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Queen of the Tiles
Queen of the Tiles
Queen of the Tiles
Ebook280 pages4 hours

Queen of the Tiles

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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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.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 19, 2022
ISBN9781534494572
Author

Hanna Alkaf

Hanna Alkaf is the author of several books for kids and teens, including The Girl and the Ghost, Hamra and the Jungle of Memories, and the upcoming Tales from Cabin 23: Night of the Living Head. Hanna lives in Kuala Lumpur with her family and can be visited at hannaalkaf.com.

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Reviews for Queen of the Tiles

Rating: 4.121621435135134 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Refreshing teen mystery fiction set in Malaysia, involving the competitors in an annual Scrabble tournament. Atmospheric elements are used organically - hijabs and Muslim prayer, non-binary pronouns, "KL" (Kuala Lumpur), and the language of the area. Scrabble words, their point values, and meanings start each chapter and are sprinkled throughout as they are part and parcel of how the main character makes sense of the world. They mystery isn't terribly compelling but the main character's struggles with grief, memory loss, and the truth behind her best friend's death are enough to hold interest, along with a host of fascinating words.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    teen fiction - twisty Scrabble puzzle whodunnit, with incidentally Muslim main character, set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.This one was really fun, with a ton of suspense and interesting puzzles. I totally see why there's a waiting list building for this book at my library.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An easy read but I found the use of Malay phrases without clear translations irksome (a glossary is not at all difficult to append and useful for educating readers who would like to learn. Its absence smacks of elitism).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Scrabble, so it was not a surprise that I would love this. There were only 8 discs but I really would have loved it if there sixteen.Najwa is the main character and is grieving over the death of her best friend, Tina Low, who was the Queen of the Tiles in a Maylasian Scrabble tournament. The main character, Narwa decides to win the tourament in honor of her friend. There is a murder mystery there but it takes a backseat to insights in Scrabble. I knew some already and they are true but the words that they use to play the game are very exciting. Najwa teams up reluctantly with Tina's boyfriend, Mark to find the murder. I must say did not guess the killer. The story is very twisty and I learned a lot! You will learn about Scrabble, about words, relationships a what a tournament is like. The suspense, the drama and the words make this book sing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Take a girl who's like a star about to supernova, make her excel at scrabble, have her die in the middle of a tournament. Wait a year and bring back everyone who was circling that star for a memorial tournament. Najwa was her best friend and has struggled every day since Trina collapsed, face down, on the game board. She's back, but extremely fragile, trying to maintain her composure while figuring out how all the other players are feeling. What ensues is a bit of Clue, plenty of looking back, intrigue and some well crafted surprises. A great twisting tale.

Book preview

Queen of the Tiles - Hanna Alkaf

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