Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

I’m so excited to review this book because I love love loved it!

The book follows Queenie, a 25-year-old journalist, around her life in London where she struggles with mental health, racial, sexual, romantic, and friendship issues. Sound like a lot? It is, but one of the best things about this book is that it’s not afraid to explore very real problems that many people go through.

Some people have criticised Queenie’s decisions and found the book hard to get on with because of that. Certainly, it can be difficult watching a character you’ve become attached to act self-destructively, but don’t we all sometimes? Having made many a self-destructive choice in my life, I enjoyed going through Queenie’s journey and emerging on the other side with her. A book where a character acts perfectly holds far less interest than one where they are flawed, but trying.

I found Queenie’s experience with therapy especially moving. Therapy can be a very harrowing thing to go through, and Carty-Williams articulates it so eloquently. This book manages to expertly explore so many different themes, one of the most significant being what it’s like to be a Black British woman living in London. There’s a scene that many POC will find all too familiar: Queenie’s boyfriend’s family member says a racial slur, and everyone acts like Queenie is unreasonable for being offended. Carty-Williams is excellent at subtly yet powerfully putting to paper Queenie’s experience as a Black woman.

In a time where a record number of young people struggle with mental health issues and POC are only starting to really be heard, this book is essential. It tells us that we are not alone and we’re not the only ones going through it all.

I’m now joining about a billion other people (including the British Book Awards) in saying: if you haven’t read this book already, READ IT!

Also – especial shout-out to Kyazike, best character in the book!