“Before I got off the bus, I made an internal list of people who could touch my hair:
1. Me
2. A hairdresser
3. That's it, that's the whole list”
I truly enjoyed this book. Candice created a very well developed character. However, Queenie appeared to be very stubborn and self-centred at times. Mainly when it came to her friends and their advice, which did turn me off her occasionally.
But we learn that she is dealing with some real trauma that has left her with lifelong scars. As a result, Candice portrayed the generational views of therapy. As a Jamaican British Woman, I think that it hit the nail on the head. There is definitely a stigma around mental health amongst the black community. Mental health in the black community is a very "hush hush" business, but Candice approached it very well.
I found that Queenie was very outspoken and blunt about racist behaviour in public. For example, when she went to the BLM Protest or Tom's uncle and his racist comments. But any seemingly small moment when she was one-on-one with people, she wouldn't say anything, e.g. being referred to as "chocolate" by various men. Comments like this just highlighted the casual racist sexualisation of black women being seen as complementary. Sadly, I think a lot of black men and women could relate to her reaction to evident and subtle racism (I know I could). Which is what made this book so relevant to the world we live in today.
This was a great book about a girl that has been hurt by people that she thought never would and a society that declared it never owed her a darn thing.
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