emails, etc.) and the narration of the audiobook really brought the story to life. Something else I appreciated was the mental heath aspect, which was handled with care.

However, the dark humour and Queenie's antics were not for me. I understand this is part of the artistry used by the author, yet I found it incredibly frustrating to the point of annoyance. Although in some ways Queenie's growth is evident, I am not sure she learned anything or has changed.

At the end of the day, Queenie is a powerful and important debut but was an exhausting reading experience. Sometimes there are books that are just not meant for me, and this was one of them. That's not to say this isn't a wonderful book, it simply means it wasn't the book for me. I definitely think Candice Carty-Williams is an up-and-coming author to watch.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• anyone seeking #OwnVoices accounts
• readers who enjoyed Red At the Bone

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"The road to recovery is not linear. It’s not straight. It’s a bumpy path, with lots of twists and turns. But you’re on the right track."

"Being brave isn't the same as being okay."

Content Warnings

james1star's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was really really good and super necessary. In Queenie, we follow a first person account from the lovable yet flawed protagonist Queenie. She is experiencing a ‘break’ from her boyfriend Tom and how she’s ‘coping’ with it - by having a lot of sex with men she doesn’t want to have a relationship with whilst she waits for Tom to come back. This, along with issues at work, with friends, her family and past make her go through a bad mental patch. We see how in her search for clarity and success, it is not an easy ride to recovery with lapses and hurdles along the way but she does find a way to love herself and understand that she is enough.

That was a very short kinda summary of the plot and whilst this is a prominent part of the novel, it’s the characters and character studies that was my favourite bits. Queenie is definitely a flawed person, she does lots of things that make you want to shake her out of it, she’s a catastrophist for sure but I just wanted good things to come her way so badly. You fall head over heels in love with her and all her nuances, you get inside her head, go though what she’s going through, her thoughts and feelings and understand why she does the things she does. She is so real it’s unbelievable - Carty-Williams really did something by creating this character like wow!! Also her two best friends Kyazike and Darcy are nuanced but loveable too, they are such great friends and this bond, albeit strained at parts, was so lovely to read and they are also super realised. The other characters in the book are all so real too, like her grandparents, mum, cousin Diana, aunt Maggie, Cassandra and her family, Ted (ughhhh!!), the men (major eye roll inserted🙄), Janet the psychologist, Gina her boss and Yhh everybody was written so lifelike - they’re not all likeable, many in fact are portrayed so badly you actively hate them instigating a visceral response within.

Additionally, the outlook on life from Queenie’s POV is very refreshing and vital and I need to read more books from this perspective of women, but specifically black women in contemporary settings. She deals with a lot of everyday systemic racism, predominantly from the men she meets and so this is an attack directed at black women in particular, where they feel it’s okay to say things about her big black curves and dark skin, that she tastes like chocolate and lots of other horrible remarks. She also talks about how these men might not see her as a person but just a fetish or something to try and it’s definitely a hard read but necessary to understand how this thinking is not okay and we as a society need to condemn these attitudes. Hair is a predominant motif throughout the book, how black women care for their hair and what it represents but also how white people are astonished by it and in some cases feel a desire to touch it so much that it materialises and how that it’s just such a ‘no no’ like I was reading it like ‘what!? How can you really feel like you have the right to just go up and touch someone’s hair… ummm nope’ so Yhh overall it makes you think and understand the black female experience better. Being set in London (my city - the references and just everything I loved, when you know the places it really adds to the lifelikeness), the dialect and settings once again add to the realness of the book but it plays a part in how black people are seen internally and externally in a contemporary British way. Very very impactful and eye opening.

My only qualm was I felt it a little bloated in parts and somewhat repetitive in how certain scenarios and conversations occurred multiple times. Some plot points I wasn’t too happy with but overall I did really enjoy it. The character studies and Queenie’s POV was what I liked the most and I would certainly recommend giving this a read.

