The Black Queen

Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.
Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.
Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.
But Tinsley has an agenda, too.

Incredibly powerful and thought-provoking, ‘The Black Queen’ is so much more than a ‘murder mystery’, although it successfully fulfills this description. Told through the alternating viewpoints of Duchess, Nova’s best friend, and Tinsley, her arch rival, the plot moves at a compelling pace, with many shocks and surprises along the way.

I am (very obviously!) not the target audience for this so found some of the dialogue challenging, but this did little to detract from my enjoyment of the story. The blatant, institutional and pervasive racism is distressing and constantly challenges the reader’s perception of events both in the novel and in actuality. The sense of entitlement emanating from some characters due to their wealth and skin colour is appalling and the ‘background’ story in the news about a white family supposedly murdered by their Black gardener who is then jailed on very shaky evidence further highlights the inequalities and injustices which are a part of everyday life.

Duchess is a compelling character. Resourceful, loyal and intelligent, she is also quick tempered and impulsive, but reflective and able to acknowledge her mistakes. Tinsley is less likeable- certainly at first- bitchy and entitled, manipulative and thoughtless in her quest to be and have whatever she wants. Yet for all their wealth, her family is dysfunctional and unhappy, with layers of secrets and she is a product of this upbringing. Once challenged to look at and think about things differently, she starts to become a different person.

One for an older audience, ‘The Black Queen’ is a compelling, challenging read.

The Black Queen Jumata Emill

Scholastic ISBN: 978-0702322945