Praise for Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea:

“Throughout, Queen is by turns vulnerable and fierce, making resonant observations about the complexities of war, womanhood, and perseverance. Readers will find much to admire.”
―Publishers Weekly

“[Queen’s] narration glimmers with humor, frankness, and vulnerability. She beautifully balances empathy for her past self with a trenchant analysis of the systems that shaped her life story. A poetic page-turner of a memoir about a Black woman’s time in the Navy.”
―Kirkus

"Queen hides nothing and doesn't shy away from reality, by far the greatest strength of her memoir. . .A perfect book for those who seek narratives with infrequently encountered points of view and all readers willing to have their perspectives challenged and dismantled, page by page."
―Booklist

"Prepare to be stunned. From the first few pages to this books’ roaring end, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea grabs readers by the throat and doesn’t let go."
―Miami Times

“A large-hearted, compulsively readable memoir shot through with courage and razor-sharp intelligence. Moreover, Queen’s magnificent personal reckoning helps me to ponder what new forms of relation might be possible between ourselves, our nation, and the many institutions charged with stewarding the common good.”
―Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize winning poet

“Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea is yet another extension of the brilliant universe of Khadijah Queen, one where the pages are richly populated. With people, with places, with rich, granular details. And, with all of that population, still, an attention to and affection for each single part of the larger machine, which makes Queen's narrative world-building feel like it is reaching for you, demanding you to enter, and be walked through each place, each life, each passage of time. This book is a gift.”
―Hanif Abdurraqib, MacArthur Fellow, National Book Award finalist, and author of There’s Always This Year and A Little Devil in America