A review by applesaucecreachur
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

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. 
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