Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Queenie

I picked this book up with no idea what would come. The misogynoir way (white) men handle Queenie and her body is devastating. The book shows how it feels to be lusted after by misogynistic, racist men who crave the exotic black female body. The accumulation of all these interactions keep building up on Queenie's already traumatised life experiences and low self esteem until eventually she gets knocked down by it all.

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.

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kmsander4's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Queenie is lost, self-destructive, and relatable. When everything is going wrong and spinning out of control, she barely notices. Just continues down a deeply troubling path, until, well, she hits rock bottom.

And there is where anyone that's ever felt lost, confused, and alone realizes that she's just like us. Maybe you look different, speak different, live somewhere else. Maybe you've never slept your way through your pain or allowed yourself to be used by someone else. But somewhere, in amongst all of Queenie's shit, you'll find yourself. Lord knows I did.

The best part of this book for me was the very end because it was honest. Life has not magically improved for Queenie. Therapy didn't fix everything. But, she's trying. She is a work in progress, like we all are. And, honestly, it was refreshing to see someone else struggle and not get to some make believe perfect place in the end because life isn't perfect. Never has been, never will be.

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beetandbaguette's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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beccamarriner's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

4.75

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I was totally encapsulated by it and know that I will continue to think about it for a long time. It’s an extremely personal book and having similar mental health issues, it was almost comforting to read about queenie’s experience knowing that we’re not alone even when we feel like it. The only thing that wasn’t perfect for me in the book were the included texts/emails but that’s just personal preference

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florenceassetto's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

i LOVED this book oh my gosh i (almost) cried so many times and it was just such a REAL portrayal of feelings that i think all black women have about dating (and white boys - special thanks to my ex for making it specially relatable!!) but it was just such a special piece of literature and i would recommend EVERY TIME! i won't lie, it did take me a bit of time to get into it and the first half of the book was most definitely more challenging to get through than the second but all in all i did really enjoy it

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