Content Warnings

paulawind's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

This book was an emotional rollercoaster. Mostly in the horrific way. Queenie’s life was falling apart in front of her very eyes and we were accompanying her on the downward spiral. Shit, this was so rough. Thank god that she had some support network because the mere thought of going through all this slime alone is terrifying. Of course it was a bumpy ride, with her family initially not believing in mental health issues, the entire backdrop of Queenie not thinking that she’s lovable because of toxic mix of internalised fatphobia, casual racism she was enduring every day, fetishisation from all romantic partners, and ptsd from her childhood. She is so strong for putting herself back together, massive achievement. Quarterlife crisis hits all of us but she was hit with a tank load of it and emerged victorious even if at some point I was afraid she would pull through

Thank you for not having her end up with a man and having family and friends be the most important relationships in her life

Content Warnings

la_karina1818's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

3.75

At the get go, it had a very promising start as I have discovered I love contemporary books set in London as I feel so attached to the whole London vibe and setting. In regards to Queenie and her story I feel sympathetic towards her as someone who had gone through similar issues and filling a missing part of you through male attention. A quarter of the way through I began to feel a bit less sympathetic towards her as she was clearly avoiding the fact that all the men she had sex with were either abusive, fetishising her or straight up being possessive over her. She doesn't care about that because it all came around to her having self esteem issues and not feeling good enough, but there should be some boundaries at some point, which I found to be unrealistic in the whole story as she should know better. The issues that were presented a quarter of the way through made the story less impactful and just more ridiculous in her way of thinking. At the beginning the issues presented in Queenie's life were of any adult, like work motivation, struggling to find a living space and then it all turns into really dumb shit like "Will I get an STD if I have unprotected sex?". All of this makes her appear significantly more stupid and foolish than she actually is because she does have a conscience and is aware of right and wrong but then she is fallen to that level. At first I thought that after all the sleeping around that she is doing, there are no repercussions to her actions but then it all goes wrong in the worst way possible. The revelations like Guy being Cassandra's boyfriend were too good to be true, Ted being married with a pregnant wife was also quite disturbing because of how pushy he was towards Queenie.

Queenie's conflict throughout the entire book was whether to move on from Tom or to still keep hope that they will be back together. She feels remorse for the way she acted by her pushing him away, but I don't think she should undermine her feelings and emotions because he cruelly made her leave his life. I was happy that at least she realized she should move on and begin a new life. Queenie to me is someone who shouldn't have her voice and opinion be taken away or undermined by the men in her life and I am happy she realizes this and that she can move on.
The discussions of racial and cultural identity was also a fascinating part of her story which did not feel pushed but are an important part of her struggle. In the UK even though there is huge diversity, it is still disregarded by some people and not seen as important to preserve the cultural identity of different ethnic groups. It is a struggle today with many young people in the UK of other backgrounds to keep the balance between their own cultural identity and fitting in with the British image. Overall it was an interesting outlook on the struggles of black women in the UK in regards to dating, family and the way they are perceived in other areas of society.

Content Warnings

charliebe's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny hopeful tense 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

3.0

Content Warnings

amy_park's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful reflective fast-paced

3.0

I feel this book was slightly dissapointing, as it has been recommended on booktube a LOT. I would say the book as a whole is 3.5 stars but there was an error around the timings of an email received when the plot was at a different date, hence the slightly lower rating, this should have been easily noticed and rectified. The shining star was the friendships, I loved these sections and the love between the characters was delightful. I feel the story will fade quickly but the characters were strong. Really good mental health rep! Enjoyed the writing style and would read future Candice Carty-Williams

Content Warnings

chris_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny inspiring slow-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

4.25

Content Warnings

hippiequeen's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny 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

5.0

This book was great; what pulled me in were the promised “Bridget Jones vibes” but I definitely got way more than that. Reflective about race, mental health and identity. A portrait of the Millennial generation, I think it was great.

Content Warnings

More...