Cover Image: Queenie

Queenie

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This was a fantastic read. It had me wishing that my flight was longer or delayed.

The book opens as Queenie receives news of a miscarriage, which later feels like the spark that lit the fire that burnt down her life as she knew it. What unfolds in the following pages is a heart-wrenching depiction of a mental breakdown, but we get to know Queenie well enough to cheer for her every step of the way, confident that she'll pick herself back up by the end. Even when she's making terrible choices, she's still loveable to the reader.

Carty-Williams' writing is sharp and every word delivers a punch to propel the story forward. She weaves in current events to create relatable characters. Darcy and Kyazike could easily exist in my sphere of friends. Her depiction of Queenie's Jamaican immigrant family is vivid, well-rounded, and clearly informed by experience but still accessible to readers who have little knowledge of Jamaican heritage. This book also tackles the stigma around mental health care, with the added layers of being a woman of color and having an immigrant family in the UK.

As a white American reader, this book was well outside my usual reading and a welcomed change. I am so grateful for the opportunity to read stories like these.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

Queenie is an important lesson in empathy. I'm sure some readers will say, I just couldn't relate to her or the situations she's facing. And that's right. Relating to a character is about you, empathy is about seeing and understanding the world through another person's eyes. While I'm a PoC, I'm not black or Jamaican or even British, but there are some things that are familiar in Queenie's story-- fetishizing/exoticizing certain ethnicities or how non-Euro cultures view mental health and therapy -- but other things I"m experiencing second hand.

While the compare to Bridget Jones (meets Americanah) is a nice shorthand because Queenie is a 25-year old Jamaican-British woman who's dealing with a breakup and some self-destructive habits, the book is much heavier and more complicated than the number of cigarettes she's smoking daily and her parents getting divorced. Queenie addresses feminism, racism, code switching, Black Lives Matter, workplace inequality, and mental health.

Someone else will have to comment on the specifics of the representation, but for me, Candice Carty-Williams is using a fairly universal plot to illuminate how those experiences can be vastly different depending on the protagonist. It wasn't always easy to read, sometimes I yelled, "What are you doing?!" and still, I loved it.

I'll also just say, everyone needs a friend like Kyazike.

Was this review helpful?

Queenie Jenkins just broke up with her live in boyfriend, and she is spiraling out of control. She's making very poor decisions, particularly when it comes to men, because she's hurting. It's an age old story, but one that we usually don't get from the woman's prospective, especially a black woman. The pressure on women, and, again, particularly black women to be perfect is ultra high. It was nice to see a character who was flawed and messy. Her desperation and panic are palpable. It does get a little slow at about the middle point when you start to wonder what's going to happen or what the point of the book is, but it quickly goes darker and deeper into Queenie's psyche. The book really shines in the darker parts of her story and in the female friendships. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to review it.

Was this review helpful?

This one reminds a lot of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It really speaks to the mental health issues and stereotypes that plague the world today, especially people of the black community. The emotions and messages of this novel conveyed felt personal and allowed me to feel a deep connection with Queenie. The pain I saw in her I have felt and continue to feel within myself. Candice-Carty Williams is such a great writer and a new voice that we need in this generation.

Was this review helpful?

I literally couldn’t put this down! Queenie is one of those books that you open, read the first page and then know instantly that you are going to be up all night reading it. This book has so much going for it: brilliantly written, relatable and lovable characters, family dynamics, messy break-ups, and a story line that so many of us can relate to. It also has the added depth of having a main character who is Black (of Jamaican decent) and deals with many of the daily micro-aggressions, full on aggressions, stereotypes and racism that Black women deal with.

Queenie is 25, works for a newspaper which she had considered her dream job when she landed it a few years before, and is on “a break” that was not of her choosing with her boyfriend. She’s dealing with what she calls her “issues” on top of the “break”, leading her to make some sometimes stupid, sometimes strange, and all-around unhealthy choices in dating, sex, and life in general. I love Queenie, her reactions to what life throws at her are similar to what mine were in my 20’s and early 30’s, and while I cringed a few times at some of her choices, it was mainly because I was cringing at my own. I got her. Queenie is very real to me.

