Queen of the Tiles

by Hanna Alkaf, Catherine Ho (Narrator)

They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in this “stunning…unforgettable” (Publishers Weekly) thriller set in the world of competitive Scrabble, where a teen girl is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.

CATALYST
13 points
noun: a substance that speeds up a reaction without itself changing

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 seems that even though Najwa is 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.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published April 19, 2022

About the author

I write unapologetically Malaysian YA and MG.

Reviews

[aly ☆彡 (on vacation) · Rating 3 out of 5]

[IMMERSIVE- 16 points]

My first book by Hanna Alkaf and I wouldn't say it was any less worthwhile. Alkaf's work has always piqued my interest, but I was not able to give it a chance since her past book genres were not exactly in my wheelhouse. For all of that, as soon as I found out we'd be getting a mystery-themed Scrabble game, I knew I couldn't pass it up.

When Najwa Bakri's best friend passed away at last year’s Word Warrior Weekend competition, she decided to quit the competitive Scrabble tournament scene. Yet, Najwa has returned to the venue while attempting to cope with her grief and panic episodes at the scene of Trina's death a year later. However, when Trina's previously inactive Instagram account begins to post again with mysterious messages, something does not seem as it is.

As it happened, Hanna Alkaf has just won over another fan since I am completely captivated by her writing. Her minimalist yet unabridged approach to her writing is what kept me going to binge-read this in five hours. I am so amazed by her choice of words, her metaphors inkling with the Malay culture were so inventive yet it was so easy to read.

Alkaf offers a captivating locked-room mystery while also creating a rich, nuanced universe. It's undeniable that I enjoy the book despite the slow start. Woefully, I was a bit let down by the turn of events. Queen of the Tiles does corroborate being a mystery, but after the plot twist, I don't think that is really what it is. I believe this book is best described as a novel about grieving/mental health than as a thriller, which will likely give readers a better notion of what to expect before plunging in. It does it in such a subtle, multifaceted way, that you wouldn't miss the theme dominating this book.

But if this is what the book aims to sell as (mystery thriller), I would say Alkaf is playing safe with the revelation by obstructing YA as a genre. Instead of creating a good puzzle—careful planning as to how it will end, it mostly feels like Alkaf has yet to figure out what is bound to happen and opt for a guarded ground. Every single scene and element in Queen of Tiles does propel the action forward, tests the characters, and takes the readers on a roller coaster ride that left us on the edge, but Alkaf also doesn't take the chance to trap her protagonists, and the stakes suffer as a result.

Notwithstanding the anti-climatic ending, another silver lining to the book is having Najwa as a likable protagonist. I appreciate how the author uses Najwa's Scrabble-centric thinking in her everyday interactions with people. Her analysis of the situation is summarised in a single word, coupled with the word's Scrabble ranking. Having that with your own voice character is what also adds the cherry on top. It is unaccustomed to find stories with Muslim characters that aren't presenting anecdotes about what it's like to be Muslims, but instead are simply expressing another aspect of who they are.

It's been said that those who enjoy YA murder mysteries and are fans of The Queen’s Gambit will enjoy the novel does bring out the truth to a certain degree. The interesting premise of Queen of the Tiles is pretty much clear, yet the narrative falls flat. Although a high-stakes Scrabble match and an intriguing mystery were promised, the drama is somewhat understated.

Nonetheless, will this deter me from trying out Alkaf's book in the future? Definitely not. Alkaf's choice of being a versatile author than sticking to one genre is bravery in itself. While it takes time to master each genre separately, I think Alkaf is such a promising writer and I am glad to have her representing Malaysia as one of the best.

[Hanna Alkaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean...I wrote it, so.

ALSO, if you're looking for content warnings: On-page death, descriptions of anxiety/PTSD/panic attacks, discussions of grief and loss.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second read: May 15, 2024

I may be wrong. I mean, it’s not like I’ve read or even heard of every book in the world out there. But Queen of the Tiles is definitely the first book I’ve read that involves Scrabble. (Turns out that the parlor game I used to pull out as a kid whenever there was a typhoon and we had no electricity so there was nothing else to do is a lot more cutthroat than I thought. 🤭)

Najwa is a winner at Scrabble, but admits she pales in comparison to her best friend Trina, the titular Queen of the Tiles. A year after Trina dies at a Scrabble tournament, Najwa returns to the scene of the crime not only to try and win her best friend’s former title, but also solve a mystery. Someone has hacked into Trina’s Instagram account and is using it to drop clues that Trina’s death was no accident, and that the murderer is amongst that year’s players.

Queen of the Tiles definitely lives up to its comparison to The Queen’s Gambit and YA murder mysteries like They Wish They Were Us and One of Us Is Lying. But the thing that I loved the most about the choice of a game like Scrabble as the focal point of the book is the aura of nerdiness it lends to the whole thing. I’m honestly tired of the setting of such mystery thrillers being elite schools. A Scrabble tournament is a refreshing change!

Not to mention, having all those kids around waxing poetic about the beauty of words definitely served to expand my own vocabulary. We love a book that helps you learn!

