guardian book review queenie

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts

Become an FT subscriber

Try unlimited access Only $1 for 4 weeks

Then $75 per month. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Cancel anytime during your trial.

• Global news & analysis
• Expert opinion
• Special features
• FirstFT newsletter
• Videos & Podcasts
• Android & iOS app
• FT Edit app
• 10 gift articles per month

Explore more offers.

Standard digital.

• FT Digital Edition

Premium Digital

Print + premium digital, weekend print + standard digital, weekend print + premium digital.

Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Pay a year upfront and save 20%.

• Global news & analysis
• Exclusive FT analysis
• FT App on Android & iOS
• FirstFT: the day's biggest stories
• 20+ curated newsletters
• Follow topics & set alerts with myFT
• FT Videos & Podcasts
• 20 monthly gift articles to share
• Lex: FT's flagship investment column
• 15+ Premium newsletters by leading experts
• FT Digital Edition: our digitised print edition
• Weekday Print Edition
• Videos & Podcasts
• Premium newsletters
• 10 additional gift articles per month
• FT Weekend Print delivery
• Everything in Standard Digital
• Everything in Premium Digital

Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%.

• 10 monthly gift articles to share
• Everything in Print

Terms & Conditions apply

Explore our full range of subscriptions.

Why the ft.

See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times.

International Edition

• Getting Started
• Start a Book Club
• Book Club Ideas/Help▼
• Our Featured Clubs ▼
• Popular Books
• Book Reviews
• Reading Guides
• Blog Home ▼
• Find a Recipe
• About LitCourse
• Course Catalog

Queenie (Carty-Williams)

Queeie   Candice Carty-Williams, 2019 Gallery/Scout Press 336 pp. ISBN-13: 9781501196010  Summary Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah in this disarmingly honest, boldly political, and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and found something very different in its place . Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places… including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth. 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. With "fresh and honest" (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today’s world. ( From the publisher .)

Author Bio • Birth—1989 • Where—South London, England, UK • Education—University of Sussex • Currently—lives in London Candice Carty-Williams was born in London to a Jamaican-Indian hospital receptionist and a Jamaican taxicab driver. When she was two weeks old, her father came to visit. By his side (surprise!) was his pregnant wife and three children. It was the last she saw him. Carty-Williams grew up as a lonely and unsure child, moving with her mother from place to place, all in South London, eventually living with her grandmother. It was a "really shitty" childhood, she told Fiona Sturges of the UK Guardian . Often overlooked by her elders—and compared to a more beautiful, older cousin—Carty-Williams she felt that she "would never be able to achieve anything." But then, like so many shy children, Carty-Williams found refuge books, spending hours and days in the public library. Much later, in her early 20s, she discovered Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah : "I thought, Wow, someone gets it! The hair stuff!" The idea of writing was a revelation, yet working full-time and in debt, Carty-Williams never believed she would be able to write a book. In recognition of that uphill battle—for untested and underrepresented writers—in 2016 she created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize to champion and celebrate their talents. Later the same year, she saw that JoJo Myers (of Me Before You fame) was offering a week-long writing workshop at her home in Suffolk. Carty-Williams applied and was accepted into the program. That week she began writing … and writing … and writing. By the end of the week she had piled up 40,000 words—for what would become her first book. "It felt a bit like an outpouring. I think Queenie had been brewing for a very long time," she told the Guardian .

Three years later, in 2019, her novel Queenie was published, garnering solid reviews. Still, despite all the attention Queenie sent her way, Carty-Williams has kept her day job: working as a senior marketing executive at Vintage.

She has also contributed regularly to i-D , Refinery29 , BEAT Magazine , and more, and her pieces, especially those about blackness, sex, and identity, have been shared globally. ( Adapted from the publisher and The Guardian .)

