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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I will likely never in my life get to know someone like Queenie, but she is written with such a distinctive voice that I feel I got to know a real person. Her life experiences are quite different than mine, but yet I could relate to her because her humanity is right there on the page. The book is written in the first person in a way where the reader becomes her confidant. It’s genius writing.
Initially Queenie was very irritating. She reportedly engaged in self sabotaging actions. However, once her story unfolded it was clear that her unresolved childhood trauma was impacting various areas of her current life. I'm happy she decided to venture out from her upbringing and seek out help. The ending definitely made up for the beginning chapters. This book is a great example of displaying how POC approach mental health and treatment.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was stressed literally the entire time & I don’t feel like I left with the full confidence that Queenie would be OK post-break up, but I cared a lot about her. Enough to keep reading even when doing so was physically painful (I’m looking at you, every single sex scene starring a horrifying, abusive white man).
I really love how the text contends with the messiness of self worth in the face of systematic marginalization and dehumanization. I suppose these things don’t have a neat point of resolution, but I craved a deeper feeling of comfort at the text’s close, if only to reassure myself that my own moments of self doubt could be fleeting. Queenie ends the novel perhaps “unstuck” but certainly not healed, if there is such a thing.
Some of the style choices didn’t quite work for me, but when they worked they WORKED. Loved the quick switches between Tom and the other men in Queenie’s life as a compare/contrast moment. None of the men she interacts with are worth her time, which it seems like at the end of the novel she’s only just starting to see.
Miscellaneous thoughts: I feel like we got the context for the abuse Queenie faced as a child a little too late in terms of the narrative pacing. I audibly exhaled when Queenie went to therapy. Queenie’s friends and family were the stars of the book for me. I liked the book enough to watch the Hulu series but not enough to reread probably.
I really love how the text contends with the messiness of self worth in the face of systematic marginalization and dehumanization. I suppose these things don’t have a neat point of resolution, but I craved a deeper feeling of comfort at the text’s close, if only to reassure myself that my own moments of self doubt could be fleeting. Queenie ends the novel perhaps “unstuck” but certainly not healed, if there is such a thing.
Some of the style choices didn’t quite work for me, but when they worked they WORKED. Loved the quick switches between Tom and the other men in Queenie’s life as a compare/contrast moment. None of the men she interacts with are worth her time, which it seems like at the end of the novel she’s only just starting to see.
Miscellaneous thoughts: I feel like we got the context for the abuse Queenie faced as a child a little too late in terms of the narrative pacing. I audibly exhaled when Queenie went to therapy. Queenie’s friends and family were the stars of the book for me. I liked the book enough to watch the Hulu series but not enough to reread probably.
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes