Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Ace of Spades

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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wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

When an unknown cyber bully is terrorizing the only two Black students at prestigious Niveus Academy, it’s tough for these MCs to believe that the motivator is racism. The first half of the book has a slower pace, building up the tension, developing the characters, and laying out the plot to break down Chiamaka Adebayo and Devon Richardson. It’s so interesting to see the different approaches each character took. Chiamaka put her trust and faith in existing power structures: the headmaster, the press, her popular friends. Devon maintained such a heavy dose of skepticism, trusting no one after being betrayed by so many in the past. The underlying themes in Ace of Spades: sexual identity, image / presentation, racism, class disparities, are all laid bare as the true terrors haunting these two main characters. It would be easy to complain that the racism these two face is too over the top. But that’s exactly the point. Anti-blackness is pervasive in so many structural institutions that it’s simply accepted as part of how society functions. But Chiamaka and Devon push back against it, take the narrative into their own hands, and ultimately burn it all down. Quite literally.

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jei_reads_sometimes's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

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ratnix's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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dalek_caan's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I feel like there is no feedback I can provide that can do this book the justice that it deserves other than to say go read it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole book through, and was really emotionally invested in the characters, the plot, and the overall messages of the book.

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folkofthebook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.5

gossip girl meets get out in a dark academia setting.

while it was mostly predictable for me, it was nonetheless enjoyable. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé does an excellent job of examining institutional racism with a frank eye. i felt a bit more connected to devon than chiamaka, but they were both likable. it was mostly fast-paced and quick to read, i didn't feel like it dragged at any parts.

i think this would make an excellent film adaptation.

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