Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Queenie

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

89 reviews

cfrancoeur's review

Go to review page

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.25

This was a rollercoaster of emotions.

Content Warnings

yellow_library's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Content Warnings

armontheroad's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-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

CONTENT WARNING FOR REVIEW: Discussions of rape

QUEENIE is a novel that does not shy away from hard-hitting topics. Candice Carty-Williams did such an amazing job at making me care for Queenie. MY heart broke over and over again at all the traumatic experiences Queenie was put through. There were a few reasons this wasn’t five stars. Firstly, I was so happy seeing Queenie go into therapy, however, I was waiting for her to unpack the fact the sexual encounters she has throughout this book were in fact all rape. I don’t like this was never talked about because it leaves even more survivors thinking their experiences are totally normal, nothing to worry about, and it leaves them unaware that their experiences are rape. I do like that Queenie mentions implementing the behaviors she learned in therapy in her day-to-day life, though. Secondly, the female/male terminology is transphobic and dehumanizing. I do not believe there is reason to use these terms at all in modern language. It gave me major ick every time I saw a woman referred to as a female or a man referred to as a male. Especially since there is no way of knowing from just looking at someone. I did not believe those two things were enough to take away a full star, so I left my rating at a 4.5-star rating. I severely recommend this book, however, it is dark and you should be fully aware of all of the content and trigger warnings before going into your read. I am looking forward to reading more from Candice Carty-Williams!!

CWs: Gentrification, fetishization, microaggressions, TERF language (female and male are not terms that should be used at all), all other warnings are listed below.

Content Warnings

kipo2001's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny informative inspiring slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring slow-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

This book was so hard to listen to at times, but was so worth it for the compelling and emotional story it told.

Beautifully written and presented, you really feel for what Queenie is going through. This book made me angry, sad, happy, and a whole other range of emotions whilst reading. I would find myself spacing out whilst listening as I was so captivated. This book has put in into a semi reading slump to just process everything.

All the characters felt real and authentic, the likeable and despicable alike. They all have their own personalities and struggles that you get snippets of.
Whilst Happily Ever After is usually a term reserved for romance novels, by the end of this read it really felt like Queenie was on the road for hers.

Content Warnings