Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

89 reviews

bethanwx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

Queenie's story is a chaotic one, following a break up which sends her spiralling. Her mental health journey reveals some horrific moments in her past and present and ultimately, she has so much love to give and grows to feels that love back at last, with a sturdy foundation for her future. The group chat sections in particular are a massive standout in conveying the intimacy and humour in her life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Antisemitism

holliesatchell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

mari1532's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I listened to this audiobook with Libby through my library.

Brief Summary: Queenie is a woman trying to find herself after a devastating breakup. However, the more she tries to avoid her problems the more problems she seems to have.

Thoughts: If I was rating this book simply on writing it would be 5 out of 5. Carty-Williams writes with such emotionally vivid gripping detail that you can't help but sympathize or empathize with her characters. That being said this book was a lot. The book blurb describes it as Bridget Jones meets Americanah and I did not get the quicky, cheery vibes of Bridget Jones until the last 10 pages of the book. 

I appreciated how this was written to read as if we were reading Queenie's thoughts as if she were writing in a journal because it made her seem vulnerable and relatable. There were quite a few points where I was yelling at Queenie to not do that thing. Carty-Williams wrote her in such a way that you immediately felt that Queenie was your friend and you wanted the best for her. I think the nuance of Queeni and every other character in the book was my favourite part.    

Of course, there were a few people I did not like in this book even though they were well-written. Men whose names start with T, random Guys, and backstabbing friends were the villains of this book. On some level, I do think these subplots highlight the mess of being a woman in your 20s and on another level that some people truly never leave high school. 

I also really liked the journey that Queenie went on with therapy and her family. The arc of that plot line was beautiful to see and highlighted how people can sometimes surprise you.

This was a really good book and I would recommend it as a read. However, this is more a coming-of-age story and what it takes to discover who you are as a person, rather than a rom-com. It is exquisitely written.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

meat_muffin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Medical content, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm

kimberlynpeterson50's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

While I felt frustrated by Queenie’s whining and steady self destruction, it was a necessary build up so she could crash and find her way back to herself. The reality of Queenie’s intersectional oppression makes this an important read for anyone struggling to understand, while the slow reveal of how trauma informs every part of life is incredibly informative. If you can make it through some horrifying sex scenes, you’ll be glad you did so you can see Queenie’s journey of self discovery, her amazing support network, and the normalization of mental health care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

madamelacy's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This wasn’t my usual read as it was a bit Gen Z but I found the main character’s struggle with coming to terms with neglect as a child, coping with racism and realisation that she doesn’t have to put up with sexual violence very believable, as it wasn’t a smooth journey. The ending was really uplifting and I wanted to hug Queenie when she finally learned to love herself, but she’s not a hugger.

There were aspects I liked less. There appeared to be a suggestion that her life disintegrated due to pregnancy loss, but it was clearly spiralling before that. I didn’t find the amenability or the responses from the counsellor very credible. 

Overall an enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Emotional abuse

quasinaut's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Oh, this is a complicated book to rate and review, because Queenie is a complicated character to read about. 

I appreciated seeing the development of Queenie and her relationships with her friends, her grandparents, aunt, and cousin, her mother, her boss, and the men in her life - and how each of them respected (or didn't) Queenie's boundaries and choices, while at the same time we get glimpses of how other characters' lives are going and what roles Queenie plays. 

Is she a good friend? Is she a good daughter and granddaughter? Is she a good worker? Nothing is so black and white, good and bad, of course, but I was rooting for Queenie, even when she seemed determined to make destructive decisions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Police brutality

wellreadmegs's review against another edition

emotional funny 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 picked this book up because it has been on my TBR for years and I saw it is going to be a Hulu series so figured now is the best time as any to read it. Queenie is a coming of age story about 25-year old Queenie Jenkins who is trying to navigate a breakup, her job, friendships, & her mental health struggles. 

When you first meet Queenie it's easy to get annoyed with her self-sabotaging and choatic ways. It takes you awhile to want to root for her. But she does eventually come around. The last 100 pages flew by and I enjoyed it once Queenie was really building back up her life. She dealt with so much trauma I really respected Queenie. 

The end came quickly but was also pretty sweet. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Miscarriage

angievansprang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this read. Queenie is a young, Black, 20-something trying to find her way in London while coming to terms with some realities about her life. There are LOTS of terrible men, beautiful female friendships, complicated family dynamics, and most importantly, the rocky journey towards self love & self acceptance. Though Queenie is by no means perfect, I found her to still be a lovable character. You want everything to work out for her in the end. Check trigger warnings before picking this one up because there are definitely scenes that are hard to stomach, especially when you as the reader can recognize Queenie’s self-destructive behavior before she does. I thought the mental health representation of anxiety & panic disorders was completely on par in this book and I appreciated that rawness from the author. It was one of the many ways in which Queenie comes alive off the page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Suicide

ghostmomxoxo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol