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A review by rorikae
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
challenging
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
'Ace of Spades' by Faridah Abike-Iyimide is a gripping thriller set in a private high school.
Devon and Chiamaka are the only two Black students at Niveus Private Academy. During their senior year, a mysterious stranger going by the moniker Aces starts to air their secrets to the entirety of the student body. As more and more of their secrets are leaked, Devon and Chiamaka decide to work together to find out who is behind Aces and why they are sharing these secrets now.
'Ace of Spades' is the perfect type of thriller that grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets it go. Abike-Iyimide continually ramps up the tension in the story and it kept me hanging on each chapter. The beginning is slower as Aces starts revealing secrets and the reader gets to know Devon and Chiamaka. Once we reach the midway point, the story starts to fly with reveals and twists that continue to be dropped. There is a lot more going on than it first appears and we get hints that add up overtime to create great reveals.
There are a few pieces that I would have liked some more explanation for. Both are spoilers so I won't go into detail but there were specific situations that were touched on that I would have appreciated further explanation on. It was unclear to me if certain things that had happened were indeed accidents or if there was more set-up behind them.
Even so, this is one of the best YA thrillers I have read and it does a great job of matching the thrilling elements with commentary on racism, homophobia, and classism. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what Abike-Iyimide writes next.
Devon and Chiamaka are the only two Black students at Niveus Private Academy. During their senior year, a mysterious stranger going by the moniker Aces starts to air their secrets to the entirety of the student body. As more and more of their secrets are leaked, Devon and Chiamaka decide to work together to find out who is behind Aces and why they are sharing these secrets now.
'Ace of Spades' is the perfect type of thriller that grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets it go. Abike-Iyimide continually ramps up the tension in the story and it kept me hanging on each chapter. The beginning is slower as Aces starts revealing secrets and the reader gets to know Devon and Chiamaka. Once we reach the midway point, the story starts to fly with reveals and twists that continue to be dropped. There is a lot more going on than it first appears and we get hints that add up overtime to create great reveals.
There are a few pieces that I would have liked some more explanation for. Both are spoilers so I won't go into detail but there were specific situations that were touched on that I would have appreciated further explanation on. It was unclear to me if certain things that had happened were indeed accidents or if there was more set-up behind them.
Even so, this is one of the best YA thrillers I have read and it does a great job of matching the thrilling elements with commentary on racism, homophobia, and classism. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what Abike-Iyimide writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Outing, Racism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault