Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

118 reviews

valeriezharick's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

this book is a masterpiece omg.!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Bullying, Hate crime, and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Outing, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Classism, and Gaslighting

k8lynn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

i love this book!!! could not stop reading it & when i wasn't reading it i was thinking about it. the audiobook only enhanced this experience!!

*also trigger warning for gay people being forcibly outed to the public

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Misogyny, Outing, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Toxic friendship

dangselena's review against another edition

dark 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

Insane. Very Jordan Peele-esque. Slow start but picks up around 40 pages in and keeps the pace from there. So hard to put down! Hard to put into words but as a White passing Latina, this book quickly put me in my place in the best way possible. The author places the reader directly into the shoes of two Black teenagers and really envelopes you in their state of hypervigilance and terror. The story reveals very quickly how easy it is for any small misstep to ruin their lives instantly. I thought having the dual narration was particularly interesting because of the different experiences of the characters. While both characters are Black,

Chiamaka is half Italian and comes from a wealthy background while Devon is dark skinned and living in poverty. The author really managed to show how their backgrounds give them very different views of how to solve their problems. While they’re both experiencing anti-black racism, the characters are treated very differently by their aggresors because of their upbringing and even their gender and sexuality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Police brutality, Abandonment, Vomit, Blood, Grief, Homophobia, Violence, Car accident, Gaslighting, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Gore, Outing, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

honeywisteria'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: Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Grief, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Toxic relationship

alreadsbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

this book is like if pretty little liars was way gayer and way more rooted in real world issues and it was so good

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Death, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Police brutality

chrisb913's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad 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

5.0

Please check the TWs.

This book was absolutely incredible. A thrilling story about two high school students on the verge of having a very successful senior year before hell breaks loose. I was on the edge of my seat throughout waiting for the next shoe to drop. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's debut was such an incredible show of talent and I cannot wait to see what is next from this author. I don't want to say too much to avoid any type of spoiler but seriously do yourself a favor and read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Outing, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Emotional abuse, Classism, and Gaslighting

voidature's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Stalking, Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Grief, and Outing

Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Gun violence

aurora4847's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Ace of Spades was such a good read, especially for a white college graduate during Black History Month. While the stakes seem so low in the beginning, the tension and mystery keep ramping up the further in you get. It feels almost like a paranormal thriller, but with the monster being systemic racism instead of a demon. The ordeals Chiamaka and Devon have to survive are truly horrifying, and terrifyingly realistic. While it may seem exaggerated for the sake of the story, it really isn't too far off what black students actually have to deal with in academia. Chiamaka and Devon's differing socioeconomic statuses adds another layer of complexity in how they handle and think about what they're enduring. Ace of Spades is practically required reading for any white person who's benefited from access to higher education, especially more elite private schools and universities, and actually gives a damn about how POC are treated in those spaces.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Outing, Homophobia, Classism, Stalking, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Police brutality

This book is about systemic racism and eugenics. The main characters are the victims of harassment that grows to assault, hate crimes, stalking, and abuse. They are repeatedly betrayed by trusted individuals.

jaduhluhdabooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Whew. This is America. The suspension and the expanse of this book is deep and felt. I don’t think Faridah is necessarily trying to hide this thriller is racialized and there’s an agenda of recognizing that race plays a pivotal role in survival, self preservation, and academia. The psychological expanse for Ya novel is surprising and something I hadn’t expected to see in this book. But I am happy to be surprised. The intersection of sexuality and race is real and the dimension of power is something I appreciated about the explicitly of this book. Some many times, people conflate Crenshaw’s definition of intersectionality to the limit of holding multiple identities. But it’s the power those intersecting identities enhance or diminish. We see this in the juxtaposition of Devon and Chiamaka’s characters. Devon is a low income, gay, Black boy, whereas, Chiamaka’s an upper class, educationally privileged, queer, biracial Black woman. While they both face the racial terrors of their academic environments, Chi has money, wealth, confidence that she bounces back from, while Von seeks suppression in alternative ways, struggles to provide for both himself and his family, battles homophobic beatings and commentary from the gangs in his neighborhood, and often goes without meals and moments. This is the most powerful thing about this book, it’s the demonstration of intersectionality, its power, and how even when a powerful Black person has capital, social and cultural, monetarily… anti-Blackness will always overpower. It’s raw. It’s timely. It’s STILL so relevant, if not more so now as we back trap in this currently society. Definitely recommend and I feel seen reading it and knowing works like this exist. While fictional, so allegorically current.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Violence, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Bullying

talonsontypewriters'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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Stalking, Violence, Blood, Outing, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Car accident, Grief, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Alcohol, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual content