Long story short: Queenie is a mess and going through a quarter-life crisis.
She is not handling her break-up with Tom, her white boyfriend of 3 years, well at all. She has an aversion to black men because of traumatic experiences in her life when she was younger that made me really sad and hesitant about Queenie as a black woman myself but I was kind of made to understand it as best as I could. Don't like it, but I get it. With the break-up on top of a sad medical revelation early on, plus all the of struggles that come with being a black woman living amongst a majority white community during a swell in the Black Lives Matter movement puts a lot of stress on Queenie causing her to develop panic attacks, have a lot of anxiety and have a lot of casual (unsafe) sex with men. Basically she's not doing so well mentally.
I tried so hard not to judge her but after a while I just kept feeling continually disappointed. But I'm also that friend in real life who would tell a friend like Queenie about herself and her self-destruction truthfully to her face. I do end up being very proud of her though. She comes out a little haggard but also stronger. Therapy and self-reflection did her a lot of good. As well as having solid friends (mostly) and a family support system. This story has one of those endings that are actually a new beginning for the main character but not in a way that a sequel is due or needed.
I think Candice Carty-Williams is a wonderful writer, especially when it came to describing Queenie's panic attacks and just being real with her characters in general. She made me angry, cry and laugh out loud on various occasions. I look forward to reading more from her!
She is not handling her break-up with Tom, her white boyfriend of 3 years, well at all. She has an aversion to black men because of traumatic experiences in her life when she was younger that made me really sad and hesitant about Queenie as a black woman myself but I was kind of made to understand it as best as I could. Don't like it, but I get it. With the break-up on top of a sad medical revelation early on, plus all the of struggles that come with being a black woman living amongst a majority white community during a swell in the Black Lives Matter movement puts a lot of stress on Queenie causing her to develop panic attacks, have a lot of anxiety and have a lot of casual (unsafe) sex with men. Basically she's not doing so well mentally.
I tried so hard not to judge her but after a while I just kept feeling continually disappointed. But I'm also that friend in real life who would tell a friend like Queenie about herself and her self-destruction truthfully to her face. I do end up being very proud of her though. She comes out a little haggard but also stronger. Therapy and self-reflection did her a lot of good. As well as having solid friends (mostly) and a family support system. This story has one of those endings that are actually a new beginning for the main character but not in a way that a sequel is due or needed.
I think Candice Carty-Williams is a wonderful writer, especially when it came to describing Queenie's panic attacks and just being real with her characters in general. She made me angry, cry and laugh out loud on various occasions. I look forward to reading more from her!