Book Reviews An irresistible portrait of a young Jamaican-British woman living in London that grows deeper as it goes. Entertainment Weekly Meet Queenie Jenkins, a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman who works for a London newspaper, is struggling to fit in, is dealing with a breakup, and is making all kinds of questionable decisions. In other words, she's highly relatable. A must read for 2019. Woman's Day They say Queenie is Black Bridget Jones meets Americanah. But she stands in her own right—nothing can and will compare. I can't articulate how completely and utterly blown away I am. Black Girls Book Club You'll likely feel seen while reading this (yes, it's that relatable), an example of what happens when you go looking for love and find something else instead. PopSugar You’ll read Queenie , a novel about a young Jamaican British woman trying to find her place in London, in one day. It’s that good. Hello Giggles ( Starred review ) [S]mart, fearless…. Carty-Williams doesn’t shy from the messiness of sexual relationships, racial justice…and the narrative is all the more effective for its boldness. This is an essential depiction of life as a black woman… told in a way that makes Queenie dynamic and memorable. Publishers Weekly ( Starred review ) Carty-Williams creates an utterly knowable character in Queenie, who's as dimensional and relatable as they come as she tries to balance her own desires with what everyone else seems to want for her... This smart, funny, and tender debut embraces a modern woman's messiness. Booklist ( Starred review ) The life and loves of Queenie Jenkins, a vibrant, troubled 25-year-old Jamaican Brit who is not having a very good year. Why she ever fell for that drip Tom… [is] never at all clear, but perhaps that's how these things go. A black Bridget Jones, perfectly of the moment. Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions 1. What were your first impressions of Queenie? Did you like her? Were you surprised to hear the story behind Queenie’s name? How does hearing the story from Sylvie affect Queenie? Do you think that Sylvie chose a fitting name for Queenie? Explain your answer. 2. Queenie tells Tom, "Well, your family; it’s what a family should be" (p. 293). Discuss her statement. What is it about Tom’s family that Queenie finds so appealing? Compare her family to Tom’s. Did you find Queenie’s family to be supportive? Why or why not? 3. Describe the structure of Queenie . What’s the effect of the shifting time frame? How do the flashbacks help you better understand Queenie and her relationship with Tom? Do the texts and emails that are included also help you better understand what Queenie is thinking? If so, how? 4. When Cassandra says that Kyazike’s name is "like Jessica without the ‘ic’ in the middle," Kyazike corrects her, saying, "No. Like my own name. Not some… Western name. Chess. Keh" (p. 170). Explain her reaction. Why is it important for Kyazike to correct Cassandra’s assertion? Why does hearing Kyazike’s name impress Queenie when they first meet? 5. After Queenie pitches an article designed to shine a light on the Black Lives Matter movement, one of her colleagues responds by saying, "All that Black Lives Matter nonsense.… All lives matter" (p. 376). Discuss Queenie’s reaction to this assertion. What’s her counterargument? Why is it so important for her to cover the movement? 6. Gina tells Queenie, "Whenever I’ve had a huge upheaval, my mother has always said, 'Keep one foot on the ground when two are in the air'" (p. 224). Why does she offer Queenie this advice? Were you surprised by the kindness that she shows Queenie? Do you think Gina is a good boss? Would you want to work for her? Why or why not? 7. After a conversation with Darcy, Queenie thinks, "I wished that well-meaning white liberals would think before they said things that they thought were perfectly innocent" (p. 178). What does Darcy say that leads to Queenie’s reaction? Think about the comment. Why is it so charged? How does Darcy’s comment highlight the differences between Queenie’s and Darcy’s experiences? 8. What did you think of Guy? Why does Queenie spend time with him? How does she describe their interactions to her friends? Contrast the reality of their interactions to what Queenie tells her friends. Why do you think that Queenie romanticizes the details? 9. According to Queenie, Darcy, Cassandra, and Kyazike "all represented a different part of my life, had all come to me at different times; why they’d all stuck with me I was constantly trying to work out" (p. 174). What part of Queenie’s life does each woman represent? Describe their friendships. What does each woman bring to Queenie’s life? Do you think that they’re good friends to her? Why or why not? 10. Queenie’s grandmother tells her, "If you are sad, you have to try not to be," causing Queenie to muse that "all of my grandmother’s responses come with a Caribbean frame of reference that forces me to accept that my problems are trivial" (p. 46). How does Queenie’s grandmother deal with problems? How does she react when Queenie broaches the subject of getting counseling, and why? 11. Janet asks Queenie "what do you see, when you look in the mirror, when you think about yourself as a person" (p. 510)? Why is this such a difficult question for Queenie to answer? How would you describe her? If someone posed this question to you, how would you answer it? 12. What did you think of Queenie’s lists? Are they effective in helping her navigate stressful situations? What’s the effect of including them in the novel? How do the lists help propel the story forward? Did you learn anything interesting about Queenie from her list of New Year’s Resolutions? If so, why? 13. Sylvie feels that she "let [Queenie] down, I should have been better to her, that way she might have been better herself" (p. 315). Why did Sylvie leave? How did her departure affect Queenie? Describe their relationship. How does it evolve throughout the novel? ( Questions issued by the publisher .)

top of page (summary)

LitLovers © 2024

• Even more »

Account Options

• Try the new Google Books
• Advanced Book Search
• SimonandSchuster.com
• Barnes&Noble.com
• Books-A-Million
• All sellers  »

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases, about the author  (2019).

Candice Carty-Williams is a senior marketing executive at Vintage. In 2016, she created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, which aims to find, champion, and celebrate underrepresented writers. She contributes regularly to i-D , Refinery29 , BEAT Magazine , and more, and her pieces, especially those about blackness, sex, and identity, have been shared globally. Queenie is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @CandiceC_W.

Bibliographic information

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

By: Author Jen - MMB Book Blog

Posted on Published: 17 July 2022  - Last updated: 8 March 2024

Sharing is caring!

Queenie was the debut novel by Candice Carty-Williams and it’s safe to say, it was a HUGE success.

Released in 2019 , Queenie was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and went on to win Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. It was also named one of The Times, Guardian, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and Evening Standard’s best books of 2019.

Honestly, I have no idea what’s taken me so long to read this book! It’s been on my bookshelf for a while, so when Candice Carty-Williams’ new novel, People Person, was released, I thought it was time to get cracking with her first book.

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams: Plot

Queenie is a 25 year old, third-generation Jamaican-British woman trying to find her way in the world. After struggling through a breakup, Queenie’s life starts to unravel. Her issues with her friends and family are exacerbated and her mental health starts to suffer. With her confidence at an all-time low, Queenie finds herself in the arms, and beds, of several unsuitable men.

We follow Queenie as she makes increasingly questionable decisions as she tries to deal with the issues she’s facing.

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams: My Opinion

I really enjoyed this book. Queenie was such a frustrating yet sympathetic central character. I found myself rooting for her and wanting her to be happy. Her flaws, of which she had many, just made her seem more realistic.

I loved the supporting cast of characters and especially enjoyed the tales of her friend’s dating mishaps. The dialogue sparkled and I really liked the light-hearted moments.

Queenie isn’t just a breakup story. It tackles hard-hitting topics such as racism, injustice and mental health. Candice Carty-Williams expertly makes the switch from light-hearted and humorous moments, to grittier more emotional topics.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza did an excellent job of highlighting systemic racism, and the importance of causes like Black Lives Matter. In this book, the exploration of racism is perhaps more subtle but still clearly something Queenie has to live with on a daily basis. The way she tries to validate herself by attracting white men, along with her identity struggles and her friend’s dismissal of Black Lives Matter, all show how racism is still very much a current issue.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the mixture of witty dialogue along with the more thought-provoking moments.

How many pages does Queenie have?

Queenie has 392 pages.

When was Queenie released?

Queenie was published on 11th April 2019.

Has Candice Carty-Williams written any other novels?

Candice Carty-Williams is also the author of People Person, published in 2022.

What should I read after Queenie?

If you enjoyed Queenie, I’d suggest reading People Person , also by Candice Carty-Williams. I’d also recommend reading Seven Days in June by Tia Williams.

Related Book Lists

• Women’s Prize for Fiction Winners
• Richard and Judy Book Club 2023

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

by Candice Carty-Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2019

A black Bridget Jones, perfectly of the moment.

