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onegalonelife27's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The queen is dead, long live the queen.
Okay, I had to say that, it’s too hard to resist. Onto the review!
We start off with a third person point of view of the last scrabble match that Trina, the titular queen, ever played. She dropped dead right on the board. The story then switches to a first person point of view of Trina’s best friend Najwa who’s still coping with her death a year later. In hopes of closure, Najwa goes back to the Scrabble tournament and to earn her friend’s title. Yet, not long after the games start, someone starts posting on Trina’s Instagram account-playing some mind games with Najwa and the rest of the players.
Nadjwa’s point of view is perfect, dark and desperate yet still has some teenage snark to make her both a realistic character and one we can root for. While she is trying to move past the grief, she also falls back into some unhealthy habits. She tries to reconnect with friends and rivals but also can lash out, clinging onto her friendship with Trina. We also see how Trina and Nadjaw’s relationship was, how it started, and slowly see Nadjaw come to grips with her relationship with her old best friend once and for all by the end in a cathartic way, like the first deep breath you can take after panicking.
I do have some issues with the plot, like the fact that we have like thirty teenagers walking around yet not that many adults supervising them. Even without the mysterious death, I’m surprised there’s not at least one adult on each floor of this hotel, making sure there’s no teenage shenanigans going on. Of course, it would be hard for Najwa to investigate Trina’s death with so many adults around. Especially with some of the things Najwa discovers her fellow players are willing to do to win. Also never explained some Scrabble tournament rules like why some words are not allowed in Scrabble. I tried to google it and it seems like proper nouns are not allowed, but still not sure about the reason for other words. Yet still, I was eager to learn, along with Nadjwa, if Trina’s death was planned and see Nadjwa’s emotional journey hoping she’d find some closure, so these were relatively easy to overlook.
I certainly recommend this for readers who want to read a dark competition story but see an emotional journey about grief and relationships. On a lighter note, I’m rather tempted to get back to Words with Friends after reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
notapenguin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug abuse
olive_lol's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A weekend Scrabble tournament is a unique yet effective setting for a mystery novel. The main thing that stood out to me with this book was the way Scrabble was intertwined with every aspect of it, even the narration.
I thought Najwa was an interesting character and detective in the way she interacts with both her past and her grief. However, I wish we had gotten to know the other characters better before the mystery really kicked off, which would have helped me get more invested. Most characters have another side that slowly (or quickly, for some) gets revealed over the course of the story.
As for the ending,I found it surprisingly satisfying for a muder mystery with no real killer. I liked that the idea of Trina’s death being an accident was presented as a real option from the beginning and not swept to the side for the sake of shocking the reader.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Scrabble, explorations of grief, and mysteries with unique settings.
I thought Najwa was an interesting character and detective in the way she interacts with both her past and her grief. However, I wish we had gotten to know the other characters better before the mystery really kicked off, which would have helped me get more invested. Most characters have another side that slowly (or quickly, for some) gets revealed over the course of the story.
As for the ending,
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Scrabble, explorations of grief, and mysteries with unique settings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Self harm
kuri's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
mandkips's review against another edition
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
What would you do when your best friend suddenly dies right in front of you? Would you let others replace her legacy as the reigning champion? Or, would you claim it for yourself, for the sake of her memory?
In Queen of Tiles , Najwa refuses to let others erase Trina’s legacy, though her return to the competitive scrabble scene is more than just that. She’s looking to heal and move on with her life…until Trina’s inactive Instagram starts posting again, leaving cryptic messages that suggest that she was instead, murdered and someone at the competition is the killer. So, what can Najwa do now that the closest people around her are suspects? Report to the authorities? Psssh, no. She’s gonna figure everything out to save both Trina and herself.
Keeping in mind that the characters are all underage and they’re stuck in a hotel where the scrabble tournament is held, there’s a limit to how much can be done. Even so, the way the mystery unravels is quite engaging—ridiculous at times, plenty predictable (for me, as someone who reads quite a bit of crime, mysteries and thrillers) and a little too neatly wrapped up, but still engaging. The truth behind Trina’s death is refreshing too, though it does feel rather anti-climatic since the entire story hinges on the mystery.
Other than that, I like that Queen of Tiles is more about the way different people mourn and handle their grief. Whether they liked Trina before she died, felt indifferent about her or cared deeply for her, they’ve all been touched by her death somehow and we get to see that through Najwa’s eyes. However, I do think that this aspect could’ve been stronger if the other characters were better fleshed out. They all have strong foundations for their identities but they’re also rather…typical. Don’t get me wrong, I like Najwa and her obsession with words and their meanings. She’s relatable and definitely the best-developed character here. But, it also felt like I was reading stereotypes instead of complex characters and that weakened the emotional impact of the story on me.
All in all, this was a solid read. If you’re looking for a lighter Young Adult mystery with an uncommon setting (scrabble tournament + Southeast Asian rep), give Queen of Tiles a read.
What would you do when your best friend suddenly dies right in front of you? Would you let others replace her legacy as the reigning champion? Or, would you claim it for yourself, for the sake of her memory?
In Queen of Tiles , Najwa refuses to let others erase Trina’s legacy, though her return to the competitive scrabble scene is more than just that. She’s looking to heal and move on with her life…until Trina’s inactive Instagram starts posting again, leaving cryptic messages that suggest that she was instead, murdered and someone at the competition is the killer. So, what can Najwa do now that the closest people around her are suspects? Report to the authorities? Psssh, no. She’s gonna figure everything out to save both Trina and herself.
Keeping in mind that the characters are all underage and they’re stuck in a hotel where the scrabble tournament is held, there’s a limit to how much can be done. Even so, the way the mystery unravels is quite engaging—ridiculous at times, plenty predictable (for me, as someone who reads quite a bit of crime, mysteries and thrillers) and a little too neatly wrapped up, but still engaging. The truth behind Trina’s death is refreshing too, though it does feel rather anti-climatic since the entire story hinges on the mystery.
Other than that, I like that Queen of Tiles is more about the way different people mourn and handle their grief. Whether they liked Trina before she died, felt indifferent about her or cared deeply for her, they’ve all been touched by her death somehow and we get to see that through Najwa’s eyes. However, I do think that this aspect could’ve been stronger if the other characters were better fleshed out. They all have strong foundations for their identities but they’re also rather…typical. Don’t get me wrong, I like Najwa and her obsession with words and their meanings. She’s relatable and definitely the best-developed character here. But, it also felt like I was reading stereotypes instead of complex characters and that weakened the emotional impact of the story on me.
All in all, this was a solid read. If you’re looking for a lighter Young Adult mystery with an uncommon setting (scrabble tournament + Southeast Asian rep), give Queen of Tiles a read.
Thank you so much Pansing for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! Queen of Tiles by Hanna Alkaf is available at all good bookstores.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug abuse and Infidelity