Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

192 reviews

mafelrs's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

Minor: Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, and Drug use

merakianvibes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Now this book was good asf. When I say this author ATE, I mean it! Literally had me reading all times of the night knowing I had to work in the morning. I couldn’t put it down. At first when I started, I was like this book is long asf but I see why. Worth the read for sure.

Devon and Chia were selected to be apart of the elite schools Senior Prefects. Shortly after they were selected, someone who goes by the name of ACES begins sending anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten their futures. ACES shows no sign of stopping, and what seems like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game. 

I aint gon lie I had so many different emotions while reading. I already knew where the book was going when it said that Chia and Devon were the only two black students in the whole school. I honestly couldn’t imagine going to a school like that. This book touches on a lot of different topics. Make sure you check the trigger warnings. It goes in depth about real issues including racism, homophobia, bullying and suicidal ideation. Black people really have it hard and there are still so many racist people out there. I wanted to come through this book and slap a couple people! You literally can’t trust ANYONE. 

Devon and Chia were making me so mad engaging in dumb stuff in public knowing they were a target. If people are taking sneaky photos of you in public and sending them to everyone, why wouldn’t you be more cautious in public? I didn’t trust Belle as far as I can throw her. All of a sudden she just came out of nowhere trying to get close to Chia. I felt like it was a setup from the beginning. Jamie was a suspect on my list from the jump also. I literally was playing detective while reading. About 70% in, my mouth literally dropped. So many secrets and info came to light and it threw me for a loop. I was not expecting it. The author will literally have you on the edge of your seat. From the beginning, how the Headmaster treated Chia, I knew he had something to do with whatever was going on. It was clear as day! After dealing with what happened at their school, I don’t think I would be able to trust anyone else again!

This book was be a really good movie. I see exactly what the hype was about. One thing I didn’t understand was the ending. Did Chia and Devon end up together? That part confused me but overall it was a 5/5!

Fav quotes:
“I’ve learned early on that it’s either kill or be killed. And if I had to stop and feel bad for every instance I’ve had to step on someone’s toes to keep the crown, I’d be very bored.”

“This whole time I was convincing myself that Jamie was as scared for his future as I am for mine, but truthfully, he’s a white man and they are able to get away with murder.”

“I can “fix” the kinks in my hair, but not the kinks in this whole system that hates me and Devon and everyone who looks like us.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Gun violence and Stalking

Minor: Death of parent

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

WHAT A HELLA RIDE.... 5⭐

First, I wanna say thank you to Miss Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé for creating the world about Niveus Private Academy. This book is beyond perfect! Well, at the start... it feels usual, but after you read about 40 pages of the story, the chills started. I can imagine myself; there... being Chiamaka Adebayo. I positioned myself as her as I read the whole story.

Ace of Spades simply stole my heart! This book is a brilliant book. Disturbing, giving so many chills, brutally-emotional, scary at some points.. but this book is brilliant. Even scarier even there's no ghosts in this story. 

This book is the one to read and I hella can't put the book down even for only five minutes. The story, the characters, the settings, the plots... are perfect and sickeningly good! 

I never find the thriller-mystery book that left chills so much; even now.. when I write this review and finished reading this already. This book leaves a gasp for me and makes me smirk at the end; the epilogue.

What a perfect of twisted 'oh' ending. All hail, Ace of Spades! ♠️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Car accident, Blood, Racism, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Alcohol, and Stalking

Moderate: Vomit, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

kristensreading's review against another edition

challenging mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Hate crime

Moderate: Outing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, and Homophobia

Minor: Gun violence and Suicide attempt

daniellekat's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I wanted to like this more, but I think I'm just not the intended audience. Although exciting, the plot was somewhat predictable, and full of holes. So many characters were introduced for specific plot purposes only to be completely dropped later. And the characters that did stick around were one dimensional and lacked growth. The 

quick and neatly wrapped up

ending was lackluster and added to the book's strange pacing. This tackled some big and necessary themes, but ultimately missed the mark for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Outing, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Physical abuse, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Stalking

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Sexism, and Death of parent

nkerekes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug use, Violence, Gun violence, and Racism

withlivjones's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Jesus Christ what a story. I heard someone say that this book is like if Gossip Girl and Get Out had a baby, and that is so true. The mystery had me absolutely hooked, and then the focus on institutionalised racism both within the education system and within society in general was simultaneously difficult to read and very important. Some of the things that Aces does made me feel sick to my stomach, and I was really rooting for Devon and Chiamaka - who are both fantastic, well-developed characters in their own right. I felt like the depictions of racism were a little heavy-handed at times and perhaps could have been written with more nuance, but that isn’t necessarily a criticism since this is a YA novel and it may well be many readers’ first introduction to an example of institutionalised racism - and the book does that job spectacularly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Gaslighting, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Death

miles's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Bullying, Racism, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Alcohol, Car accident, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

fleur____'s review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, and Homophobia

Moderate: Car accident, Outing, Violence, Blood, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Classism, and Gun violence

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I don’t want to write too much about this read, because I fear I would spoil something by accident, and I truly think the best way to experience this book is to go in not knowing much about the plot, so that you’re as confused as the MCs and disocvering the trurth right alongside them. The only reason I’m giving this less than five stars is because of some pacing issues. The first half could have been tightened up more, and more time needed to be spent on the climax. There was also an aspect of one MC that felt a bit shoehorned in and underdeveloped. But other than that, this was a truly phenomenal read, both insightful and harrowing. There were so many layers to the plot and characters that Àbíké-Íyímídé artfully constructed and peeled back for the reader. I can see why everyone raves about this work, and I’m really looking forward to reading Àbíké-Íyímídé’s 2024 release.

Rep: gay Black MC, sapphic biracial Black/white Italian/Nigerian-American MC, bi SC, Black Achillean SC

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Outing, Racism, Gaslighting, and Hate crime

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Vomit, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Car accident

Minor: Murder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug use, Ableism, Police brutality, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Pregnancy

Major: three uses of the n-slur, eugenics Moderate: imprisoned loved one, capital punishment Minor: disownment, toxic masculinity, texturism, sick loved one, suicidal ideation, disordered eating