The life and loves of Queenie Jenkins, a vibrant, troubled 25-year-old Jamaican Brit who is not having a very good year.

" 'My last girlfriend was black.' I looked at my date and blinked, sure I'd misheard him. 'Sorry?' I asked, leaning across the table." But indeed, that's what he said. Just as she heard correctly when "Balding Alpha," a guy she dates later in her annus horribilus, licks her shoulder and comments, "Tastes like chocolate." Queenie's attempts to get over Tom, the long-term white boyfriend who dumps her at the beginning of Carty-Williams' debut novel, send her stumbling through a mined landscape of interracial dating and friendship, including the occasional white stranger who reaches to fondle her hair as if in a petting zoo. Terrified by the continual news of violence from the United States, Queenie is trying to get the paper she works for in London to cover important issues—"I’d wanted this job so that I could be a force for change"—but her editor responds to her pitches by suggesting a piece on "ten of the best black dresses Me Too movement supporters have worn at awards ceremonies." After all, it's the holiday season, and what people are really thinking about is party dresses! Queenie's main supporters are the three girlfriends who make up a texting group called The Corgis (a reference to the queen's loyal pack of pooches), but one of these relationships is about to detonate due to our heroine's wildly indiscriminate sexual choices, choices that keep her running in and out of the health clinic on a biweekly basis. At least she'll always be able to fall back on the judgmental embrace and reliable hot water of her ultratraditional Jamaican grandparents. Why she ever fell for that drip Tom and why she still loves him so much are never at all clear, but perhaps that's how these things go.

Pub Date: March 19, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5011-9601-0

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Scout Press/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018

LITERARY FICTION

Share your opinion of this book

More by Candice Carty-Williams

BOOK REVIEW

by Candice Carty-Williams

More About This Book

SEEN & HEARD

HOUSE OF LEAVES

by Mark Z. Danielewski ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2000

The story's very ambiguity steadily feeds its mysteriousness and power, and Danielewski's mastery of postmodernist and...

An amazingly intricate and ambitious first novel - ten years in the making - that puts an engrossing new spin on the traditional haunted-house tale.

Texts within texts, preceded by intriguing introductory material and followed by 150 pages of appendices and related "documents" and photographs, tell the story of a mysterious old house in a Virginia suburb inhabited by esteemed photographer-filmmaker Will Navidson, his companion Karen Green (an ex-fashion model), and their young children Daisy and Chad.  The record of their experiences therein is preserved in Will's film The Davidson Record - which is the subject of an unpublished manuscript left behind by a (possibly insane) old man, Frank Zampano - which falls into the possession of Johnny Truant, a drifter who has survived an abusive childhood and the perverse possessiveness of his mad mother (who is institutionalized).  As Johnny reads Zampano's manuscript, he adds his own (autobiographical) annotations to the scholarly ones that already adorn and clutter the text (a trick perhaps influenced by David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest ) - and begins experiencing panic attacks and episodes of disorientation that echo with ominous precision the content of Davidson's film (their house's interior proves, "impossibly," to be larger than its exterior; previously unnoticed doors and corridors extend inward inexplicably, and swallow up or traumatize all who dare to "explore" their recesses).  Danielewski skillfully manipulates the reader's expectations and fears, employing ingeniously skewed typography, and throwing out hints that the house's apparent malevolence may be related to the history of the Jamestown colony, or to Davidson's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a dying Vietnamese child stalked by a waiting vulture.  Or, as "some critics [have suggested,] the house's mutations reflect the psychology of anyone who enters it."

Pub Date: March 6, 2000

ISBN: 0-375-70376-4

Page Count: 704

Publisher: Pantheon

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2000

More by Mark Z. Danielewski

by Mark Z. Danielewski

THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD

by Claire Lombardo ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019

Characters flip between bottomless self-regard and pitiless self-loathing while, as late as the second-to-last chapter, yet...

Four Chicago sisters anchor a sharp, sly family story of feminine guile and guilt.

Newcomer Lombardo brews all seven deadly sins into a fun and brimming tale of an unapologetically bougie couple and their unruly daughters. In the opening scene, Liza Sorenson, daughter No. 3, flirts with a groomsman at her sister’s wedding. “There’s four of you?” he asked. “What’s that like?” Her retort: “It’s a vast hormonal hellscape. A marathon of instability and hair products.” Thus begins a story bristling with a particular kind of female intel. When Wendy, the oldest, sets her sights on a mate, she “made sure she left her mark throughout his house—soy milk in the fridge, box of tampons under the sink, surreptitious spritzes of her Bulgari musk on the sheets.” Turbulent Wendy is the novel’s best character, exuding a delectable bratty-ness. The parents—Marilyn, all pluck and busy optimism, and David, a genial family doctor—strike their offspring as impossibly happy. Lombardo levels this vision by interspersing chapters of the Sorenson parents’ early lean times with chapters about their daughters’ wobbly forays into adulthood. The central story unfurls over a single event-choked year, begun by Wendy, who unlatches a closed adoption and springs on her family the boy her stuffy married sister, Violet, gave away 15 years earlier. (The sisters improbably kept David and Marilyn clueless with a phony study-abroad scheme.) Into this churn, Lombardo adds cancer, infidelity, a heart attack, another unplanned pregnancy, a stillbirth, and an office crush for David. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Grace perpetrates a whopper, and “every day the lie was growing like mold, furring her judgment.” The writing here is silky, if occasionally overwrought. Still, the deft touches—a neighborhood fundraiser for a Little Free Library, a Twilight character as erotic touchstone—delight. The class calibrations are divine even as the utter apolitical whiteness of the Sorenson world becomes hard to fathom.

Pub Date: June 25, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-385-54425-2

Page Count: 544

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: March 3, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019

LITERARY FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

• Book Reviews

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams – Book Review

Published 07/09/2020 · Updated 07/09/2020

Queenie is a twenty-five-year-old Black woman living in south London, straddling Jamaican and British culture whilst slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white, middle-class peers, and beg to write about Black Lives Matter. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie finds herself seeking comfort in all the wrong places.