Hanna Alkaf’s nuanced, sensitive, compassionate portrayal of mental health issues shines once more in Queen of the Tiles. Having just witnessed her best friend’s death, Najwa is of course suffering the after-effects, including anxiety attacks and memory loss. This book also deals with grief in such a multidimensional way, clearly showing us that dealing with grief is not one size fits all. Most of us have heard, in one way or another, the lesson that healing from grief is not linear. It’s not a steady progression from pain to feeling better that can follow a timeline. It has its ups and downs. And Queen of the Tiles shows us that in how Najwa and her friends handle and react to Trina’s death.

A book with a murder mystery plot inevitably ends with the discovery of a killer. Even YA thrillers, where the characters are in high school, have to follow this formula. But sometimes, there are books where the investigation takes a sudden, unexpected turn that elevates the whole story to a new level. Queen of the Tiles is one of those books.

Although the discovery of who exactly had hacked into Trina’s Instagram account was not a surprise (especially if you’ve been paying attention), the reveal of the truth behind Trina’s death was an absolute revelation – one that I can one hundred percent say I did not expect. The reality behind Trina’s death, as well as the involvement of the hacker slash blackmailer leaving cryptic online clues, only serves to make the whole thing more tragic. It’s a masterful subversion of the genre, while still remaining faithful to it.

--

ICONIC UNPARALLELED PEERLESS SUPERLATIVE INIMITABLE MASTERPIECE SENSATION

Hanna Alkaf digs deep into the complexities of flawed friendships, jealousy, anger, trauma, and grief using Scrabble of all things, and she does it masterfully. I started reading this literally three hours ago and read it in one sitting. I simply couldn't put it down.

Some favorite things:

⤁ It's a murder mystery featuring a Muslim hijabi protagonist! What's not to love?

⤁ The absolute nerdiness of this book's entire concept instantly captured my attention. I'm no Scrabble player, but I'm a lover of words, and I related deeply to the way Najwa users words and their meanings to make sense of the world and events around her.

⤁ Books written by SEA authors set in SEA are just so special to me. There's just something about seeing your unique regional experiences set in a book that tugs at my heartstrings!

You definitely don't want to miss this book!

🌿 Read my full review here! 🌿

[Lia Carstairs · Rating 3 out of 5]

it took me awhile to get into the book but after the halfway mark i got really invested! i loved the wordplay and never imagined enjoying a mystery revolving around scrabble

the diversity !! was amazing !! and it was set in malaysia which is such a nice change of scenery compared to typical setting in the US.

also the anxiety rep and how grief was handled in here >>>

i definitely will be reading more books by this author

RTC

(3.5⭐)

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!
__________

MURDER MYSTERY WITH MUSLIM MC YES YES YES YES

[Zala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I think about Queen of the Tiles. On one hand, it's very entertaining and makes you feel invested in the murder mystery. I also like how it dealt with trauma, the Malaysian hijabi rep, and the fact that it's centered around competitive Scrabble. But then, it's hard to care about most of the characters when they're so antagonistic to one another. There's A LOT of teen drama.

“Min’s having some trouble letting go,” she said. “There’s too much shared history there to cut her loose. You know how it is with these childhood friends.”

None of the girls are actually Najwa's friends so there are no shocking betrayals or revelations. The only person she cares about (besides Mark) is Trina, who doesn't sound like a good friend at all, but apparently they were besties and told each other everything (Najwa does realize she wasn't being treated well in that friendship, but it doesn't really go anywhere, so I don't see the point in having Trina be a bad friend in the first place).

The boys are not any better. They're either flat side-characters who are secretly in love with Trina, or they're Mark. Let's talk about Mark. This is how our Najwa describes him (and what we see/hear about his behavior confirms it):
“That was Mark: a conquistador, trying to impose his will on Trina, colonize her spirit and reap her charms for himself, bend her to his definition of what a girlfriend ought to be.”
And yet she still says he's perfect. Or at least that she used to think so, even when he was dating Trina, and she would have seen all the toxic things he did.

Then we get a slightly confusing conclusion to all the different plot threads, some of which are simply dropped. We find out who was behind the Instagram account, but the other discoveries Najwa makes are brushed aside for no reason. Honestly, the only truly satisfying ending would have been Najwa getting together with Putari.

That being said, I still enjoyed listening to the audiobook for Queen of the Tiles, and I kind of want to read more books about Scrabble now.

[⛅ Sunny (sunnysidereviews) ⛅]

-Murder mystery
-Muslim MC
-Malaysian rep
-SCRABBLE Competition!!

As someone who has been obsessed with scrabble since the start of time, I am beyond excited for this!

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars - I'd describe this as contemporary YA fiction with a strong mystery element rather than a YA mystery. Beautifully written, loved the characters & themes, and the setting was something I've never seen in a YA book before

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀

3 ¼ stars

“But life, like Scrabble, is like that—you get the rack you get, and you just have to figure out how to make do.”

Queen of the Tiles is an entertaining mystery romp that belongs to that subgenre of YA books that combines a whodunnit type of storyline with the kind of teen dynamics at play in Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. Similarly to a lot of these books, Queen of the Tiles takes place in a ‘confined’ setting, but rather than going for the usual prep school/high school type of backdrop, Hanna Alkaf freshens things up by having her story take place during the World Warrior Weekend, an annual Scrabble competition. This tournament takes place in a hotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, a setting that, you must admit, we don’t get to see often in YA. Additionally, our lead is Muslim, and we also get a very casual non-binary rep with Shuba. The story definitely has some strong The Queen’s Gambit vibes and the author depicts the various Scrabble games in a really fun and dynamic way (so that they are anything but boring) and we can see just how devoted and ambitious some of the competitors are.
Najwa Bakri, our narrator, is taking part in this tournament, the first one she's done since the very sudden death of her best friend.

“Every player knows that words can be twisted to suit your purpose, if the board allows it, and Trina knows this better than most. She is fantastic; she ignites fantasies. She is spectacular; she attracts spectacle.”

Trina Low died during the previous year's World Warrior Weekend. Since her death, Najwa has distanced herself from the Scrabble world, but she finds herself going back to claim Trina’s former title, that of the Queen of the Tiles. She knows that people who didn’t like Trina, and who were in turn not liked by her, are also vying for that title, and Najwa isn’t ready to give them the satisfaction of winning. Competing again however proves harder than it used to be now that Najwa is struggling with anxiety and trauma caused by Trina’s premature death. The author is really thoughtful in the way she articulates Najwa's grieving process, capturing just how suddenly grief can engulf you, regardless of how much time has passed since the person you cared for died. Alkaf also shows how grief manifests differently in different people.

Things get harder when new posts appear on Trina’s long inactive insta. Cryptic posts hinting that her death may have been very much not an accident. Joining a long tradition of kid-turned-detectives such as Nancy Drew and the Scooby-Doo gang (both of which get mentioned in the story), Najwa begins solving the posts’ ominous word puzzles and starts questioning the other competitors, most of whom were foes of Trina. There is the pompous boy she was competing against when she died, who seemed less concerned by her dropping dead than verifying whether her death meant he’d automatically won that final round. There is Trina’s ‘other’ best-friend, an ostensibly nice and obsequious girl whose subservience to Trina definitely gives off sycophantic vibes. There is that girl who was caught in a cheating scandal, and Trina may have been responsible for stoking those cheating rumours. And, of course, Trina’s off-and-on again boyfriend Mark, a possessive type who may have grown tired of Trina’s and what he perceived to be as her ‘blasé’ attitude. While Najwa has always been aware of Trina’s thorny character, and her need to prove herself and to one-up others, during the course of her ‘amateur’ investigation she will be forced to really confront the kind of person Trina was.

“That’s just how she was; she saw something she wanted and she went for it with a laser-sharp intensity that could border on the obsessive. All or nothing, perfection or perish.”

I liked the drama, the secrecy, the rumours and gossip. The Scrabble element was really well delivered and it worked really well for the mystery clues. My only quibbles are 1) throughout the story Najwa links words that are being used or were used in a game to her past or present situation. Sometimes this was effective, but the more this device was used, the less impactful it became, and at times I found the connection between word and situation to be a bit far-fetched 2) Najwa's 'tells' got pretty annoying.
The characters weren’t particularly fleshed out or memorable, some were verged on being rather silly but this subgenre isn’t exactly known for having uber nuanced characters so it didn’t really negatively impact my reading experience. I would have however liked for Trina to have been portrayed in a slightly different light, as she ultimately seems a bit of a mean queen-bee cliché. I liked the lack of romance and Najwa made for a rather endearing protagonist. Their resolution to the mystery was a bit of a letdown, as I found the identity of the person behind those posts far too obvious. It would have been more satisfying to make someone else the culprit. There was also a metaphor about Mark being "a conquistador, trying to impose his will on Trina, colonize her spirit and reap her charms for himself, bend her to his definition of what a girlfriend ought to be" which struck me as a rather unhappy comparison to make.
In general, I did like the references we get, especially when they added a dose of humor and levity to the story's ongoings (“Honestly. Murder. What do you think this is, an episode of Riverdale?").
Still, I found this engrossing and fun read. If you are looking for a light-hearted whodunnit that focuses on a group of ambitious and possibly backstabby professional scrabblers, look no further.

[Salma19 (And I Darken stan)]

*Muslim me who loves playing Scrabble*
AHH GIVE IT TO ME! 😍

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so it gets a little ridiculous, but it's still engaging as hell, and filled with twisty, turny plot-twists that rival a 90s teen slasher film (minus the slashing). Plus, it has Scrabble, and an interesting take on a locked room murder mystery where the murder happened a year ago and the detective was a witness but also has trauma-based amnesia from watching her best friend die suddenly in front of her.

It's a solid read, with a lot of crossover appeal between MG and YA readers.

Full RTC.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

[Rameela (Star) · Rating 5 out of 5]

initial thoughts: i just finished it in two hours
all i knew about it was that it had scrabble and i never actually read the rest of the synopsis
SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE
WHEN IT WAS A MURDER MYSTERY THAT GAVE ME INHERITANCE GAMES/KNIVES OUT VIBES AND HOW WE FALL APART VIBES BUT BETTER

[mads · Rating 2 out of 5]

“But life, like Scrabble, is like that—you get the rack you get, and you just have to figure out how to make do.”

TW: death, grief, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, toxic friendship.

I feel like I'm one of the only people that didn't super enjoy this (that's a good thing!) so I'm going to keep this review pretty short.

The positive first: the set-up for this story was awesome. A murder mystery set against the backdrop of competitive scrabble? How cool and nerdy is that? The scrabble aspect was actually one of my favorite parts of the story. I was a huge fan of how Najwa's love of words was an actual presence throughout the whole story.

I also think this is the first book I've ever read set in Malaysia which was super cool!! I get excited to read about other cultures and countries, and this was really well done. In a similar vein, it was nice to see the panic attack rep.

I also really enjoyed the author's writing style and look forward to reading more of her works in the future.

Now on to the... less positive.

Other than the positives mentioned above, I didn't really like any of this book. And I am so, so upset that I didn't. The characters were the kind of insufferable that made it hard for me to read about them (not including Najwa). The mystery wasn't really a mystery, which could have been an ode to how we handle grief, but as the whole plot of the book was hinged on said mystery... it didn't work for me.

I also have a really big issue with books that try so hard to divert attention from the guilty party that they practically paint a huge NOT GUILTY I PROMISE GUYS TRUST ME sign on them. We literally had moments where the MC goes, "Poor [REDACTED] could never do anything bad to anyone. So nice. So sweet. So kind."

And I just... hhhh.

And then after all of that to go, she wasn't actually murdered, she just... died. Bad coincidence 🤷 was really underwhelming.


Overall, I feel like I missed something with this book. I'm so glad so many other people are enjoying it and the author is clearly gifted, but I couldn't rate this higher and I'm super bummed about it. I'd still recommend it to people, but don't go into it with the expectation of a thrilling mystery.

[Basma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello, I was NOT expecting a murder mystery. This was so fast-paced, I was sucked in immediately and couldn't put it down. Was also not expecting to be so invested in a Scrabble competition, but there I was, on the edge of my seat along with the other characters.

I've always been a huge fan of the way Hanna Alkaf writes, and after The Weight of Our Sky, I had high hopes for this one and it absolutely delivered. Seeing a hijabi MC in a very nerdy setting was so soothing for my soul (I also went to very nerdy competitions as a hijabi in school). I usually can predict a little bit when it comes to murder mysteries but I really didn't see this one coming!

Highly recommend this one!

TW (provided by author!!!): On-page death, descriptions of anxiety/PTSD/panic attacks, discussions of grief and loss.

I received an e-arc of this title from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[ShannonXO · Rating 5 out of 5]

ENTHRALLED
14 Points
Definition - how I felt inhaling this book

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC!

I wasn't really sure what to expect of a book described as The Queen's Gambit but with Scrabble and murder, but I do know I am incredibly thrilled that this fell into my lap. This is a murder mystery that takes place over the course of a Scrabble weekend tournament in a Malaysian hotel, exactly one year after the so-called Queen of Tiles Trina Low suddenly died in the middle of her game. Najwa was her best friend, and after a year off the Scrabble circuit, she's back to claim the title on behalf of Trina. Except someone isn't willing to let what happened last year go, and a lot of secrets are ready to be revealed.

This was just so darn good! I could not put it down at all. It is so well-thought out as a whole and kept me on my toes all the way through. Alkaf crafted an incredible mystery that never once faltered. For one, it is clever as heck! The use of word play took my breath away. First, some of these words are insane? I don't know how adept Alkaf is at playing Scrabble but she must have dug deep to get some of these words/definitions to fit. I mean, the anagrams that pop up on Trina's instagram? The words that have two completely different meanings yet apply perfectly to every situation they appear in? Absolute masterpiece.

I was worried the short timespan of only a few days would hinder the trajectory of the mystery, but that was foolish of me. Not once did this feel rushed or half-assed. Everything was discovered in perfect time and realistically so. It kept me wholly engaged and left me constantly changing my guess on who was responsible! If it wasn't so entertaining I would be frustrated because I could not figure it out. But I suppose that's the mark of an excellent mystery. And of course, the reveal of the culprit was terribly satisfying and oh so right.

Finally, the fabulous cast of characters! Of course, we have our star, Najwa. She is a young Muslim woman from Kuala Lumpur, and I loved being inside her head. She is incredibly smart, observant, and just overall appealing as a character. Her struggles with grief, of figuring out where to fit in without Trina, and of overcoming her own doubts and hesitations -- all of it was relatable and made her a well-developed individual you can't help but root for. The rest of the cast was diverse and intriguing. Every character could easily be a suspect, and Alkaf does a great job of weeding that list of culprits down as secrets come out and we get to know each person individually.

This was my first Hanna Alkaf book but it most certainly won't be the last, that's for sure.

[romancelibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Queen of the Tiles takes place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our main character is a hijabi Muslim teenager named Najwa. It's been a year since Najwa's best friend Trina—Queen of the Tiles—died suddenly during a Scrabble tournament. Najwa is now determined to win the Scrabble competition to honour her late best friend. But things get complicated when Trina's inactive Instagram account starts posting cryptic messages, implying that Trina's death may have involved foul play. Najwa is then forced to trace Trina's steps a year ago to find out what really happened to her best friend.

I don't usually read YA, but I had to pick this one up because HELLO? A hijabi heroine playing detective and solving mysteries?! Yes, pls & thx!! The unraveling of a mystery during a Scrabble competition is so unique! I love the way Najwa's mind works, the way her brain is wired to associate words with everything and everyone that she comes across. I honestly didn't realize how dumb I was at Scrabble until I read this book 😂

The beginning of this book explores Najwa's grief after such a painful loss. I think the author did a really good job exploring themes of death, grief, and mental health. The beginning of this book also introduces the primary set of supporting characters, some of whom later on become suspects. As a result, it takes some time for the mystery-solving to actually start.

As I was reading, I worried about potential plot holes and loose ends. I had so many questions, like, what exactly did the police miss in their initial investigation? And how is Najwa, a teenager, expected to solve something that the police overlooked? But as I got closer to the end of the story, everything made complete sense. And I really like how everything ultimately came together!

Overall, despite the slow beginning, I ended up really enjoying this book. @publishers if you're reading this review—I need more unique and interesting books with hijabi heroines (not just YA) that are not about tragic Muslim lives and Islamophobia. Better yet, give me an adult mystery novel with an adult hijabi heroine as the main character, pls & thx!

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I feel like this was a cool concept, and the mystery was written well, but it was just meh. And pretty slow-moving.

Full RTC

[Najwa | naj.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I think about life within Scrabble at its center and shiver. Without this world, what am I?”

Actual rating: 4.5/5 nerdy stars 🌟

*slow claps*
Hanna Alkaf has once again successfully captured all of my heart and attention in this YA murder mystery with all of its thrill and drama. I was always at the edge of my seat being every chapter ending with a cliffhanger and beginning with a word (creatively along with Scrabble points and meaning) that is somehow related to each chapter’s story. I was so invested! The drama, the scandals, the intensity of the Scrabble matches & games and the revelations - ALL OF IT was magnificent. AND OH MY GOD THE WORDPLAYS. So. Many. Wordplays!! I AM OBSESSED!!

The characters are so well-portrayed. I love how Hanna display these Sekolah Menengah Scrabble nerds to be just how imagined my life and friends in Sekolah Menengah was like! I love how flawed they were that it builds a lot of character as well as relationships with the other characters as well. The diversity and dynamic of their friendships/relationships makes me miss my tournament friends too 😭 God reading this book just makes me miss the thrill of competing in tournaments!!! I want to go back!! 😭😭

Not to be biased but besides the same name factor of the main character, Najwa, I also see a lot of myself in her 😭 She’s such a word nerd, she’s close to her sister (as am I), and the little things like her not liking taugeh etc. Makes me feel so seen and for once feeling like the main character, literally!

One thing that marked the stars down for me a bit was the fact that the revelation was a bit anti-climactic for me in which I think was partly my fault because I was expecting too much. But still, I did audibly gasp anyway.

This is a long ass review but thank you if you read it til here and I am begging you to pick this up as soon as it’s released on April 19th! You can preorder it now at selected bookstores to receive an internet connection exclusive QoTT enamel pin!

Huge thanks to #pansing @definitelybooks for the review copy 🤍

[Booktastically Amazing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly? This book gave me hope of finding a murderer even when I have no idea (to this day) how to spell schedule.

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m no board game prodigy, but I definitely love playing the occasional match from time to time. Naturally, a book about competitive scrabble intrigued me, especially since said book also promised a murder mystery revolving around the death of a would-be champion, or ‘queen of the tiles.’ The Queen’s Gambit is the only other media I’ve consumed that is centralized around the theme of a board game, and I loved it profusely, so this book’s related premise seemed really promising.

~★~ What is this book about? ~★~

When rising star Trina died during her scrabble championship match, slumped over onto the game board,
it was declared a twisted string of fate, since no evidence of foul play was discovered. After a year of grieving, Najwa still hasn’t quite healed from witnessing her best friend’s sudden death. Now, Najwa’s sudden return to the scrabble scene stirs interest in the competitors, who know that the may very well be looking at the new Queen of the Tiles. Najwa’s quest to take the title and protect Trina’s legacy falters when someone begins posting ominous messages from Trina’s instagram account, emulating a dead girl in a string of clues that suggest maybe, Trina was murdered after all.

────── {⋆★⋆} ──────

Despite being a relatively fast-paced book, the first half of this story was a slog for me. There was almost no progress towards solving the mystery of Trina’s death, aside from the random word clues being posted to her social media. With the protagonist being the exception, the rest of the cast also felt pretty stereotypical. The only way I got a feel for their personalities was through whatever trait Najwa would attach to them, like Emily being a ‘cheater’ or Yasmin being a ‘nurturer’. By the end, I still didn’t think there was much chemistry—if any at all—between the majority of the characters, since a lot of their conversations felt perfunctory due to the competition and investigation.

