Reviews with content warning for Violence - As de picas

Wow wow wow. This is an important one. A YA thriller, with LGBTQ themes and social commentary...I could barely set this one down. I was bouncing between a hard copy and the audiobook (excellently narrated by the way) and was SO invested. This had plot twists that I thought I had pegged but I was slightly off course multiple times.

It's a story of two very capable and deserving teenagers who have to continue to fight their way and prove themselves. High school is awful regardless of who you are, but it's even worse when you're immediately discriminated by the color of your skin.
I can't wait to read the next book that Àbíké-Íyímídé releases!

Content Warnings

ka_schulze's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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camrich's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: violence, bullying, racism, classism, racial slurs, suicide attempt mention

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is a stand alone YA thriller that is like Gossip Girl meets Get Out. If I hadn't seen such great reviews of this one, I probably wouldn't have picked it up since it's not the kind of thing I usually read, but it kept me on my toes the entire time! The suspense and tension just kept coming.

We follow two povs from Chiamaka Adebayo, a privileged Black girl intent on her Queen Bee status at the hard to get into Niveus Academy, and Devon Richards, the scholarship Black kid that just wants to get into Julliard and make all his mom's hard work worth it. Chi and Devon are the only two Black students at Niveus, and have done well for themselves up until their Senior year. The two aren't connected in any way, Chi is the popular Head Girl who wants to become a doctor, and Devon is intent on music and feels invisible, but suddenly they are both the target of an anonymous bully called Aces that is outing their secrets and telling lies.

Both Devon and Chi are worried about their future plans being ruined by Aces, and set out to find out who they are and why they are doing this. When Chi and Devon uncover a plot way deeper than they thought possible, things get scary fast. This was wild. I had a feeling I knew what was going on, but I never expected it to turn out the way it did.

This book is really about the insidiousness of systematic racism pervasive in our institutions that make Black people feel like someone is out to get us. It's about how Black people have to work twice as hard to get the same opportunities as white kids, and still have to deal with the bullshit on top of it all. Plus, we get some great gay and bi representation. This was such a visceral story, and I couldn't help but feel tense the whole way through. What a great contemporary read with many twists.

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emilyreads15's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is POWERFUL. I’ve truly never read anything like this before and I’m super thankful that my book club chose this as one of our reads. Not only was it deeply emotional but it was also very enlightening and inspiring. Ace of Spades was not only an interesting read with an interesting plot but it also discussed real world stereotypes and issues that I think more people should be aware of. This book and these characters allowed me to see our world from a completely different perspective. I was aware that racism is very much still a thing to this day but never to this extent. I’m thankful to the author for writing this book to allow readers, like myself, to learn more about topics that may have never been exposed to me before.

On top of the meaningful message, the story was also beautifully written with lots of diversity and fast paced chapters that always kept my attention. I’ve given it 4.5 only because it’s not an all time favorite but it is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. So much happened throughout the book, it was never boring and I’m very happy with the ending.

Overall this book was so beautiful and emotional. I 100% recommend this not just to readers but to everyone. I think every person should read this book at least once in their life. I’m looking forward to reading more by Faridah Àbíké-íyímídé in the future.

Content Warnings

ohyeahshebomb's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

This book unfortunately took 7 months to read due to it starting off as a buddy read, but the first 1/3 of the book just agitated me (as a black woman) and just brought back the horrendous encounters I've had and those I'd heard stories of. The story didn't feel like a story. I'm glad I decided to pick it back up and follow through, I flew through the second half of the book within two days.

A few things I think detracted from the book was the copious amounts of love interests/connections. Maybe I'm too far removed from high school, but it was just overkill to me. I also felt like the book could have benefited from more explanations. Specifically how we got to the protesters, Belle, Devon's father, and Dre, but I digress. I also wanted more of a climax, the book it's self dragged on for me but there the climax was so rush, you'd miss it if you blinked.

I hope that the white people that pick this book up see the modern day implications of being Black.

I look forward to reading Where Sleeping Girls Lie!!

Content Warnings

_ging's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Get Out meets Gossip Girl. I could not put this book down - a must read if you enjoy a thrilling, mysterious social commentary!

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trionahaye50's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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