Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

419 reviews

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

wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Bullying, Homophobia, Outing, and Racism

Moderate: Body shaming and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

violetreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Outing, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Suicide attempt

miri42's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Classism, Homophobia, Bullying, and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Stalking, and Suicide

Minor: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

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

ratnix's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Stalking, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Murder, Bullying, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, and Death of parent

Moderate: Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use

torla's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

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