One thing I did like about Queen of the Tiles was the narrative structure. It took a while for me to get used to such a unique writing style, but I eventually came to adore the CAPITALIZED words woven into Najwa’s inner monologue, followed by their scrabble points and definition in context to the scene.
Things finally picked up around 50% in, when a few clues began to actually lead somewhere. I found myself unsure who to trust, loving the suspicion being thrown onto essentially every character involved in the tournament. This period of unputdownable thrill was sadly …well, brief. The revelations made surrounding Trina’s death—meant to be shocking—turned out to be completely obvious. It was like something got lost in translation between the author and the reader, because I thought it was blatantly clear that Trina had been poisoned from the prologue??

Either way, the mystery turned into a big mess as the end approached, and my enjoyment plummeted. I wasn’t buying the fact that Josh was apparently in love with Trina. I mean, what kind of person asks “so… does that mean I win?” immediately after witnessing his opponent (and the girl I’m supposed to believe he loved) die??? . Come on. I was also completely let down by the culprit behind the instagram posts. I really hate when authors make the guilty party the ONLY character with zero suspicion placed on them throughout the book. It made things glaringly obvious, especially when Najwa constantly went out of her way to reassure us of how ‘kind and precious’ this person is meant to be.

While Queen of the Tiles had a lot of potential, it ultimately fell flat.

[hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stay there for a while, leaning against the padded hotel wall, trying to figure out what it is about death that makes people think we need to paint over all the cracks. “Don’t speak ill of the dead,” they say, as if the dead care.

Sooo... I just realized I know nothing about how to really play Scrabble lol.

The fact that this revolves around a group of teenagers playing nerdy professional Scrabble on a weekend [with murder] is exactly what I wanted when I read the announcement for this book. It's well-written and delves into profound topics in a way you wouldn't expect from a YA mystery novel. I really liked the setting and the intrigue between the characters, although I found some of them a little one-dimensional. Josh was my favorite, he gave me such Draco Malfoy vibes and I don't know why but I loved him 😭

I think that because I didn't like or care about Trina I wasn't that invested in the murder mystery. The pacing was also slow and the conflicts between the characters were okay, nothing really impressed me. If this had been an adult novel I would have probably loved it (imagine how good that would have been omg), but that's not fair of me. I’m adding this to the ever expanding list of YA books I would have loved 10 years ago [sigh]. Still, even if I’m not the target audience anymore I can tell you this is a book more people should read because it’s high quality. It means I will check out more from this author if the subject matter of her next books interests me enough ✨

[Spens (Sphynx Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

👑QUEEN OF THE TILES by Hanna Alkaf
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🔠 I received an eARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

👑 This was an absolute delight to read! Being only my first Hanna Alkaf read, I was completely blown away by her writing style, instantly making her an auto-read author for me. Very accessible yet consistently engaging and intelligent, Alkaf's writing is a force to be reckoned with. I am still in shock at how well-written this book was.

🔠 I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turner of a story, so beautifully calculated and crafted to be perfectly paced, which will awaken—or in my case, reawaken—a love for Scrabble. Not only was the mystery very edge-of-your-seat, the exploration of the main character Najwa's grief, confusion, and confidence was also compelling. I believe Najjy is going to make it to my favorite characters list for the year. To top all that, how her anxiety was presented was extremely relatable at least to my experience. I cannot recommend this book enough to everyone.

👑 An instant favorite and a wonderful treat for logophiles everywhere! Do yourself a favor and pick up Queen of the Tiles when it comes out on April 19th!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Drew (Taylor's version)✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 frickin stars (edit 4 stars upon thinking)

that reveal was so dkmdkcm yk



I need to start reading more ya because this was a blast

Damn from the moment i opened this book I knew there was no way I was going to put it down, I love scrabble and this is the first tie I've found a scrabble themed book, let alone murder mystery! I hope all the characters get books because omg I'm in love with every single one.

This book covers some heavier topics such as grief and on screen anxiety and panic attacks. The author wrote everything really well and in a very relatable manner and it brought me closer to our mc Najwa.

I'm gonna go borrow everything from the library that Hanna has written, this was truly enthralling and amazing and I'm so happy it exists!


PLAYLIST:

Mastermind by Taylor Swift

Cardigan by Taylor Swift

This is me trying by Taylor Swift

The only heartbreaker by Mistki

Saviour complex by Phoebe Bridgers

Royals by Lorde

Liability by Lorde

Don't kill my vibe by Sigrid

No light, no light by Florence and the machine

Honey by Halsey

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Najwa's world centered around her charismatic, beautiful, popular best friend Trina and their shared passion for competitive Scrabble. Then Trina collapsed and died during a tournament, and Najwa was thrown into the confusion of depression and grief. Finally, a year later, Najwa feels able to return to her first Scrabble tournament since the death of her friend. She wants to win in Trina's memory and earn her old title, Queen of the Tiles. But then someone starts posting on the dead girl's instagram account, taunting messages that hint that the death was a murder, and that the players might even now be in danger. Najwa does her best to unravel the events of a year before, navigating gaps in her own memory, and a tangle of the envy, hatred, admiration and love the Scrabble community had for Trina. This is an engaging, diverse, complex mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. Full of wordplay and etymology trivia.

