Queen of the Tiles - Book Review

 

Queen of the Tiles

by Hanna Alkaf

What is it about:

CATALYST

13 points

noun: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change

When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.

But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.

As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.

What did I think of it:

This is a very enjoyable read.

I had expected this to be a bit more suspenseful. Instead it is as much about grieving as it is about solving what happened with Trina. Not that this is a bad thing, but it did throw me a bit at first. Once I let go of my expectations though, this was a really cool read.

I really liked Najwa. She had a difficult year after losing her best friend, but is now trying to bet back into things. I could understand her fears and insecurities. When she starts investigating what happened a year ago and what might be happening now I totally rooted for her to figure it all out and get her life back on track. 

I will say that from what is told about Trina, that I didn't much like her. Maybe that was intentional to make it more difficult to guess who might wish her harm, but it did also make me wonder why Najwa had been friends with her.

Overall this is a very enjoyable read with some suspense, a lot of emotion, and interesting characters. I also really enjoyed the setting and learning a bit more about the world of competitive scrabble. I might investigate what else Alkaf has written.

Why should you read it:

It's a very enjoyable YA read.

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