QUEENIE by Candice Carty-Williams

I purchased the book when it came out in the UK and got the signed copy of it. It looks so beautiful and there was such a hype around it that I had to have it (the hype still holds). In the same time there came book club picks and #instagrammademedoit million other books that I somehow put this on the side for later.

That later came! It was my turn to choose a read for our book club/he party get together and I thought what better time for QUEENIE than this? I got into it straight away and literally devoured it in two sittings (probably would have been only one if it wasn’t for the numerous rock painting sessions and Doc McStuffins pretend plays).

It is absolutely hilarious with such strong characters I fell in love with straight away. It is also compelling, painful, inspiring and so damn real that is suck you in. Candice Carty – Williams is one brilliant journalist and writer offering such in in depth story about love, mental health but also race and racism. I have to admit that I have never thought about certain aspects and maybe took things for granted. I have not read many books about what black people endure on daily basis. Maybe because I have never seen them any different than I am or maybe, because I am ignorant. I am not sure what applies here but honestly, I am a true believer that every country and every nation in this world has good people and bad people and we shouldn’t judge an entire race by what one does.

BLURB

Caught between the Jamaican British family who don’t seem to understand her, a job that’s not all it promised and a man she just can’t get over, Queenie’s life seems to be steadily spiralling out of control. Desperately trying to navigate her way through a hot mess of shifting cultures and toxic relationships and emerge with a shred of dignity, her missteps and misadventures will provoke howls of laughter and tears of pity – frequently on the same page. As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?”—all of the questions today’s woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.

The characters built around Queenie are authentic and hilariously genuine. I fell in love with her grandmother and one of her best friends, Kyazike. I instantly pictured them in my mind and wished to have such brutally honest people around myself.

This book shows in many ways how every woman deals with betrayal, heart ache and deceit. It treats mental health aspects and honestly, made me think about therapy finding myself in lots of Queenie’s outbursts in regards to certain aspects or people in her life. We all have drama and we all have been cheated on at some point in this life and the way we went through it all, the way we dealt with it shows that it all takes time to heal and sooner or later, that inner strength will come to surface and defeat the dark side.

There is always a rainbow after a storm and Candice Carty-Williams made a wonderful job in showing just how that rainbow looks like but also what going through the storm feels like and what it can do to many of us. Having family and friends along this difficult journey matters so much and being honest with them proves to be the key to healing.

Have you read Queenie? What did you think? Would love to hear your thoughts.