This book has been advertised as similar to Bridget Jones, but apart from the single woman living in London thing that’s where the similarities end. Queenie deals with 20 something life, relationships, friendships, finances (or lack of), and job worries. But it also deals with childhood trauma, anxiety, mental breakdowns, and cultural, and intergenerational trauma. And it also hits on so many stereotypical actions and reactions on the part of (British) white people. I think the novel does a good job of sending a message that the US may top the charts in systemic racism, but it’s very much prevalent in the UK too.

I also loved Queenie’s group of friends. As someone who always tried to bring my girlfriends together as a group I totally related to why Queenie would do that, and I love how they are supportive, fun, caring, and hilarious. Despite the deep, and sometimes dark, themes of the book, humor is a huge part of it and you will laugh out loud more than a few times.

The only thing that I found a little surprising was that there was so much US English slang in the book. I haven’t been back to England (my home country) for a few years, but I did wonder if it was written specifically for a US public at times. It wasn’t bothersome though, just surprising.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I do want to say that this book is a brightly shining gem. And I cannot wait to see what Candice Carty-Williams comes up with next, because I fell in love with her writing, style, and insight.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

Was this review helpful?

Queenie is 25 and lives in England. Her and her boyfriend Tom have been together for 3 years, but he wants to take a break. Queenie moves out and misses Tom a lot and believes that the timeline Tom gave her for them to get back together will come true. Due to this break, Queenie starts to spiral out of control. She is having a harder time with work and is sleeping with any man that gives her attention.
Queenie explores Blacks Lives Matter, culture, mental illness, breakups, and friendship.
It took me two days to read Queenie and I wouldn’t say it is a light read. There is a lot of humor in it for sure, but there are some heavy topics addressed in this book. I did dock a star because I felt like once I was halfway through it dragged for a bit. Other than that Queenie was very enjoyable. I loved seeing the culture of Queenie’s family, her friendships, and I loved the humor in the book.

Was this review helpful?

If you wished HBO’s “Girls” had more racial diversity, there’s “Queenie,” Candice Carty-Williams’ debut novel about a size-14, 25-year-old British Jamaican woman who’s both black and not black, but only dates white boys.

Like her 20-something-year-old American counterparts in Lena Dunham's hit television show, Carty-Williams' Queenie struggles through dating and heartbreak and anxiety and work while also dealing with casual racism and sexual harassment on an almost daily basis.

Her life is harder than Hannah Horvath's and Marnie Michaels' and Jessa Johansson's and Shoshanna Shapiro's.

She'll be more likely to face complications from pregnancy and childbirth, even if she was rich and successful as Beyonce or Serena Williams. (Even before the book begins, she already suffered from a miscarriage, a secret she keeps from her ex, Tom, a white software developer who "wants to take a break" from their relationship.)

She's also more likely to fall victim to domestic abuse, a statistic her gynecologist brings up during sessions.

In some ways, "Queenie" reads like a cautionary tale on modern dating: Men are the worst and dating apps are a time suck. Those happily engaged or married won't miss the cringey menacing messages from guys. (Queenie replies rather than ghost some of these Felipes, setting off more cringey scenarios.) 

But at least there are the stories — told over happy hours and group chats — and those willing to listen and reply with support and horror at the appropriate moments. (Queenie has a group text she calls "The Corgis" because, as she reasons, "A queen needs her corgis.") These subjects are the best part of the book.  

Disclaimer: I received a free eARC of "Queenie” from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This book was such a lovely surprise. I've seen it described as Bridget Jones-esque, and while there was some awesome British humor in it, there was also a surprising amount of depth and darkness. Superficially, it's a book about relationships, but it is actually much more than that. Mental health, family, culture, and race are major themes addressed in this novel.

