Scan barcode
A review by minbyrnes
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
emotional
informative
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? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC! (I've also preordered it. Please do if you're interested; there's still time!)
I loved this, especially once things started picking up with the Instagram posts.
The story follows Najwa, a competitive Scrabble player who’s still grappling with and grieving the death of her best friend Trina, the Queen of the Tiles, during the finals of a Scrabble competition a year prior.
My favorite aspects of the book are as follows:
1) The characters: I found myself really enjoying the time Najwa spends alone with each character as she tries to figure out Trina’s death. Some characters were spotlighted more than others, but learning more about them was always a fun experience for me. I also loved the way Najwa would see Trina through the eyes of the others as she kept digging.
2) The wordplay: I like how Najwa describes the people around her and the situations she’s in with words. To be completely honest, I wasn’t a big fan of it at first (I felt like I was being pulled out of the story every time a new word I didn’t know was being explained to me), but as I kept on reading I learned to really enjoy this aspect and kept bookmarking the pages because I wanted to go back to the words.
3) The Malaysian and Muslim representation: The Manglish? The mention of Najwa having to push back the baby hairs escaping her hijab? The little things made me really happy.
I also really liked the discussion on grief and how everyone goes about it differently. That needing help is ok (and good!). And that the way we see and perceive things aren’t necessarily the only truth.
My only criticism would be the pacing at the beginning of the book. It felt a little slow at first and I’d sometimes put the book down to read/do something a little more ‘exciting’. I feel like that’s normal for a mystery, though. Once it picks up, it really picks up. And the end was a LOT of fun.
I loved this, especially once things started picking up with the Instagram posts.
The story follows Najwa, a competitive Scrabble player who’s still grappling with and grieving the death of her best friend Trina, the Queen of the Tiles, during the finals of a Scrabble competition a year prior.
My favorite aspects of the book are as follows:
1) The characters: I found myself really enjoying the time Najwa spends alone with each character as she tries to figure out Trina’s death. Some characters were spotlighted more than others, but learning more about them was always a fun experience for me. I also loved the way Najwa would see Trina through the eyes of the others as she kept digging.
2) The wordplay: I like how Najwa describes the people around her and the situations she’s in with words. To be completely honest, I wasn’t a big fan of it at first (I felt like I was being pulled out of the story every time a new word I didn’t know was being explained to me), but as I kept on reading I learned to really enjoy this aspect and kept bookmarking the pages because I wanted to go back to the words.
3) The Malaysian and Muslim representation: The Manglish? The mention of Najwa having to push back the baby hairs escaping her hijab? The little things made me really happy.
I also really liked the discussion on grief and how everyone goes about it differently. That needing help is ok (and good!). And that the way we see and perceive things aren’t necessarily the only truth.
My only criticism would be the pacing at the beginning of the book. It felt a little slow at first and I’d sometimes put the book down to read/do something a little more ‘exciting’. I feel like that’s normal for a mystery, though. Once it picks up, it really picks up. And the end was a LOT of fun.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Grief
Discussions on grief, anxiety and depression