[Mango]

Woah! This sounds great. Can't wait until this releases.

[Era ➴ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually binged this so fast that I forgot to even change its status on goodreads

[Rincey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably closer to a 3.5 stars. Picked this up on a bit of a whim and it was such a FUN read. Definitely soapy and over the top, but I loved it.

Watch me discuss this in my November wrap up: https://youtu.be/X0GX5Du0e9I

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read a book that has scrabble playing characters let alone a murder mystery with scrabble. I was excited going into the audiobook and wasn't disappointed one bit.

[Rukky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review, however, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

t h e • c h a r a c t e r s

Let’s start off by talking about our protagonist Najwa Bakri.

She’s our main character whose best friend, Trina Low, quite dramatically died during a Scrabble tournament. We get to see and know post-Incident Najwa who is battling a lot of grief, anxiety, and possibly depression*. The book starts off with her deciding to return to that same tournament where Trina died so she can win the tournament in Trina’s memory.

*i am no doctor, but that’s what it seemed like to me; she may have also said it herself

There were a lot of raw emotions that Najwa experienced that I couldn’t help but feel as well. She’s lost her friend, her best friend, and she’s been a walking mess for a whole year and is still reeling from the incident. Who can blame her? It’s a horrible thing for anyone to lose their friend, but it’s even worse to see them die in front of you. She knows that she can’t continue living the way she is, and she’s trying to make a change, but that doesn’t make the journey any easier.

I felt so much for Najwa, and I was rooting for her from the start. When the Instagram posts started showing up suggesting that Trina’s death hadn’t been an accident and may have been intentional murder, I felt bad that Najwa had to have the wound ripped open again just when she’d started to finally let it heal. even though the idea of potential murder was technically the entire reason why I wanted to read the book anyway

There were a nice handful of side characters who were all in some way connected to Trina, either as rivals in the competition or friends like Najwa was. Personally, I felt like I related a lot to Yasmin because she’s the caretaker sort of friend. The one who’s always trying to make sure everyone’s okay and eating well, scolding people when they do/say things that shouldn’t be done or said, and in general, just Mothering everyone around her even though she’s the same age (or younger in my case lol) as them.

I loved that even though it didn’t look like she and Najwa were super close, at least compared to how Najwa was with Trina, Yasmin still looked out for Najwa and helped her when she got overwhelmed and had panic attacks. That was so kind of her and it made me like her so much more.

Most of the other characters I had a healthy suspicion of, and generally just didn’t really like. Mark especially, being Trina’s boyfriend, I really did not trust him. Not because I was certain he had something to do with Trina’s death, but it seemed to me that he just wanted to clear his name as suspicion fell on him, while at the same time repairing his friendship with Najwa. It didn’t seem like he cared about Trina as much as you’d expect.

Usually, when I’m reading mysteries/thrillers, I tend to not want to judge the significant other too much since everyone automatically assumes that they are guilty or involved in some way (especially if the victim is female). And statistically speaking, maybe it is true that there’s a larger likelihood the boyfriend did it. However, since that’s always the initial assumption, I go out of my way to give them the benefit of the doubt unless they’re just too shady to do so.

And well, more often than not with books, it’s the characters you least expect that are somehow connected to the whole thing, so there’s not much point focusing on the character that the author puts all the attention on.

In this case, though, everyone looked shady at some point, even Najwa herself, so it kept me second-guessing who really was as they seemed.

Also, a special shoutout to Tweedledee and Tweedledum. They were incredibly pesky and annoying (I imagined they were like twin 8-year-olds the entire time, even though I just now found out they are actually supposed to be about 13), but the fact that Najwa called them Tweedledee and Tweedledum for almost the entirety of the book gave me a little comic relief from the web of drama and mystery that this plot was.


t h e • p l o t

Ah, the plot. In my opinion, 75% of what determines a successful mystery/thriller is whether the plot is believable and engaging. If the plot is a mess or it bores you to the point where you couldn’t care less how it’s all resolved, then the book has failed as a mystery.

The other 25% is the characters: for a great plot to work, we need a nice cast of suspects and a protagonist that actually does a good job of detecting for us. We can’t be in the book ourselves to find these clues, and being stuck with a protagonist who has no idea what they’re doing (looking at you Audrey Rose; it’s a testament to how infuriated she made me that I still remember how terrible she was in that book nearly 2.5 years later) is a special sort of torture, especially when the plot is actually interesting.

Thankfully, Queen of the Tiles did not suffer from a boring plot, nor from a useless protagonist.

The setting of the mystery was different from what is typical with YA contemporary mysteries. For one, it doesn’t take place in the US or even the West, and instead takes place in Malaysia which I loved to see! The inclusion of the Malay language and food references made me love the book so much more, especially as I had just been learning about nasi lemak and other Malaysian foods right before I read the book. I was so excited to recognize and know what the foods were.