I can see how some people would not like Queenie-- her choices were often cringeworthy. However, I loved her and her resilience, humor, and bravery. I especially loved Queenie's friends, Darcy and Kyazike. They were fiercely loyal to Queenie, and represented the cultural struggle that was present in Queenie's life as she tries to survive in a white world as a black woman.

I really loved this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

A great women's fiction book. Loved the diversity and depth and range the author explored. Will definitely recommend to more mature high schoolers looking to see themselves in the main heroine.

Was this review helpful?

think the publisher does a great dissevice to this book by comparing it to Americanah. This is a wonderful book and once read I needed to take time to get over my disappointment that it wasn't Americanah.

This is the story of Queenie. We meet her at a moment of loss in her life. This loss sends her into a downward spiral in her life. During this time she is supported by friends and family. As is true for many people, when she's in this downward spiral she's not making choices that are in her best interest yet end up landing her in a place that pushes her to make a change.

The characters we meet are interesting and humanly flawed. I do wish some of them were more fleshed out, particularly Queenie's mother. I'd also have liked to learn more about Jamaican culture.

Overall, I appreciated this story on it's own merits and look forward to reading more from this author.

I received a galley of this book from the publisher and through Netgalley. This has not impacted my review in any way.

Was this review helpful?

To compare this book to Bridget Jones's Diary is apt...on a very surface level. Sure, it's about a young British woman who's quirky and sort of bumbling her way through friendship and dating, but it's also about much, much more. Queenie isn't necessarily a fun romp through modern dating - it's also depressing, harsh, uplifting, cringe-inducing, hilarious, and hard to watch (read). So yeah, it's pretty much modern dating in a nutshell.

This book goes to some really dark places that I wasn't expecting. While Bridget Jones is clumsy and cartoonish, Queenie is a more true to life version of that trope. She's just gone through a break-up she never saw coming, and still thinks will disappear. She has all these emotions she doesn't know how to deal with, and so she doesn't. She goes on a binge of casual sex and bad decisions instead until it all comes crashing down around her. And while most of us haven't experienced a rebound at this level, we'll all been there in one way or another. Bad choices abound when the person you thought you loved decides they don't want you anymore...

On top of Queenie's heartbreak is something that a some of us don't have to deal with on a daily basis - inherent racism. Her ex was white and she maintains that she'll only date white men, but as expected, that comes with its fair share of hardships. Her ex's family treated her with casual racism that he never took the time to defend her against; the men she meets on dating apps treat her like an exotic conquest, never bothering to get to know her; even her friends say the wrong things some times. It was hard to read about, but as a self-proclaimed liberal white woman, really enlightening and heartbreaking. Tied up with her anxiety and placelessness, it makes your heart hurt for Queenie.

Queenie explores dating, yes, but in the end, it's more about mental illness and dealing with it in a modern world while also trying to date, and please your family, and maintain your friendships, and keep your job. This book will make you cringe, but for me, it was more out of familiarity than anything else. I saw myself in some of Queenie's less than perfect choices, and it brought me back to the mental place I was in at that time...and made me glad I had pulled myself out. This book is honest, relevant, messy, and something well worth reading. It doesn't answer the question "who do you want to be," but it sure makes you think about it.

Was this review helpful?

Queenie is the type of book that hits your in the gut and truly makes you think.

Queenie has been asked to move out of her apartment by boyfriend and doesn’t know how to process the breakup. She spirals from there making one bad decision after another. Her friends attempt to help her but even with their advice she continues on a destructive path.

There were so many moments in this story where I was torn between frustration with Queenie’s decisions and wanting to try to shelter her from the challenges she’s facing. But in the end Candice Carty-Williams created such a compelling character in Queenie that you cannot help but root for her and want her to succeed no matter what choices she makes. This story addresses so many difficult topics including racism, sexism, mental illness and the stigma associated with it. Candice Carty-Williams presented these complex issues in a way that felt real and authentic that I haven’t often experienced in a novel.

