I’ve been hearing a lot about Queenie, the debut novel from Candice Carty-Williams, so when I saw it in Tesco (the only place right now you can buy books!) I decided to pick it up, and I’m glad I did!

The story follows Queenie, a young black woman living and working in London and navigating the whirlwind that is her break-up with her boyfriend. It’s not just any break-up though; the day they split she discovers she had a miscarriage from a pregnancy she didn’t know about, and the cracks in her and her boyfriend’s relationship stem from his unwillingness to stand up to his racist family or acknowledge her perspective.

Queenie is a fantastic main character. She’s funny, tender, and flawed. She wants to be more politically involved, but can’t quite make it work. She wants to do well at her job as a journalist, but it never seems to be a priority. She wants to find love, but keeps making increasingly bad decisions until it all comes crashing down. And yet through all of this, we understand her. We may not support or agree with her actions or with the decisions she makes, but we understand why she’s made them even if we’re desperate to pull her out of her own story and try to talk some sense into her.

The core of the story is Queenie’s battle to find her place between her Jamaican family and upbringing and her white friends and colleagues, narrated nicely by the looming gentrification of Brixton. The novel has enormous heart and is utterly readable. If you get a chance, make sure to pick it up this summer.


Find this and other reviews at my blog: https://elementarymydearbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/review-queenie-by-candice-carty-williams/