A review by lamela
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

This book really showed me the connection between racial discrimination in addition to sexism and body shaming and mental health, which was addressed by exit racism a little, but not in depth. But learning about this topics and reflecting upon my privileges as a white women questioning her sexuality through reading a dark-comedy fiction book was a great way. Although I really struggled with the dark humor in the beginning, the book got me hooked. I was suffering with the protagonist as she knowingly repeated her self-sabotaging behaviour, while at the same time trying to acknowledge that I can relate to this so much. I read some reviews criticizing the dramaturgy of the last third of the novel saying that all the characters takeaways are pressed into the end. Broad spoiler
However, I found this to be very authentic because from my own struggles I can say that it is natural to continue with self- harming behaviour evenif you know that you should stop and that only after a breakdown, you acknowledge that you need to change your situation and that it takes time until you understand why what happened and even longer that you can take life-lessons from that.
Overall a rollercoaster and a heartwarming book.
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