I would say that the description makes the book sound like it will be light reading and while it has an enjoyable writing style I wouldn’t consider this an easy read. There are some very heavy and disturbing moments that may be difficult for some readers. Regardles, Queenie was a great, thought provoking book.

Was this review helpful?

3.5...
Let's start with this: Queenie is no Bridget Jones' Diary, one of the books it has been compared to. While Queenie has a quick wit and sense of humor, and is a loveable character, she is going through much darker times than it first appears.
Carty-Williams touches on mental health, dysfunctional relationships (romantic & familial), and even racism with no hesitation. With the bold and multi-faceted Queenie, she does so with a sense of humor, as well as a sense of true impact.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for this early review copy.

Was this review helpful?

This was a book that I was really looking forward to reading. Everything from the cover to the blurb screamed that this would be a book that I would adore. I started it and was instantly drawn in to Queenie's story but then after a few more chapters I had to admit that I was not loving this book. I carried on and there were points in the middle that I was actively disliking the book. It got better for me in the end but not enough to elevate the feeling of deep disappointment in my chest. I know a lot of people love this book but in the end it just wasn't what I wanted it to be and what it was did not work for me.

I could see what the author was trying to do (or at least what I thought she was trying to do) but I never felt she achieved those goals. Instead of a thought provoking analysis of a character caught in a self-destructive downward spiral and all of the ways the world around her has contributed to her current state we have a long, depressing slog with so many issues thrown in that could have been given more attention for better emotional resonance but are instead just seem like a laundry list of things we are expected to understand are impactful to Queenie even if they receive superficial treatment on the page. There is abuse, inter-racial dating, cultural biases in regards to mental health, Black Lives Matter, and so many other topics that could carry novels in their own right. More time and effort was spent on illustrating all of the ways that Queen's is making horrible choices over and over and over again. None of the secondary characters were more than one dimensional although I did really love Queenie's grandparents.

While ultimately I did not especially like this book I will still be interested in seeing what the author does next.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

(Please disregard any grammatical errors)

I don’t think I’ve been this disappointed in a book in quite some time.

I’m disgusted.

Queenie with all of its rave reviews never hints at the alarming and problematic content.

Queenie is a twenty-something-year-old Jamaican woman—who is just about at her wit’s end. She’s messing up at work, and her boyfriend of two to three years just dumped her. Her white boyfriend of two or three years—this is significant.

I want to be as clear as possible, but I don’t want to be completely spoiler-y. However, some things I will bring up have to be mentioned to back up my distaste for this novel.

I have so many issues with this book, that we don’t have enough time to cover them all, but I’ll discuss the most glaring ones.

While I was proud that this novel featured what appeared to be a plus-sized Jamaican woman, she did nothing to deserve my pride.

Queenie is a hot mess. While the author places the blame on her mental state, it felt like a lackluster excuse.

Queenie mourns the loss of her Caucasian boyfriend for about 60-70% of the book, and we get to see it through text-begging and whining on Queenie’s behalf. While she struggles to maneuver the breakup—we’re provided with flashbacks to mostly less than flattering moments between Queenie, her boyfriend and sometimes his parents.

One of the most startling situations come in the form of a game of clue. While playing clue with her boyfriend and his uncle, the uncle blurts out, “There’s a nigger in the closet.” Queenie was offended and rightfully so. She looks to her then boyfriend, Tom to defend her—which resulted in an argument between the pair. Their relationship was a mess. Yes, we get to see the good parts, but it’s glaringly obvious that they didn’t need to be together.

I won’t dwell on that. I’m more concerned about the after. The after that included multiple “white” sex partners who praised her for her black features and treated her as an exotic place to rest their loins. Even more frustrating was that she didn’t use protection. With. Any. Of. Them. This resulted in her having to visit the “racist” sex clinic far too many times. She not only faced the prospect of contracting some sexually transmitted disease but also the ridicule of white doctors who felt her behavior expectant of a young black woman. It was disgusting; not unrealistic, but disgusting.

