LoveReading Says
A sharp and smart debut novel, containing real heart (both ache and joy). 25 year old Queenie is on a break from her boyfriend, can’t concentrate at work, and is having a hard time balancing her life. Feeling trapped as she moves in with her grandparents, she soon finds her life closing down. Within a few pages I was settled in my chair and didn’t budge as I read this in one wonderfully heady sitting. Popping backwards and forwards in time Candice Carty-Williams opens a doorway into Queenie’s soul. She created a connection for me to reach out and touch and I felt as though I had become a part of Queenie’s life. I was there with her as things went wrong, wanted to reassure, vent, be there to support her. There are parts that tiptoed across my awareness, spiking stray thoughts. Elsewhere is raw and unflinching making my senses burn, before a moment later I was tipped into a sunshiny smile and chortle. While Queenie herself breaks down stereotypes about black women, her friend Cassandra doesn’t do the same with regards to Jewish stereotypes. Big bad life in all its pain and glory stamps across the page. Queenie is a bold, fiercely provocative and thought-provoking read.
Liz Robinson
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Queenie Synopsis
Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020 Shortlist
Queenie Jenkins can't cut a break. Well, apart from the one from her long term boyfriend, Tom. That's definitely just a break though. Definitely not a break up. Then there's her boss who doesn't seem to see her and her Caribbean family who don't seem to listen (if it's not Jesus or water rates, they're not interested). She's trying to fit in two worlds that don't really understand her. It's no wonder she's struggling.
She was named to be queen of everything. So why is she finding it so hard to rule her own life?
A darkly comic and bitingly subversive take on life, love, race and family, QUEENIE will have you nodding in recognition, crying in solidarity, and rooting for this unforgettable character every step of the way.
Perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Elizabeth Day, Sally Rooney and Diana Evans, and anyone who loved Fleabag.
About This Edition
Candice Carty-Williams Press Reviews
Original, heart-breaking, funny and clever - DAILY MAIL
This is an amazing novel about what it means to be a black girl whose world is falling apart and needs to find the strength to put it back together -- Roxane Gay The plot spoke to my soul...Queenie's journey as a millennial is relatable on so many levels. I'm so besotted with [Queenie] that I'm heavily delaying finding out how this enchanting tale ends. It'll be a bittersweet day when it finally arrives. -- Eni Subair - Refinery29`
This is a funny, clever, heartbreaking lightning bolt of a first novel, by a writer bristling with talent. - THE TIMES
This topical, timely debut's bracing frankness has a blazing purpose... vital and often funny - SUNDAY TIMES
Filled with raw emotion tempered with wry humour, this debut is bitter-sweet. - SUNDAY MIRROR
We are irresistibly drawn into Queenie's world by this fresh romcom which is wry and often hilarious, even when it goes to some dark places. - SUNDAY EXPRESS
Smart, thoughtful and funny - RED
Honest and heartfelt - PSYCHOLOGIES
[A] smart and breezy comic debut - OBSERVER
A delight from start to finish... a little bit of Fleabag but less double-barrelled and more relatable - I
A blistering blend of funny, filthy, frank and dark, this is the mark of a true voice at work. - HEAT
This is an important, timely and disarming novel, thirst-quenching and long overdue: one that will be treasured by any type of black girl and hordes of other readers besides. - GUARDIAN
A candid and funny, no-holds-barred exploration of a young black Woman's life... Carty- Williams is a talented writer with a fresh perspective that the publishing industry desperately needs. Joyous, memorable and necessary. - EVENING STANDARD
We are irresistibly drawn into Queenie's world by a romcom which is wry and often hilarious. - DAILY MIRROR
This debut is original, heart-breaking, funny and clever, and also carries many important messages... [this] book blew my mind in all the best ways. I'm still rooting for Queenie long after turning the final page. - DAILY MAIL
Incredibly funny, this is the book that everyone will be talking about. - CLOSER
perfect for anyone who loved Fleabag - MAIL ON SUNDAY
This year welcomes Candice Carty-Williams to the literary scene. In 2016, best-selling author Jojo Moyes offered the use of her rural cottage to a wannabe novelist trying to finish a book; she selected Candice from more than 600 applicants. - GRAZIA
One of the buzziest debuts of 2019 - THE GUARDIAN
A black Bridget Jones, perfectly of the moment. -- starred review - Kirkus
This smart, funny, and tender debut embraces a modern woman's messiness. -- starred review - Booklist
About Candice Carty-Williams
Candice Carty-Williams was born in 1989, the result of an affair between a Jamaican cab driver and a dyslexic Jamaican-Indian receptionist. She is a journalist, screenwriter, and author of the Sunday Times bestselling Queenie, a book described as 'vital', 'disarmingly honest' and 'boldly political'. In 2016, Candice created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) Short Story Prize, the first inclusive initiative of its kind in book publishing. As a journalist she has written for the Guardian, i-D, Vogue International, every iteration of the Sunday Times, BEAT Magazine, Black Ballad and more. She will probably always live in South London. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @CandiceC_W.
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