As Queenie veers from one regrettable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be? – the questions that every woman today must face in a world that keeps trying to provide the answers for them.

Queenie Jenkins is a twenty-five-year-old black woman, who is unsure of her role in life and her place. She has just been dumped, or ‘on a break’ with her white boyfriend Tom, who keeps her dangling with the prospects of getting back together in the future. She works at a national newspaper where she wants to make a difference but her bosses see her more someone to cover the lighter stories in life and keep on knocking back her tough Black Lives Matter features.

Not sure who she is and spiralling out of control, Queenie goes from one bad guy to another for sex, never a relationship. She has unprotected sex a lot and ends up at the sexual health clinic a lot.

She is a mixed-up young woman who is trying to fit into society but she doesn’t know how or who she truly is which in turn causes her a lot of anxiety and mental health issues.

Queenie is a truly remarkable book that had me enthralled the whole way through, though I would say that the book felt slow at the beginning for me and the last 40-50% of the book outshone the first half. It’s funny as I don’t think I have ever analysed a book like I did this one for days afterwards.

Queenie is a beautiful young woman who like a lot of women today felt lost within herself. She is living in the biggest city in the UK, doing a job she loves but doesn’t feel like she actually gets to participate and have her voice heard, especially being a black woman in a mainly white, middle-class environment. She has been knocked back by her white boyfriend who doesn’t see anything wrong with the way his family treats her and blames her for her reactions to their comments. Her mum left her for a man when she was a child who beat her and she is living in a house share she hates.

She distrusts black men due to her abusive upbringing and so only dates white men although she is happy to let them be forceful and overly rough, so much so that the sexual health nurse thinks that she is being abused.

Everything is too much for Queenie and so she starts to see a psychiatrist to help her understand who she truly is and what she wants out of life.

I loved the book, although I wouldn’t say it was a comedy, there were a few moments I smiled, mainly at her internal monologue or the messages with her friends. There were a lot of tough moments in the plot and some which had me just wanting to put my arms around Queenie and give her a big hug. She was just one mixed up girl who actually came across younger than she was, if I didn’t know her age I would have put her around 18-19-years old. Her past hurt her a lot and this new ‘break-up’ has pushed her to the edge.

This is a book about one woman’s journey to find herself with the help of her family and friends. It is heart-warming at times, alarming at others but completely poignant the whole way through. Some scenes are quite hard to read, especially the sexual ones and that isn’t because of the sex but because most of the time Queenie didn’t actually want sex, but she didn’t want to say no either. She wanted compassion, someone to be there for her, even just for a few hours but gave in to the men who just wanted her body.

Overall, it is a great story that held my interest the whole way through but it didn’t go in the direction I was expecting it to. It also is certainly nothing like Bridget Jones’s Diary which it is being marketed to be like and I feel marketing it this way is doing this story a disservice.

Book Reviewer – Stacey

Purchase online from:, amazon.co.uk – amazon.com – amazon.in – apple books – blackwells, about the author.

Candice Carty-Williams was born in 1989, the result of an affair between a Jamaican cab driver who barely speaks and a Jamaican-Indian dyslexic receptionist who speaks more than anyone else in the world. She studied Media at Sussex because her sixth form teachers said that she wasn’t clever enough to do English, but she showed them all by first working at the Guardian Guide and then moving into publishing at 23.

Carty-Williams has worked on marketing literary fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels ever since; her first highlight was interviewing David Cronenberg and telling him that if she were a white man she’d like to look like him. In response he called her a ‘delightful person’. In 2016, she created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, a prize that aims to find, champion and celebrate black, Asian and minority ethnic writers. She also contributes regularly to Refinery29 and i-D.

What did you think of Queenie? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

The above links are affiliate links. I receive a very small percentage from each item you purchase via these link, which is at no extra cost to you. If you are thinking about purchasing the book, please think about using one of the links. All money received goes back into the blog and helps to keep it running. Thank you.

Like us on Facebook – Tweet us on Twitter – Pin us on Pinterest

Tags: Amazon Audio Author Blackwells Book Book Blog Book Blogger Book Review Book Reviewer Candice Carty-Williams ebook Fiction Four Stars hardcover humour Kindle Paperback Review Stacey

You may also like...

Serenity Stalked by Craig Hart – Book Review

 by whispering stories · Published 26/06/2017 · Last modified 19/05/2022

The Conspiracy of Silence by Augustine Sam – Book Review

 by whispering stories · Published 13/04/2016 · Last modified 04/04/2022

Spring at The Little Duck Pond Café by Rosie Green – Book Review

 by whispering stories · Published 06/04/2018 · Last modified 20/01/2023

8 Responses

• Pingbacks 0

Queenie sounds like it could be a great book to read. I’m going to have to check it out soon!

Queenie sounds like a super conflicted and complicated character

This is on my TBR for 2021 and now I’m really looking forward to it!

I wish the synopsis was rewritten. If you go in expecting Bridget Jones comedy you will be disappointed and Queen has depth and what she is going through is no laughing matter. I recommend going into this one w/o reading the synopsis so you can experience it how it was meant.

I have queenie sitting on my book shelf but haven’t read it yet, glad you enjoyed it.

sounds like a book i will enjoy.. adding this to my tbr..

I have to read this book

This sounds really good. The premise catches my attention.

• Next story  In Cold Blood by Jane Bettany – Book Review
• Previous story  The Writing Life of: T.S. Beier
• Author Interviews (103)
• Blog Posts (41)
• Blog Tours (583)
• Book Promo (69)
• Book Reviews (1,616)
• Children's Book Reviews (866)
• Cover Reveals (32)
• Excerpts (47)
• Guest Posts (198)
• Non-Fiction Book Reviews (75)
• Product Reviews (17)
• The Writing Life Of: (367)
• Whispering Wanders (20)
• Writing Tips (37)
• YA Book Reviews (217)

Goodreads Reading Challenge

2024 reading challenge.

Whispering Stories was established in 2015.  The blog is here to share our love of books and the bookish world, alongside our other passions in life.  We are based in the UK .

