Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Ace of Spades

Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

86 reviews

emilyreads15's review

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.

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motz_stick's review

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emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

This book is perfect. It’s harrowingly realistic as the beginning lulls you into a sense of safety and familiarity before suddenly ripping it all away. Honestly, at the beginning I hated Chiamaka,

from her willingness to justify Jamie’s convoluted behavior to being an accomplice to murder,

but seeing the change she underwent was phenomenal. I left this book feeling so proud of the characters and like I had been there with them living it. The puzzles in this book are perfect too. Some are easy to solve so you feel like you know what’s happening just for it to all twist into a distressing finale. I was left so amazed by this book I feel like my definition of 5 stars is forever changed.

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sabrinas's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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moniipeters's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

oli_porti's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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bookishchef's review against another edition

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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

4.25

Damn, this kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I read the Get Out comparison and somehow I still didn't expect ALL of the white people to be in on it.
I kept assuming it was either Jamie, Jack or Belle (in that order from most likely to least). So when the answer turned out to be "yes, and also all of the other characters", I was shook.

I really enjoyed the ride though, even though I thought the final plottwist

(with the news outlet being evil and the school going up in flames)

was a tad predictable.

The entire time while Terell and Chiamaka were chatting about breaking the story to the news, I was very sceptical. It felt so dumb? Especially after all they'd been through and the Belle revealing there were way more people in on it.

There are also still some things that puzzle me:

1. Was Scotty in on it too? If so, he's a damn good actor if he convinced both Devon and Chiamaka that he didn't do it. His storyline got dropped halfway through the book so we never really got a resolution there.

2. What happened to Belle? She told Chiamaka what was happening and I don't assume that her family took kindly to that.

3. How did Devon end up the way he did? We get a little bit of an answer to that in the prologue, which shows that he's living with Terell and his mother but... How? He obviously wasn't getting into Juilliard and he dropped out. Yet the epilogue letter calls him "professor". So what did he do? How did he manage?

4. What happened to Andre? Is he still serving time? Am I not supposed to care?

5. Why did Devon's mom hide his father's death from him? It is said in the epilogue that Devon and his mother weren't on speaking terms for a while after he confronted her... And then what? How did that conversation go? This subplot feels unfinished now.

6. Was Peter the Hacker in on it too? If so, why did he help Chiamaka by revealing what pc the messages were send from? Why did he ask her to put in a good word for him with Belle if he knew Belle's family was in on it too?
And if he wasn't in on it, how did Aces expect the black students to not (accidentally) ask one of the students that wasn't in Aces for help?

I also have a minor headcanon/conspiracy:

We're told by a news anchor that the fire that burns down Niveus was caused by electrical issues. Which seems fair because those issues were mentioned many times before.
Only I thought those issues were just Aces manipulating the cameras, etc. With how it was set up, I assumed Jamie burned down the library. He was set up as a pyromaniac early on, and then threatened Chiamaka with his lighter. So, when she left him, angry and alone, in the library with his lighter, I assumed he was the cause of the fire.

Which he may still have been. After all, the book tells the reader many times that the media covers up white crimes all the time. But Jamie, according to the news broadcast, died in the fire. So that would mean he burned down the school without giving himself an escape? Or was he really that upset about being attracted to/friends with a black girl? I guess we'll never know. So, headcanon land it is.

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linnea1801's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

I don’t even know what to say…

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regaliaofchaos's review against another edition

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dark 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? No

5.0

An incredibly poignant book. Throughout America racism has always existed, this book shows how deeply it pervades into an academic system.

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missbreathing's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I’m glad I finally got to read it after having it in my shelves for so long!

This is described as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, and that’s pretty accurate! It’s told from the POV of the only two Black kids at an elite private academy. As their senior year begins, a slew of defamatory messages about them begin to circulate, revealing secrets and ruining their reputations. They team up to find the anonymous messenger, Aces, and stop him before he ruins their lives for good.

The themes of systemic racism in this book are so important and tragically way too relevant. It’s maybe a bit heavy-handed in its delivery of these themes, but this might just be a case of me not being the book’s target audience. YA encompasses a vast age group, and some authors highlight their themes in ways that might seem obvious to me, an adult, but which would most effectively reach a 13 year-old.

There were times when it was hard to read because of how many awful things happen to one of our MCs. I won’t spoil anything, but I cried so hard for one of the MCs. It was almost too much; like the author piled on every bad thing that could happen to someone onto this one character. But the ending is hopeful for both the MCs and their epilogue is triumphant.

This book is TENSE. It kept me on the edge of my seat. The who isn’t the major question here (you’ll likely guess who Aces is), but the what and the how are really what drive the mystery. It’s the kind of story that makes the world seem scary and unsafe, leaving you with a lingering sense of discomfort. It’s an extremely successful thriller in that sense.

🌈 Rep: gay MC, sapphic MC
⚠️ TW: outing, car accident, homophobia, racism, violence, drugs, mention of suicide, incarceration

Content Warnings

123urmom's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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