Candice Carty-Williams' Queenie Isn't Just a New Bridget Jones, It's Far More Real.

The character of Queenie is honest, funny, flawed and complex. What I’m trying to say is that she’s real. I’ve often heard this book being compared to Bridget Jones’ diary and I can understand why. With her bad luck, awkward sexual encounters, questionable decisions and dry British humour, Queenie could be seen as a modern-day take on the clumsy, bumbling Bridget. Except, what Candice Carty-Williams does differently is explore darker themes surrounding sex, dating, heartbreak, anxiety and what it means to be a 20-something woman in 2020 Britain, and I think the book is all the more real for it.

This was a really energetic novel with a fast paced narrative; I could NOT put it down. I had to come to terms with the bags under my eyes from a lack of sleep while I read about Queenie, her heartbreak, her flaws and her arguably poor decisions because I absolutely needed to know what happened to her. Having dealt with a tough breakup myself, I resonated with her pain, her loneliness and her acting wholly unlike herself in a bid to find comfort, meaning and what it meant to be Queenie.

“I hope your next girlfriend is white, Tom. That way she won’t be too fucking much for you”

I’m not going to pretend to know what it’s like to be a WOC, because obviously, I don’t. But what I did get from this book is an understanding, or maybe even just a glimpse of the issues WOC face today in 2020. What I really enjoyed reading is Candice’s upside-down, somersaulted flip of the “angry black woman” narrative. What stuck with me was the scene at Tom’s mum’s birthday, the racist uncle and the family’s reaction to Queenie standing up for herself. This put into context what people mean about white privilege and how it often seems like the onus is on black people to not offend white people whilst standing up against racism – however ‘obvious’ or not it may be. And god forbid a woman like Queenie stand up for herself against it less she be branded “too much”.

Having been told it was a sort of romance (and I usually avoid romance at all costs) I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from this book or even if I’d enjoy it. But after seeing it everywhere (I mean, hello, it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction!) I didn’t want to miss out. And oh boy I’m glad I didn’t.

Equal parts funny, sad and dark, this book is a must-read for any woman feeling like they’re flailing about in the mess and chaos, trying to find out what it means to be them.

- Ellie