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imstephtacular's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Classism, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Gun violence, Bullying, Cancer, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abortion, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Cultural appropriation
betweentheshelves's review
dark
tense
medium-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
4.5
A dark, twisty thriller that's sure to keep you on the edge of your seat as you're reading it. All the clues and pieces are given to you fairly early in the novel, but they don't really all come together until the end. And when they do, you will be despearte to see how it all unfolds!
One of the comp titles for this is One of Us is Lying, which I think is a great comparison. Fans of that book will definitely love this one. As we learn more and more about Nova's history, the mystery behind her death gets more and more complex. As a debut book, Jumata Emill should definitely be on your radar!
The two narrators also helps to add to the mystery of the book overall. Each of their voices were distint, and the two narrators for the audiobook did a fantastic job. Thanks to LibroFM for an advanced audiobook copy of this book! You'll definitely want it on your TBR when it comes out at the end of this month!
One of the comp titles for this is One of Us is Lying, which I think is a great comparison. Fans of that book will definitely love this one. As we learn more and more about Nova's history, the mystery behind her death gets more and more complex. As a debut book, Jumata Emill should definitely be on your radar!
The two narrators also helps to add to the mystery of the book overall. Each of their voices were distint, and the two narrators for the audiobook did a fantastic job. Thanks to LibroFM for an advanced audiobook copy of this book! You'll definitely want it on your TBR when it comes out at the end of this month!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Bullying, and Racism
Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, and Infidelity
caseythereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
Thanks to Books Forward PR for the free advance copy of this book.
- THE BLACK QUEEN is a YA thriller that digs in deep to issues of race and class. I think fans of Tiffany D. Jackson will want to check this one out.
- At first I was unsure of the dual POV, switching back and forth between Duchess and Tinsley, because it felt so strange to get the perspective of the white person who was doing the harm. However, the more I think about it, the more important I think that might be to include in a YA novel, to allow kids to either see themselves in Tinsley and learn from it or see their classmates and have their feelings validated.
- Not only does THE BLACK QUEEN have real, messy characters, but it has twist after twist. You won't be able to put it down.
- THE BLACK QUEEN is a YA thriller that digs in deep to issues of race and class. I think fans of Tiffany D. Jackson will want to check this one out.
- At first I was unsure of the dual POV, switching back and forth between Duchess and Tinsley, because it felt so strange to get the perspective of the white person who was doing the harm. However, the more I think about it, the more important I think that might be to include in a YA novel, to allow kids to either see themselves in Tinsley and learn from it or see their classmates and have their feelings validated.
- Not only does THE BLACK QUEEN have real, messy characters, but it has twist after twist. You won't be able to put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Pedophilia, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Medical content, Alcohol, Child death, Grief, and Vomit
Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Abortion, and Police brutality
bookstarbri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm a bit torn between 3.5 and 4 so we're just going to go with 3.75!
So there were a lot of things in this I really enjoyed. For one, I think Jumata Emill did a great job with characterization. These characters all felt very real to me and the dilemmas they faced and their behaviors were so perfectly executed. Their motivations were clear and who they are to their core was clear as well. I also loved the plot of this. I'm always a big fan of murder mysteries and so reading this and having one that was equal parts heartbreaking as it was twisty was really great. I loved Nova. Though she's dead, her presence is really felt throughout the entire book and she is her own character, especially as we learn more about her life and the struggles she went through. Honestly, she was probably my favorite character in all of this, despite her not actually being a living figure for the majority of the story.
That being said, there were some bits I didn't love. For one, the slang in here was interesting. Sometimes it felt like natural slang and sometimes it felt very forced. Some of it also felt really old for the age of the characters. Then, I had a lot of issues with Tinsley's character arc. I was expecting her to grow on me by the end of the book and she just...didn't. She said and did some really awful things in the beginning and though she definitely got better by the end, it just didn't feel like she fully earned her redemption. There were some other aspects of this that I didn't love, but I don't know how to fully explain those.
Anyway, I'll also say that I guessed the really big plot twist pretty early on and since I had, I wasn't too surprised by the ending. However that didn't really stop me from enjoying reading it all unfold, but it wasn't quite as twisty and shocking as I would've liked.
Despite those things though, this was a good read and I think it's an especially important one for all the social commentary it makes. Thanks so much to Writers House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
So there were a lot of things in this I really enjoyed. For one, I think Jumata Emill did a great job with characterization. These characters all felt very real to me and the dilemmas they faced and their behaviors were so perfectly executed. Their motivations were clear and who they are to their core was clear as well. I also loved the plot of this. I'm always a big fan of murder mysteries and so reading this and having one that was equal parts heartbreaking as it was twisty was really great. I loved Nova. Though she's dead, her presence is really felt throughout the entire book and she is her own character, especially as we learn more about her life and the struggles she went through. Honestly, she was probably my favorite character in all of this, despite her not actually being a living figure for the majority of the story.
That being said, there were some bits I didn't love. For one, the slang in here was interesting. Sometimes it felt like natural slang and sometimes it felt very forced. Some of it also felt really old for the age of the characters. Then, I had a lot of issues with Tinsley's character arc. I was expecting her to grow on me by the end of the book and she just...didn't. She said and did some really awful things in the beginning and though she definitely got better by the end, it just didn't feel like she fully earned her redemption. There were some other aspects of this that I didn't love, but I don't know how to fully explain those.
Anyway, I'll also say that I guessed the really big plot twist pretty early on and since I had, I wasn't too surprised by the ending. However that didn't really stop me from enjoying reading it all unfold, but it wasn't quite as twisty and shocking as I would've liked.
Despite those things though, this was a good read and I think it's an especially important one for all the social commentary it makes. Thanks so much to Writers House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Bullying
Moderate: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Abortion
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