A review by jenny_librarian
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

challenging dark reflective 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

3.5

I'm not much a reader of adult fiction, and this book reminded me why: so. much. sex. There were way too many sex scenes in the first half of this book for me. And on that subject, this is one of those occasions I'm glad to be ace. For all the people who love to tell us we're broken, at least I never had -- and will never have -- to go through this kind of thought process and voluntarily let men destroy me and my body.

I get why Queenie is the way she is in the beginning, and this book does a very good job of showing how hard being a Black woman in the UK can be. All her problems basically come back to the way Black people have been (and still are) treated by white folks. It's a very good lesson in systemic racism.
Despite all that, I couldn't help thinking "damn, this girl's a mess" throughout the book. She's lucky she has such good friends, because Darcy and Kyazike are absolute gold. Darcy especially was amazing at helping with her recovery when she started to work again.

In the end, it's a pretty good book, but had way too much self-loathing sex for my aroace self.
Also: men are trash.
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