Authors, please read our review policy before contacting us for a review.

Quote of the Week

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” ― Flannery O’Connor

Top Tips for Book Lovers Q&A

How to involve my kids in reading?

• Member Login
• Library Patron Login

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR

FREE NEWSLETTERS

Search: Title Author Article Search String:

Queenie : Book summary and reviews of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

by Candice Carty-Williams

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' rating:

Published Mar 2019 336 pages Genre: Literary Fiction Publication Information

Rate this book

About this book

Book summary.

Bridget Jones's Diary meets Americanah in this disarmingly honest, boldly political, and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and found something very different in its place.

Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she's constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth. 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. With "fresh and honest" (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today's world.

• "Beyond the Book" articles
• Free books to read and review (US only)
• Find books by time period, setting & theme
• Read-alike suggestions by book and author
• Book club discussions
• and much more!
• Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
• More about membership!

Media Reviews

Reader reviews.

BookBrowse Review "Candice Carty-Williams' first novel, Queenie , has a lot going for it. Her characters are excellent; each feels unique and fully fleshed-out - real-life people with genuine relationships between them. The dialog in particular is stellar, and the author's use of text bubbles and e-mail communication between the characters was perfect. Also, as advertised, it's very funny at times, with the author's outstanding use of dialog playing a key role in conveying the humor. The novel has its flaws, though - too many for me to feel like I can recommend it. Oddly, the number one reason I didn't think the book was great was the fact that the publisher's blurb about it compared it to Americanah , and as such I couldn't help but compare the two as I read, with Queenie falling flat. Americanah was a revelation to me; it helped awaken me to my own subtle prejudices and, I'd like to hope, make me a better person. Queenie , on the other hand, simply made me think, "Well, these people are awful" and move on; the author's stroke was way too broad. In addition, the protagonist was a mess, seeking validation from truly horrible men and putting herself in dangerous circumstances (e.g., inviting a guy she met at a party back to her flat for consensual sex that turned so rough the doctor at her next exam thought she was being abused). Frankly it got old having her lurch from one escapade to another; her behavior started out very bad and just stayed at that level, never really getting worse, with the narrative having her plateau right at the start and just stay there throughout the majority of the book, not reaching the turning point until about 75% of the way through. It may have been a more interesting book had her decline been more gradual. The author attempted to make the story more relevant by including a bit about the Black Lives Matter movement, but this felt like an afterthought and the subject wasn't fully explored. Toward the end of the book the protagonist did seem to be turning her life around, but it happened way too late; I'd lost interest long before then." - Kim Kovacs Other Reviews "Starred Review. A black Bridget Jones, perfectly of the moment." - Kirkus "Starred Review. This is an essential depiction of life as a black woman in the modern world, told in a way that makes Queenie dynamic and memorable." - Publishers Weekly "Starred Review. Fast moving and with a strong sense of Queenie's London, this entertains while tackling topics like mental health and stigma, racism and tokenism, gentrification, and the isolation of social-media and dating-app culture. This smart, funny, and tender debut embraces a modern woman's messiness." - Booklist "Meet Queenie Jenkins, a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman who works for a London newspaper, is struggling to fit in, is dealing with a breakup, and is making all kinds of questionable decisions. In other words, she's highly relatable. A must read for '19." - Woman's Day "Brilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking." - Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You "My favourite novel this year. Queenie is the sort of novel you just can't stop talking about and want everyone you know to read. Snort your tea out funny one moment and utterly heart breaking the next, (and with the best cast of characters you'll read all year), I absolutely loved it. I can't wait to read whatever Candice writes next. If there is anything right in the world, Candice Carty-Williams is going to be a literary superstar." - AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs. Bird "This book isn't even out yet and people are talking about it. Written by a new and exciting young woman, it's articulate, brave and, in the new parlance, 'woke.' Funny, wise, and of the moment, this book and this writer are the ones to watch." - Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon "Candice gives so generously with her joy, pain and humour that we cannot help but become fully immersed in the life of Queenie - a beautiful and compelling book." - Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Author Information

Candice carty-williams.

Candice Carty-Williams is a Senior Marketing Executive at Vintage. In 2016, she created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, which aims to find, champion, and celebrate Black, Asian, and minority ethnic writers. She contributes regularly to Refinery29 and i-D, and her pieces have been shared globally, especially those about blackness and sexuality. Queenie is her first novel.

More Author Information

More Recommendations

Readers also browsed . . ..

• The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
• Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
• The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
• All Fours by Miranda July
• Change by Edouard Louis
• Long Island by Colm Toibin
• Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili
• A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
• Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

more literary fiction...

Support BookBrowse

Join our inner reading circle, go ad-free and get way more!

Find out more

BookBrowse Book Club

Members Recommend

The Stolen Child by Ann Hood

An unlikely duo ventures through France and Italy to solve the mystery of a child’s fate.

The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson

From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.

Who Said...

Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Solve this clue:

and be entered to win..

Your guide to exceptional           books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info and giveaways by email.

• Biggest New Books
• Non-Fiction
• All Categories
• First Readers Club Daily Giveaway
• How It Works

Get the Book Marks Bulletin

Email address:

• Categories Fiction Fantasy Graphic Novels Historical Horror Literary Literature in Translation Mystery, Crime, & Thriller Poetry Romance Speculative Story Collections Non-Fiction Art Biography Criticism Culture Essays Film & TV Graphic Nonfiction Health History Investigative Journalism Memoir Music Nature Politics Religion Science Social Sciences Sports Technology Travel True Crime

May 9, 2024

• Adania Shibli on book bans and the destruction of Palestinian literature
•   “We must not turn away in despair”: Olivia Snaije talks to Luke Leafgren, translator of Tale of a Wall by Nasser Abu Srour
• Dylan Saba on the stakes of the movement

• Sign up and get a free ebook!
• Don't miss our $0.99 ebook deals!

• Media Tie-In Trade Paperback
• Unabridged Audio Download

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $16.00

Buy from Other Retailers

• Amazon logo
• Bookshop logo

Table of Contents

Reading group guide.

