You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This was a fun, quick read. I appreciated the exploration of grief and Najwa's own feelings of anxiety and panic. My only problem was it went a bit too quickly. Almost like a whiplash. The mystery element and the reveal just didn't feel paced as nicely as I would've liked. Overall, though, it's not a bad read and I definitely appreciate the Scrabble-centric theme.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book went backwards and forwards between being a compelling mystery and making huge leaps that made very little sense. We didn't get to know the characters in enough depth to care if they were suspects or in danger. The fact it took place a year after the initial murder took away from the stakes; the threats felt very distant and intangible.
C- 4
I couldn't tell who I was meant to like and who I was meant to dislike. Trina seemed alright but by the end she was painted as a villain with the reason being she grew apart from a friend? And then an abusive guy got a redemption arc because he got a new girlfriend? We were rarely actually shown the motives of the character, meaning they were quite one-dimensional.
A- 3
W- 7
P- 4
I- 6
L- 4
E- 6
C- 4
I couldn't tell who I was meant to like and who I was meant to dislike. Trina seemed alright but by the end she was painted as a villain with the reason being she grew apart from a friend? And then an abusive guy got a redemption arc because he got a new girlfriend? We were rarely actually shown the motives of the character, meaning they were quite one-dimensional.
A- 3
W- 7
P- 4
I- 6
L- 4
E- 6
a fast-paced mystery perfect for young adult readers and word game lovers. while the ending was quite underwhelming, this was still a good read overall.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was fun and I loved learning all of the new words. Carefully crafted mystery where everyone is a suspect. This speaks to my word, book and language loving heart.
This book focus on Najwa as main character and how she's griefing over the death of her best friend, Trina Low, who was the queen of the tiles. After Trina death najwa hiatus from the competition for a year and after the hiatus she decided join the tournament again in honor of her best friend.
I need to be honest: i just read this book without read the blurb and im so confused when this book lead into solving murder mystery (but not really) but apparently i enjoyed it.
What i like about this book:
— I like how this book talk about griefing, how people feel after they lose their dearest someone.
— Scrabble!! Apparently im that one person who doesn't know how scrabble work, and i really enjoyed learn it from this book.
What i dislike about this book:
— The main character just unlikeable... She just so mean to other people, the way she describing the other characters just too harsh overall. Using 'grief' card doesn't mean you could be rude and mean to other people.
— Cliche. The characterization of this book just to cliche for me, tha villain become the nastiest person you ever meet. Feels like watching villain on sinetron tbh.
— Untill the ending i didn't get the closure about Trina's death
— Najwa and the other characters treat solving murder mystery like a game, the whole instagram, vlog, youtube live thingy just so gen Z. So unserious
I need to be honest: i just read this book without read the blurb and im so confused when this book lead into solving murder mystery (but not really) but apparently i enjoyed it.
What i like about this book:
— I like how this book talk about griefing, how people feel after they lose their dearest someone.
— Scrabble!! Apparently im that one person who doesn't know how scrabble work, and i really enjoyed learn it from this book.
What i dislike about this book:
— The main character just unlikeable... She just so mean to other people, the way she describing the other characters just too harsh overall. Using 'grief' card doesn't mean you could be rude and mean to other people.
— Cliche. The characterization of this book just to cliche for me, tha villain become the nastiest person you ever meet. Feels like watching villain on sinetron tbh.
— Untill the ending i didn't get the closure about Trina's death
— Najwa and the other characters treat solving murder mystery like a game, the whole instagram, vlog, youtube live thingy just so gen Z. So unserious
the fact that there were multiple levels to the mystery--who killed trina? who hacked her insta? why did they keep sending warnings?--really made it all the more compelling. she did such a good job of keeping me guessing, especially with yasmin trying to lead najwa on the wrong path. yasmin seemed so immediately innocent & silly that it was hard to really see her as a threat. she tried to get najwa to see the competition as them vs everyone else & she did a good job of hiding her resentment to pull it off. this is such a fun premise for a book set at a scrabble competition. also, the trauma of losing your friend, the ptsd & panic attacks, were written so well. i liked that we had both a therapist, and najwas mom, who clearly didnt super believe in that stuff. and having najwa not remember most of the day was a really good way to make her an "unreliable narrator" in a very realistic & relatable way. we're not supposed to judge her for not remembering. its just a thing she has to deal with. another piece of the puzzle, etc
I picked this up from an article about books recommended for lovers of board games without knowing it was YA fiction. Something felt “off” about it as I read - was it the breezy dialogue? My analyzing of Scrabble situations to determine if they were possible (in one chapter, a character wonders why another character played WING instead of WINGBACK, when a K was on the board - how could they have know what other tiles his opponent possessed?)? The anticipated bait and switch that lead to the ending? Only once I read the acknowledgements and credits did I realize.
Queen of the Tiles is a fun, fast read with an interesting enough premise that doesn’t necessarily stick the landing *for me*, but could very well resonate with others.
Queen of the Tiles is a fun, fast read with an interesting enough premise that doesn’t necessarily stick the landing *for me*, but could very well resonate with others.
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’d consider this more of a middle school, vs YA read.
I selected this for a reading challenge because it is set in Malaysia. It was also the first book I recall reading with a primary Muslim character that wasn’t political. Besides that it was a PG mystery for nerds that lightly deals with the mental side of any game. It’s a bit young for my usual reading, but it was well written and the setting and representation would definitely have me recommending it to students.
I selected this for a reading challenge because it is set in Malaysia. It was also the first book I recall reading with a primary Muslim character that wasn’t political. Besides that it was a PG mystery for nerds that lightly deals with the mental side of any game. It’s a bit young for my usual reading, but it was well written and the setting and representation would definitely have me recommending it to students.
Hanna Alkaf is really good at writing complicated relationship/friendships and the theme of grieving in this was done so organically. Such a good read. And learned so many new words