Reviews

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

trippalli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A young black woman struggles through dating... Uncomfortably realistic to what I recall of the poor sex, men having affairs and cheating and lying and the poor aspects of dating apps.. Struggling at work, with family and to reconnect to her once true love while on a"break" where he won't respond for months she tried dating but it devolves into rampant casual sex, getting pressured into sex she doesn't want while trying to find herself yet until she braces going against her family to seek mental health counseling and reset her career, her self esteem and relationships with friends, family and dating all improve.


It's is very very difficult to listen to some of the things she goes through, however so I keep waffling in my training: both excellent and upsetting, 
Endsv with positivity.

hyac1nthgirl's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.5

loved following queenie's journey to claiming her self-worth and acknowledging her trauma. 

deanashuman's review against another edition

2.0

I did not enjoy this book. Not a sympathetic character in the bunch. Every character was either grossly one-dimensional (every white character a study in covert...or overt...racism, and every man a study in grotesque sexism and sexual violence, and that is it. Nothing more to them.) or unbelievably stupid in their choices (the main character is pretty much raped by a guy and goes on a few more dates with him...but a guy who offers to buy her a drink is turned down and we’re supposed to be proud of her for that...Whaaa??). The dialogue reminded me of conversations with a pathological liar...I’m always thinking, “No, they did not say that, because people DO NOT TALK LIKE THAT”. Queenie’s terrible choices sort of reminded me of my 20’s, and once was enough for that mess. I should have stopped half-way through but HATE doing that.

sanahreads's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.0

abookreadernamedmorgan's review against another edition

challenging emotional fast-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

This book. The main character, Queenie, could be quite annoying at times. She obviously was going through some things that as a reader I saw were apparent but her friends just didn’t see it. For a moment there I felt like none of them were telling her the truth as a true friend would do. But I’m the end it turns out good. I ended up only really disliking one of them. 

sarahay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

Queenie is a superb first person narrator. Switching between time frames, her complexity is very gradually revealed. The tone of the narrative matches the happy-go-lucky self that she first presents and this is an easy read in a chick-lit style. But wow- what this chick is up against. We begin to sense her anger and resentment early on and by the end we’ve been taken to some pretty dark places. Queenie remains entirely likeable (which is clever given the realism of her mental spiralling) and her story is lightly told. But there’s so much to engage with that the narrative is always completely compelling.  The struggle isn’t just our narrator’s  personal journey from her Jamaican South London family out into the world: it’s BLM or women’s rights or how to get heard in a media obsessed with celebrity etc etc. Queenie, the first in her family to graduate and now trying to make it as a journalist, needs to find her identity as a black woman and acceptance within a white middle-class where “colour-blindness” is a fallacy. But her struggle as a woman is more than that and is relateable to anyone not-so-advantaged trying to find a place in a privileged world.  Comparisons with Brigid Jones only make sense because the tone of the book is fun, but the story of Queenie herself is so much more.

luciavk's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

Very dramatic coming-of-age novel about a young woman who struggles with mental health and self-esteem after a break-up

erikasbooked's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

raychillstorm's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

shelleydavis's review against another edition

3.0

So the ONLY reason this is a 3 is because I feel like the author somewhat redeemed Queenie in the end... Queenie is a HOT HOT mess and extremely self destructive. Thankfully she does seek therapy and learns to cope but I think she had some deep issues that should’ve been dealt with on a deeper level with her family and herself - especially with the dating and the types of men she doesn’t date.... the book starts off extremely awkward (so much so I put this down for months!)and the middle is very uncomfortable- to the point that I found myself having to put the book down because I just wanted to tell Queenie she’s an idiot and unhealthy on so many levels.... but I finished! It’s done and I don’t think I want to hear anymore from this character again