• Rave and Reviews

About The Book

Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today! Plus, receive recommendations for your next Book Club read.

About The Author

Candice Carty-Williams is a writer, now a showrunner, and the author of the  Sunday Times  (London) bestselling  Queenie , which was shortlisted by Goodreads for book of the year in 2019 and won the British Books Awards Book of the Year in 2020. In 2016, Candice created and launched the Guardian 4th Estate Short Story Prize, the first inclusive initiative of its kind in book publishing. Candice has written for  The Guardian ,  i-D ,  Vogue , and pretty much every publication you can think of. She will probably always live in South London. Follow her on Instagram @CandiceC_W.

Product Details

• Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press (November 5, 2019)
• Length: 352 pages
• ISBN13: 9781501196027

Browse Related Books

• Fiction > African American > Contemporary Women
• Fiction > Movie or Television Tie-In

Related Articles

• 7 Popular Novels to Revisit Ahead of the Authors’ New Releases - Off the Shelf
• 5 Messy Characters You Can’t Help But Love - Off the Shelf
• 8 Books Every Devoted Sally Rooney Fan Must Read - Off the Shelf
• 7 Heart-Wrenching Books Like Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us - Off the Shelf
• My Book Haul: 9 Shiny New Additions to My Shelf - Off the Shelf
• 9 Brilliant Novels BookTok Should Obsess Over Next - Off the Shelf
• Staff Picks: 12 Books We’re Raving about This Black History Month - Off the Shelf
• 9 Amazing #OwnVoices Books by BIPOC Authors to Read Now - Off the Shelf
• Hygge Home Sweepstakes: Enter for a Chance to Win a Cozy Winter Reading Bundle - Off the Shelf
• 5 Beloved Characters We’re Thankful to Have in Our Lives - Off the Shelf
• The Mary Tyler Moore TBR: 8 Books with Awesome Women to Feed Your Inner Mary Richards - Off the Shelf
• Author Picks: 5 Novels That Perfectly Capture the Wonderful and Messy Nature of Complicated Families - Off the Shelf
• The Perfect Blend: 12 Book and Tea Pairings - Off the Shelf
• Our Black History Month TBR: 8 Impactful Books We Couldn’t Put Down - Off the Shelf
• 9 Picks Your Book Club Will Love This Winter - Off the Shelf
• 10 Books I Will Never Forget - Off the Shelf
• 6 Fantastic Novels New in Paperback This November - Off the Shelf
• 6 Powerful Stories You Need to Read for World Mental Health Day - Off the Shelf
• Roxane Gay Recommends: 10 Books Straight Off Her Shelf - Off the Shelf
• 12 Novels That Will Take You on an Adventure Around the World - Off the Shelf
• 12 Perfectly Bodied Book-and-Wine Pairings - Off the Shelf
• The 5 Best Books I Judged by Their Covers - Off the Shelf
• Enter for a Chance to Win the Perfect South of France Adventure - Off the Shelf

Raves and Reviews

“Brilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking.” –Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You

"A must-read novel about sex, selfhood, and the best friendships that get us through it all." —Candace Bushnell, bestselling author and creator of Sex and the City

"A book that sneaks up on you... I am hooked." –Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist , via Twitter

"Candice Carty-Williams delivers a hilarious roller coaster of a story." –US Weekly

"[A] brazenly hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is first novel." – O, The Oprah Magazine

"Vibrant, confused and honest, Queenie is a relatable heroine for modern times." –USA Today

"You'll likely feel seen while reading this (yes, it's that relatable), an example of what happens when you go looking for love and find something else instead." –PopSugar

"Candice Carty-Williams, a young Londoner, has a flair for story-telling that appears effortlessly authentic. Her title character is a woman you both know and cannot forget... Carty-Williams has taken a black woman’s story and made it a story of the age." – TIME Magazine

“The vibrant Queenie is a modern-day Bridget Jones's Diary , and so much more... [Carty-Williams’] debut reads a lot like its smart, sensitive protagonist: full of flaws and contradictions, and urgently, refreshingly real.” – Entertainment Weekly

"[A] hilarious, heart-shattering, deeply lovable novel... Debut author Candice Carty-Williams has created a truly one-of-a-kind heroine in Queenie, whose story is universally relatable without ever flinching in the face of challenging subjects that are more important now than ever. All hail Queenie ." –Newsday

"You’ll read Queenie , a novel about a young Jamaican British woman trying to find her place in London, in one day. It’s that good." – Hello Giggles

"Meet Queenie Jenkins, a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman who works for a London newspaper, is struggling to fit in, is dealing with a breakup, and is making all kinds of questionable decisions. In other words, she's highly relatable. A must read for '19." – Woman's Day

“My favorite novel this year. Queenie is the sort of novel you just can’t stop talking about and want everyone you know to read. Snort your tea out funny one moment and utterly heart breaking the next, (and with the best cast of characters you’ll read all year), I absolutely loved it. I can’t wait to read whatever Candice writes next. If there is anything right in the world, Candice Carty-Williams is going to be a literary superstar.” –AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs. Bird

"Queenie is the best mate we all want—funny, sharp, and more than a little vulnerable. I loved climbing inside her mind and wish I could have stayed longer. I adored this novel." –Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars

"Hilarious and off the wall and tender." –Nikesh Shukla, author of The One Who Wrote Destiny

"Candice Carty-Williams is a fantastic new writer who has written a deliciously funny, characterful, topical, and thrilling novel for our times." –Bernardine Evaristo, author of Mr. Loverman

“I ate up Queenie in one greedy, joyous gulp. What a treat of a book. Lots to enjoy and think about. I loved Queenie and was cheering her on all the way. I thought all the mental health stuff was brilliant and so well done and authentic—it so often isn’t, in novels—and also all the unhappy sex rang so true. Is there a sequel planned? All I wanted to do when I finished was to open book two.” – Cathy Rentzenbrink, bestselling author of The Last Act of Love

" Queenie has all the things you want in a debut novel—a startlingly fresh voice, characters you fall in love with from the very first page, and a joyous turn of phrase that makes this book almost impossible to put down. In turns hilariously funny and quietly devastating, Queenie is an important, timely story." –Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of Asking for It