Quick sidenote about the Muslim rep:
There were some subtle references to Islam, what with Najwa and her mom wearing hijab, and also a mention of prayer. It felt really normal though in that it didn’t become preachy or go on a tangent to explain Islam/why people wear hijab etc. It was just a part of life that nobody blinked twice at, and I love that it was so normal and not the overwhelming focus of the book.

The setting is also different in that it didn’t take place at a high/boarding school, which is kind of the usual setting, but instead at a tournament, and a Scrabble tournament at that. I liked the Scrabble element a lot; the new vocab and the love of words that Najwa expressed made me appreciate the game a lot more than I originally did.

As for the mystery itself, it was honestly so well done. Like I said in The Characters section above, I really liked that there was a healthy amount of suspicion on all the characters and that the mystery wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed. The ending was something I did not expect, and I’m both disappointed in myself for not guessing correctly, but also pleasantly surprised by how it all came together.

I don’t want to spoil anything more, so we’ll just leave it at that. Be sure to read the book to find out what happens!


f i n a l • r e f l e c t i o n s

To summarize, here’s my re-writing of the book’s synopsis:

Reigning Scrabble queen, the glamourous, mysterious, and quick-witted Trina Low was playing a game when she slumped on the board and died. Her death was not considered murder, and a year has since passed since the incident. On the very first night of the same tournament where she died, her Instagram comes back to life with mysterious posts suggesting her death may not have been as blameless as it seemed.

Surrounded by the same kids who were there when Trina died, Najwa must now find out who could be responsible. Trina had a lot of rivals, but was someone bitter enough to commit murder? Was Trina really as perfect as Najwa remembers her to be? And what is it that happened on that fateful weekend that Najwa just can’t remember?

So much is revealed and nothing is quite as it seems in this modern take on the classic whodunit.

And y’all? I completely enjoyed every moment of it.


---
trigger warnings: death, anxiety, panic attacks, depressive episodes, grief
note: these may not be all but are some things that I personally noticed


My review can also be found here: https://eternitybooksreview.wordpress...

---
January 6th, 2022

!!!!

THIS!!!

This has been my dream mystery/thriller book since I was a child, I am so emotional 😭😭😭 (not the part about scrabble, but a Muslim MC solving a mystery!) And the cover is so pretty, I love it!!

I was just thinking to myself that I probably won't have any anticipated books for 2022, but now I do and I'm so. excited!!

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scrabble competitions, set in Malaysia, and a murder mystery? Add that cover, and I was over-the-moon when I got my hands on an ARC copy of this one.

Najwa is suffering panic attacks due to the trauma of watching her best friend and Scrabble champion, Trina, suddenly die at the end of a scrabble match right in front of her. Although the death happened a year before, the cause never came to light. A year later, Najwa tries to regain a hold on her life and re-enters the Scrabble scene after a long pause. Of course, her first competition is at the same place where her friend died...and exactly a year later. As Najwa tries to come to terms with her own ghosts, she watches all her earlier friends feverishly battle to take Trina's place. But Najwa has set her eyes on that position herself to honor the memory of her best friend and is on the best way to accomplish her goal...until a real ghost takes over Trina's dormant, social media accounts and teases with hints at murder.

This book was as grabbing as I hoped it be and also took a slightly different atmosphere than I expected...and that's great. The first chapter begins with Trina's sudden death in a traumatic way. Najwa then hits the scene with chapter two a year later as she comes across insecure and awkward, and tries to force herself to re-grasp her life. The author has done a very good job at allowing Najwa's emotions, thoughts, and inner-struggles to gain a strong foothold in the first chapters. And while this usually would turn 'action-loving' me slightly away, there is enough going on in the undertones to start building the basis for the mystery and keep it more than interesting.

While Najwa's depth and warm-heart amidst her insecurity make her a wonderful heroine, the side characters can't be overlooked. Each one holds personality, quirks, secrets, and adds the right bite to form a rich atmosphere around Najwa and the intrigue. It makes it impossible to figure out who the true murderer is (and this does hit with complete surprise, at the end), while adding tension at every turn.

Then, there's the unique setting, which delights from all of its nerdiness. Najwa swims in words and understands the world by holding them close. Each chapter begins with a unique word, the point amount it gives in Scrabble, and a definition, which holds meaning at the beginning of the chapter. Her thoughts rotate around complex words, which she defines in her head, as she uses them to base herself and what she experiences or notices around her. It adds an odd and intriguing aspect, which gives this story its own flair.

This one is a treat to read. It does have a couple triggers as there is a death, panic attacks, and a bit of bullying, but these aren't anything harsher than even tween audiences can handle. There were a couple things surrounding the death, which seemed muddled over, and for someone with as much issues with the trauma as Najwa had, the idea of her rejoining everything at the same site on the anniversary raises an eyebrow, but this story more than works. I enjoyed it quite a bit and recommend this one to even tween audiences and up (although it is a YA read, too), since its such an easy, engaging, and fun read.