Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Queenie

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

46 reviews

lectrixnoctis's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective 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

4.0

Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British young woman living in London, perching two cultures and slotting into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she is frequently forced to compare herself to her white middle-class equivalents. After a messy break-up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places, including several hazardous men who do an excellent job of occupying brain space and a bad position of establishing self-worth.

As Queenie reels from one debatable decision to another, she wonders why she is doing all this or why does she not stop, although it might not be something she wants —all of the inquiries today's women must encounter in a world trying to reply them for her.

This story is incredibly raw, and I think that everyone in his early adulthood would enjoy this piece of fiction. I can see why this novel has won the award. I found it fascinating to read about all these different characters and how they intertwine in the story, but the focus is still on the protagonist herself. I think it has so much nuance that you probably don't get in mainstream books by white authors.

How the author approaches tough topics like anxiety or racism is astonishing, and I cannot get enough of her writing style. Although it was so raw, it was so beautifully written that I just wanted to keep reading; although it was so natural, it was so beautifully written that I just wanted to keep reading.

Sadly, I had a big reading slump; however, I finally found the time again to pick it up and finish it in one go, and I think it has a lot to do with the book itself. I don't believe that every reader could've done that; I did not have a reading slump because of it.

Overall I highly recommend this book. When you're in your early 20s are becoming an adult, you should read this book. All women or female-presenting people can relate to a situation somehow. The nuance with interracial dating and racism was so interesting that I will read more of the works.

Content Warnings

amelia_22's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

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