This took me a while to get into in hard copy, but I loved the audiobook and finished it in a day once I switched formats. The narrator is excellent, and the book touches on a lot of really important topics.

Content Warnings

clarice_flora's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

5.0

a hard hitting, special kind of book. normal and yet sparkling with wisdom. eye opening, healing, comedic and sad - truly a must read

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applesaucecreachur's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

Yep, this one was a winner.
I checked Queenie out thanks to a bookstagram account that claimed the audiobook version was a masterpiece. Niether the author, Candice Carty-Williams, nor the narrator, Shvorne Marks, disappointed. Non-speculative contemporary fiction isn't usually my vibe but the voice acting, humor, tragedy, and occasionally even the joy covered in this story lead me to devour the book in four days flat. The titular Queenie is a deeply flawed woman who makes questionable decisions and has skewed priorities. She is also a woman who's been forced to rise to the occasion time and again, and is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by it all. For every misstep Queenie makes, it is ten times more frustrating to watch the world respond to her mere existence.

Spoiler

The pool scene was one of the rawest and most devastating bits of fiction I've consumed in years. It gave a voice to how one person's, particularly one white woman's, casual action can crumble another human.

Also, Shvorne Marks? Talented. Her range of accents and unique voices for each character elevates this book even further. Queenie was everything I didn't know I needed from fiction.

Content Warnings

megold12's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective 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

This was a solid portrayal of going through crisis while still trying to hold onto your life. I would have liked to see more change at the end, or addressing the trauma in her past. But overall it was well done, and struggling even after “getting better” is an important piece of the process

Content Warnings

jaywithwhiskey's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

Although it did feel kind of long at times, I really enjoyed this book. The theme of mental health care is really important and done in such a genuine and heartbreaking way. We follow Queenie after a breakup through self-destruction and a long road to recovery afterwards. Overall this book is hard to read sometimes due to having to watch the characters go through some hard times, but ultimately it makes you feel warm and it's hilarious and you fall in love with Queenie and her friends and family.

Content Warnings

pickupthebook's review

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challenging emotional 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

4.0

I was not expecting this book to be as heavy as it was - I thought it would be just another fun read about a twenty-something woman finding herself. But the book even starts off heavy, where in the first chapter we find out Queenie is experiencing a miscarriage while going through a break-up with her long-term partner, and she feels like she has no one to talk to. From there, she starts to spiral and eventually hits rock bottom. This book dealt with everything from mental health disorders, abusive relationships, and racism, and I thought the author handled these topics with care (please check content warnings for yourself before reading though, because these topics are all discussed in depth and explicitly!). Despite some of the poor decisions Queenie makes, you can’t help but empathize with her and root for her!

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