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keitacolada's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
kamharellano's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
ICONIC UNPARALLELED PEERLESS SUPERLATIVE INIMITABLE MASTERPIECE SENSATION
I may be wrong. I mean, it’s not like I’ve read or even heard of every book in the world out there. But Queen of the Tiles is definitely the first book I’ve read that involves Scrabble. (Turns out that the parlor game I used to pull out as a kid whenever there was a typhoon and we had no electricity so there was nothing else to do is a lot more cutthroat than I thought. 🤭)
Najwa is a winner at Scrabble, but admits she pales in comparison to her best friend Trina, the titular Queen of the Tiles. A year after Trina dies at a Scrabble tournament, Najwa returns to the scene of the crime not only to try and win her best friend’s former title, but also solve a mystery. Someone has hacked into Trina’s Instagram account and is using it to drop clues that Trina’s death was no accident, and that the murderer is amongst that year’s players.
Queen of the Tiles definitely lives up to its comparison to The Queen’s Gambit and YA murder mysteries like They Wish They Were Us and One of Us Is Lying. But the thing that I loved the most about the choice of a game like Scrabble as the focal point of the book is the aura of nerdiness it lends to the whole thing. I’m honestly tired of the setting of such mystery thrillers being elite schools. A Scrabble tournament is a refreshing change!
Not to mention, having all those kids around waxing poetic about the beauty of words definitely served to expand my own vocabulary. We love a book that helps you learn!
Hanna Alkaf’s nuanced, sensitive, compassionate portrayal of mental health issues shines once more in Queen of the Tiles. Having just witnessed her best friend’s death, Najwa is of course suffering the after-effects, including anxiety attacks and memory loss. This book also deals with grief in such a multidimensional way, clearly showing us that dealing with grief is not one size fits all. Most of us have heard, in one way or another, the lesson that healing from grief is not linear. It’s not a steady progression from pain to feeling better that can follow a timeline. It has its ups and downs. And Queen of the Tiles shows us that in how Najwa and her friends handle and react to Trina’s death.
A book with a murder mystery plot inevitably ends with the discovery of a killer. Even YA thrillers, where the characters are in high school, have to follow this formula. But sometimes, there are books where the investigation takes a sudden, unexpected turn that elevates the whole story to a new level. Queen of the Tiles is one of those books.
Although the discovery of who exactly had hacked into Trina’s Instagram account was not a surprise (especially if you’ve been paying attention), the reveal of the truth behind Trina’s death was an absolute revelation – one that I can one hundred percent say I did not expect. The reality behind Trina’s death, as well as the involvement of the hacker slash blackmailer leaving cryptic online clues, only serves to make the whole thing more tragic. It’s a masterful subversion of the genre, while still remaining faithful to it.
I may be wrong. I mean, it’s not like I’ve read or even heard of every book in the world out there. But Queen of the Tiles is definitely the first book I’ve read that involves Scrabble. (Turns out that the parlor game I used to pull out as a kid whenever there was a typhoon and we had no electricity so there was nothing else to do is a lot more cutthroat than I thought. 🤭)
Najwa is a winner at Scrabble, but admits she pales in comparison to her best friend Trina, the titular Queen of the Tiles. A year after Trina dies at a Scrabble tournament, Najwa returns to the scene of the crime not only to try and win her best friend’s former title, but also solve a mystery. Someone has hacked into Trina’s Instagram account and is using it to drop clues that Trina’s death was no accident, and that the murderer is amongst that year’s players.
Queen of the Tiles definitely lives up to its comparison to The Queen’s Gambit and YA murder mysteries like They Wish They Were Us and One of Us Is Lying. But the thing that I loved the most about the choice of a game like Scrabble as the focal point of the book is the aura of nerdiness it lends to the whole thing. I’m honestly tired of the setting of such mystery thrillers being elite schools. A Scrabble tournament is a refreshing change!
Not to mention, having all those kids around waxing poetic about the beauty of words definitely served to expand my own vocabulary. We love a book that helps you learn!
Hanna Alkaf’s nuanced, sensitive, compassionate portrayal of mental health issues shines once more in Queen of the Tiles. Having just witnessed her best friend’s death, Najwa is of course suffering the after-effects, including anxiety attacks and memory loss. This book also deals with grief in such a multidimensional way, clearly showing us that dealing with grief is not one size fits all. Most of us have heard, in one way or another, the lesson that healing from grief is not linear. It’s not a steady progression from pain to feeling better that can follow a timeline. It has its ups and downs. And Queen of the Tiles shows us that in how Najwa and her friends handle and react to Trina’s death.
A book with a murder mystery plot inevitably ends with the discovery of a killer. Even YA thrillers, where the characters are in high school, have to follow this formula. But sometimes, there are books where the investigation takes a sudden, unexpected turn that elevates the whole story to a new level. Queen of the Tiles is one of those books.
Although the discovery of who exactly had hacked into Trina’s Instagram account was not a surprise (especially if you’ve been paying attention), the reveal of the truth behind Trina’s death was an absolute revelation – one that I can one hundred percent say I did not expect. The reality behind Trina’s death, as well as the involvement of the hacker slash blackmailer leaving cryptic online clues, only serves to make the whole thing more tragic. It’s a masterful subversion of the genre, while still remaining faithful to it.
helenamt's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thestephaniejoy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
zahrahm's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Death
Moderate: Blood and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment
bibliobrandie's review
4.0
I enjoyed entering this world of competitive Scrabble (and learned a lot of words and tricks!). It's been a year since the death of Najwa Bakri's best friend and Scrabble Queen, Trina. Najwa believes her death wasn't an accident and has decided to investigate. This Malaysia-set murder mystery is original and absorbing with suspicious characters, red herrings, cutthroat competitions, and plenty of obscure Scrabble words, it will keep you guessing until the end.
pranjallives's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
cobaltbookshelf's review
3.0
This was fun read with great heroine and cool mystery. Grief was handled with care, overall very engaging YA read.
lizanneyoung's review against another edition
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story was so much fun. Najwa, our main character who is a big fan of words and Scrabble, is getting back into the game after the tragic and sudden death of her best friend Trina at the tournament last year. But, there may be more to everything than meets the eye.
I knew there was a bit of mystery going in, but I didn’t realize how much there was or how fun it would be to watch play out. Najwa is trying to overcome her grief and the side effects that have come with it all while being in the middle of something you could argue is out of a Riverdale episode at times (though one character does not agree with me). Honestly, I love how all the threads intertwine: Najwa’s love of words, every quirk of the characters we’re introduced to, the mystery, and the competition. Everything both is and isn’t a clue into what happened and while it all makes sense in the end, you can’t help but wonder how it could’ve fit together differently, much like a Scrabble rack.
The portrayal of grief is different from others I’ve read before in the best way because ultimately everyone’s experience is unique. Seeing Najwa work through that, while also trying to honor her best friend, was a great journey to be on.
As someone who grew up loving the movie Akeelah and the Bee, particularly the Scrabble sequences at a birthday party, this scratched an itch I didn’t know my brain had. I’ve been meaning to read this book since its release, and I’m mad at myself that it took me this long. BUT, I now have learned several new words, and have included my favorites (and their definitions) below.
🔴 Ataraxia: “calmness or peace of mind”
🔴 Glaikit: “foolish”
🔴 Syzygy: “the perfect alignment of three celestial bodies”
punkachats's review
5.0
J'ai adoré ! Un petit thriller très soft et vraiment très sympa dans le monde du Scrabble