What was most bothersome is Queenie’s incessant and unstoppable need to work her way through white men sexually, who showed her zero respect? They talked down on her, worked their way through her and discarded her like trash.

The author blamed this on her upbringing and her anxiety-riddled mind. While that’s not unbelievable, I truly wished she would have gone about it differently.

Queenie is also a budding journalist. She’s been interning at the Daily Read for a few years and has had no significant or meaningful work. The author sort of implies it’s because she’s looked over because she’s black—and while that’s a part of it; it’s mostly because she sucks at her job.

Throughout the book you see Queenie fighting to get through her day; struggling with the devastation of a broken heart—and her anxiety; as explained in the latter half of the book.

She fights to write about black people at the paper—only to face dismissal by her editor, who is white. That whole part of the book was hardly convincing and felt as if it were added on at the last minute.

Queenie seemed faux angry about black issues and I could have done without that entire idea altogether. She seemed angry and riled up out of obligation.

But, let’s not dwell on that.

She has a group of best friends that do their best and their worst to help her cope through her breakup and deal with whatever’s been lurking in the background.

She has two white best friends, and one Ugandan dark-skinned best friend, that says things like bruh, and fam repeatedly.

Though, her “black friend” had the most sense. I won’t get into the fact that her character was very stereotyped. I want to wrap this thing up.

I thought by the time we got to the healing portion of the book that all of what I had to endure would have been worth it. It wasn’t.

I’m still wholly disappointed.

As someone who has struggled with anxiety, not clinically diagnosed, but self-diagnosed—I can totally understand not recognizing the anxiety for what it is.

I can also understand how someone might deal with their anxiety; in whatever way, they feel comfortable. Queenie dealt with everything by having a lot of sex. If I felt convinced by it I’d be able to excuse it. I can’t seem to get over her being used and abused by white men so steadily, easily and repeatedly.

When her friend suggests she date black men—which doesn’t fix the root problem. Queenie has an almost physical reaction to the idea. She mentions something about being afraid or uncomfortable with black men and then it was my turn to recoil. The author does not allow the character to explain this, and she definitely needed to. You don’t drop a bomb like that and leave the room.

I really wish I thought to highlight that portion.

Even after everything she still chose another white man; with whom she wound up arguing about black lives matter with, on the way to sleep with him.

It was a mess.

While I believe black readers will relate to Queenie’s “black” struggles, the rest is just frustrating and offensive.

Queenie digs into deep issues: discussing micro-aggressions in the workplace, the treatment and mistreatment of the black body by doctors; and the overall fear of mental work by psychologists and psychiatrists by the black family.

I thought it was relatable, no doubt about it, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to convince me that Queenie was the character we needed. It didn’t convince me that black lives mattered.

It amplified mental health issues in the black community and how it’s dealt with, but it was all surface; not digging deep enough to have any kind of real effect.

This book was disappointing and unenjoyable, at least it was for me. I don't recommend it. But

Was this review helpful?

Queenie, this is a story of a woman actually named Queenie at first 25 years old and turns 26 before the end of the book and she is Jamaican and British, in which the story is set over in the London area. Throughout this story you are reading about Queenie's life and all the struggles she must endure throughout. I thought this story was so beyond great and I absolutely loved the writing style of this book. There was so much detail and dialogue happening and it really made the story personal. The author wrote such a good story and she put high quality into this story. I loved Queenie's family and friends, they were all such strong characters and showed much emotion for Queenie. The author also including Queenie's journey to look more like what someone would actually go through and endure like a regular lifestyle just made this even more perfect and shows that women can get lost and that's life for you. I also definitely was happy this story was not a full romance novel either, it was perfect that it was a life journey for Queenie. I loved all the love and support this book had included and brought and this is just a book I would highly recommend anyone to read. Absolutely stunning work overall.

Was this review helpful?

Queenie is a delight. A full realized (an just as flawed) Bridget Jones for the millennial set. The pacing was bang on and the characters were developed in just the right fashion. I couldn’t put it down!