"A really special book with much to say about black female identity, sexual politics, group chats, emotional becoming in a way that feels totally unforced. Filthy, funny, and profound." – Sharlene Teo, award-winning author of Ponti

“This book isn't even out yet and people are talking about it. Written by a new and exciting young woman, it's articulate, brave and, in the new parlance, 'woke.' Funny, wise, and of the moment, this book and this writer are the ones to watch.” –Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon

“Candice gives so generously with her joy, pain and humour that we cannot help but become fully immersed in the life of Queenie—a beautiful and compelling book.” –Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)

"So raw and well-written and painfully relatable. It's also clever and funny and has the most glorious cover." –Ruth Ware, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10

"The protagonist of this debut novel has been dubbed the 'black Bridget Jones' and comes from England buoyed by praise from Jojo Moyes. Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican-British woman, a newspaper reporter in London, forced to re-evaluate her life choices after a bad breakup with her white boyfriend. A trio of girlfriends offers support via text messages; we can’t wait to meet them all." – Newsday

“Adorable, funny, heartbreaking. People are going to love it.” –Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina

"An irresistible portrait of a young Jamaican-British woman living in London that grows deeper as it goes." —Entertainment Weekly (ew.com)

"Sometimes achingly sad, at other times laugh-out-loud funny, Queenie is a welcome debut from a seriously talented author." – The New York Post

"Carty-Williams creates an utterly knowable character in Queenie, who's as dimensional and relatable as they come as she tries to balance her own desires with what everyone else seems to want for her... This smart, funny, and tender debut embraces a modern woman's messiness." – Booklist (starred review)

“With resonant reflections on race, relationships, sex and friendships, Queenie is a terrific debut that’s delivered with a touch of British humor and plenty of feel-good moments.” –Bookpage (starred review)

“[A] smart, fearless debut… This is an essential depiction of life as a black woman in the modern world, told in a way that makes Queenie dynamic and memorable.” – Publishers Weekly , starred review

"A black Bridget Jones, perfectly of the moment." – Kirkus Reviews , starred review

"A charming read for fans of women's fiction; Carty-Williams sets herself apart with her relatable and poignant writing." – Library Journal

"What Carty-Williams also adeptly deals with is the role of technology in our modern lives. Which sounds so serious, but the way she weaves in text messages, e-mails, and more makes Queenie’s world feel so real. Basically, the second the book opened with Queenie in stirrups at her gynecologist’s office, I knew I was sold. Kirkus calls Queenie , “A black Bridget Jones, perfectly of the moment,” and I am deeply inclined to agree." – Hey Alma

"Carty-Williams adds her voice to a timely conversation about mental health, sex and womanhood." – Time.com

" Queenie is the book for anyone who has ever asked: who am I? And how do I get there?" – PopSugar

"Already referred to as the black Bridget Jones, Queenie is the literary heroine readers seek in 2019." – AM New York

" They say Queenie is Black Bridget Jones meets Americanah . But she stands in her own right—nothing can and will compare. I can't articulate how completely and utterly blown away I am." –Black Girls Book Club

"In this Bridget Jones-esque story, a Jamaican British woman working at a London newspaper seeks comfort in the wrong places after a messy breakup from her white boyfriend." – PureWow

"This bloody brilliant novel is heralded as ' Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah ,' and you’ll be sold from page one." –Hello Giggles

"[A] wry, candid novel... Reading about 25-year-old Queenie as she navigates romantic entanglements, a frustrating job at a local newspaper, the ongoing tension among her and her white, middle-class peers, and pressure from her Jamaican British family, feels like listening to a good friend's woes and wins — and cheering her on along the way." – BuzzFeed

"The story of how 25-year-old Queenie Jenkins balances her Jamaican and British heritages while navigating professional inequalities and romantic dilemmas is Black and brilliant all on its own." –Essence

" Queenie is, quite simply, the best novel I’ve read this year so far... Queenie is an incredibly well-written, compelling novel about life in a modern London for young black women." – All About Romance

"I'm reading Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. It's very funny... I'm loving it." –Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six

"Queenie goes on heartbreaking, hopeful, sometimes funny, and always relatable journey." – REFINERY 29

“I was sucked into Queenie’s world from the first page... To say this is a relatable book for a twentysomething woman is an understatement… By the end of Queenie’s journey to self-discovery, I felt like her close friend.” – Book Riot, "Best Books of 2019"

“With exuberant prose, Carty-Williams takes us inside millennial Black British life (and joyfully into friendships), and all around (gentrifying) South London.” – Electric Lit

“Carty-Williams’ desire to handle race bluntly and clearly, yet refuse to be dogmatic about it… is what makes her debut novel sing… [Queenie] brings you into her world as if she’s known you forever, right from the start… This book is equal parts millennial comedy and treatise on modern race relations, and a work of fiction that leaps from the page as all truth, no filler.” – Sam Sanders, host of It's Been a Minute

"A smart, briskly paced novel." –BookPage

"In what is perhaps the funniest novel on this list, a 25-year-old Jamaican-British journalist finds herself single again after her longterm relationship with her white boyfriend goes in the bin." – Bustle

"Love a book that gives you all the feels? Queenie, the character and the novel, are both brave and hugely funny. The story by Candice Carty-Williams will have you careening from relatable cringes to laughter to tears." – Good Housekeeping

"Carty-Williams deftly depicts a woman struggling through depression and self-destruction, and offers an astute commentary on prejudice in Britain today." – Time Magazine

“Poignant… [with] an irresistible heroine.” – Seattle Times

“This book is equal parts millennial comedy and treatise on modern race relations, and a work of fiction that leaps from the page as all truth, no filler.” –NPR

“I found this book to be the most important one I’ve read for twentysomethings struggling with self-acceptance—especially in the modern dating world… Carty-Williams does a fantastic job of creating a relatable character who learns that acceptance comes from within.” – Book Riot

"Candice Carty-William represents Black Girl Magic to the fullest... QUEENIE named after the name character follows a young black woman post-break-up on a journey full of pain, honesty, and undeniable wit." – BET

Resources and Downloads

High resolution images.