Was this review helpful?

Queenie was billed as “Bridget Jones Meets Americanah“.
Did it live up to the description?

When we meet Queenie at the beginning of the novel, she’s going through a hard time. She is going on a “break” with her boyfriend Tom and while we don’t know about the specifics of their issues then, as they unfold over time, we start to understand that they aren’t necessarily things that are easily fixable through time apart.

Then things go from bad to worse for Queenie. And at the age of 25, it’s almost as if she has truly hit rock bottom. She is making terrible decisions, having scary sexual encounters and just plain needs help.

I think the comparison to Bridget Jones comes from the way that Queenie just is kind of a mess in every way. Although I would argue that for the most part, Bridget Jones does it with some degree of humor. And Queenie was kind of a tougher read.

She definitely is messing up a lot of things and the more she tries to fix them, the worse her life gets, but there are stark differences. Bridget also has some scandalous encounters with men, but Queenie’s relationship with her own body and how she allows men to treat her is just downright dysfunctional.

Which brings me to Americanah. Which I have never read. But it seems like I probably should. But from what I have gathered, it focuses on a young Nigerian who heads to America and has to face head-on what it means to be black for the first time. Knowing this and seeing all that Queenie has to work out from her childhood as the grand-daughter of Jamaican immigrants and a mother who for all intensive purposes abandons her right before the teen years where a girl really needs her mom.

So I would agree that Bridget Jones and Americanah are probably the least likely of books to appear in the same sentence, but together I can see how they really relate to Queenie. Queenie is a tough read, about a girl who is grappling with her identity a woman, her identity as a black woman, and her status as a young person trying to be successful in the world.

While definitely not a light read, Queenie is still lighter than a book on this topic could be. And I believe the book has a lot of value to open reader’s eyes about racial divides and mental health.

Special thanks to Gallery/Scout Press and Netgalley for an e-galley in exhange for my honest review. This one releases on March 19, 2019.

Was this review helpful?

Queenie was a great read. I felt like she was like a couple of women I know, especially since childhood. Including a best friend who amuses me to this day. She's in a steady relationship for the first time in years. But prior to that? I digress. But I would love to see Queenie made into a movie. There are funny moments, the 'Girl, no. don't!' moments and you also cheer her on. I did not like Tom at all. I liked how thorough she went through the motions, then finally moved on. Queenie grows into herself and her identity. Very well written. I can't wait to read more from Candice.

Was this review helpful?

Queenie is one of the year’s most anticipated novels and I have to say that I enjoyed this story immensely. Described as Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah, I felt it really delivered in sharing about what it would be like to be a Jamaican British woman who is navigating the world of dating today.

Queenie is a 25-year-old woman living in London and straddling two cultures while fitting into neither. After breaking up with her white boyfriend, she begins to seek comfort in all the wrong places and puts herself into terrible situations that don’t, ultimately, validate her self-worth.

Queenie is surrounded by women who do their best to help Queenie overcome her breakup, but she can’t seem to stop chasing after the wrong things. The reader is lead down each cringe-worthy scenario from unexpectedly awful sexual encounters, to discovering that a man who seemed like he was Mr. Right was actually married, to even the embarrassment of having to live with your grandparents because you can’t pay your rent .

Queenie begins the long journey towards healing when she begins to see a counselor and must learn to love herself, even in her brokenness.

I loved this story for a couple of reasons.

One, I think that Carty-Williams really showcases the difficulties of dating today and how many people treat dating sites like meaningless hookups instead of striving to find one’s match. As someone out of the game, I really felt for Queenie and these terrible scenarios she found herself in.

Secondly, I love seeing characters evolve and I think Queenie really grew through this experience and it helped propel our story as she finds love within and through surrounding herself with the right people.

Carty-Williams writes with heartfelt honesty, humor, and with vulnerability. I hope we can follow more of Queenie’s adventures in the future. I highly recommend this one for fans of Insecure. It helped me get my fix until the next season comes!

Was this review helpful?