• Book Cover Image (jpg): Queenie Trade Paperback 9781501196027

Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today!

Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.

More books from this author: Candice Carty-Williams

You may also like: Thriller and Mystery Staff Picks

More to Explore

Limited Time eBook Deals

Check out this month's discounted reads.

Our Summer Reading Recommendations

Red-hot romances, poolside fiction, and blockbuster picks, oh my! Start reading the hottest books of the summer.

This Month's New Releases

From heart-pounding thrillers to poignant memoirs and everything in between, check out what's new this month.

Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

A corner of my life...

in Book Reviews · February 17, 2024

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams | Review

Hi readers, I’m back again with another book review. I stumbled upon Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams back in 2020. Despite my efforts to steer clear of reviews, the buzz surrounding it was impossible to ignore. The draw? A protagonist who’s a bit of a hot mess—my kind of character.

Funny story: I got my copy for $4 at Value Village. And get this, while I was deep into the story, I found a random receipt tucked inside. It was a receipt for rent somewhere in Mississauga. The thought of tracking down the previous owner crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it as potentially creepy and thought it was best to let the mystery of the receipt remain unsolved. Another thing I noticed was how cheap rent used to be.

Now, let’s talk about “Queenie.” She’s a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman trying to make sense of life in London. Freshly single but hanging onto hope for a reunion with her ex, she’s on a rollercoaster of emotions, bombarding him with messages despite his obvious need for space. And guess what? she starts unravelling. She’s trying to navigate life’s twists and turns while struggling with her mental health. Oh, and fair warning: the guys in this book are absolutely terrible. ALL of them. Seriously, I lost count of how many times I muttered “Why are men???” while reading.

But here’s the kicker—the author nails Queenie’s character. I felt for her, got mad at her, and sometimes just wanted to shake some sense into her. It’s a real emotional rollercoaster. And the deeper you dive into her story, the more you understand why she’s the way she is.

Queenie felt like a little sister to me. While I was disappointed by her actions, I also recognized that the most profound growth often arises from life’s experiences. Candice Carty-Williams’ engaging writing style, coupled with the incorporation of texts, added a delightful layer to the narrative.

The author did a wonderful job with crafting such an engaging story. She also tackled heavy themes like anxiety, panic attacks, being a black woman at a work place, relationship, sex, family.

I highly recommend this book. I’m grateful I read it now instead of four years ago because I might have been more judgmental of Queenie back then.

Exciting news! “Queenie” is hitting our screens as a TV series, set to premiere in June 2024! I’m thrilled, especially since Candice Carty-Williams, the author produced the Netflix series “Champion” that I absolutely loved. For those curious about the cast, Channel 4 has all the juicy details in this article here .

If you enjoyed reading this book review, you can read my other reviews here . Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one if you’ve read it.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

 Yes, add me to your mailing list

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Magic Pill by Johann Hari review – weighing in

There is a useful book to be written about the rise of anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic, but this flawed account is not it

I n the last couple of years, there has been a healthcare revolution. Semaglutide, a drug initially prescribed for diabetes under the name Ozempic , has been shown to reduce obesity dramatically, and repackaged for that use as Wegovy. Other drugs have since been approved.

It’s a big deal. More than half of US and British adults are overweight or obese, and there are few really effective treatments: prescribing dieting is all but useless. As a result, sales have been astronomical. Ozempic’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, is now the most valuable company in Europe.

In Johann Hari’s latest book we learn that the author himself takes semaglutide to lose weight. But he is conflicted: in 2018’s Lost Connections , he wrote about what he considers the over-medicalisation of treatment for depression, so is wary of the idea of a “magic pill”. In any case, he discusses the drugs’ discovery and mechanisms, their health benefits, possible risks and how we ended up in a situation where so many of us are obese to begin with.

And if I were coming to it fresh, I’d think it was OK. It presents a vexed debate reasonably fairly. It never quite tips into scaremongering, despite a tendency to foreground low-probability risks. On the negative side, it’s content-light for a scientific book, and Hari’s breathless style grates somewhat – he’s always learning things. “The advantages of these drugs were now clear to me,” he writes, noticing with shock that obesity is bad for your health.

He relies on what seem to me to be convenient quotes from pseudonymous friends, who frequently provide the perfect foil at the perfect time – one he calls Judy, for example, helps him realise it’s no good telling desperate people that we should simply fix society, rather than providing them with an effective treatment.

My scepticism here, though, is a reminder that I am not coming to it fresh. Hari has a history. In 2012 he left his columnist job at the Independent after it was revealed he had stolen quotes and libelled rivals via online sockpuppet accounts. Hari has since admitted that he “failed badly”, but the facts remain. Magic Pill never mentions this backstory, or explains why we should trust him now.

So I went through the references even more carefully than I normally would, to see if the studies backed up his points. Not all of them did. He argues, for example, that “people who look at social media” can end up with “profoundly distorted” body images. The endnotes cite research from 2022. But in the passage itself, the study of 100 people he mentions in support of his point is from 1987 .

Elsewhere he claims an educational intervention makes children “half as likely to become overweight or obese”. The result in question is not statistically significant, and by convention can be considered a fluke. He also seems to think the “glucagon gene” is produced in the pancreas, suggesting that he doesn’t know what genes are. He talks about it for long enough that I’m fairly sure it’s not a typo.

Obviously I couldn’t fact-check the anecdotes, so my notes are full of cynical little queries: Does Judy exist? Does the little boy at the Grand Canyon? Maybe they all do. Maybe Hari really did develop anhedonia as a side effect, a useful peg for the chapter on semaglutide and the brain. He may have changed his ways, but I can’t know for sure, and because of his record I find it hard to have much confidence in him.

It’s a shame: there is a book to be written about the rise of weight-loss drugs, and how they will change society. But Hari has not only failed to write it; the way he’s done so has undermined his already dwindling stock of credibility.

• Health, mind and body books
• Johann Hari
• Journalism books

Most viewed