A review by thissagreads
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

A solid mystery! Towards the end, my mouth was open at the shock, and the plot twist was very well spun!! I think my biggest issue was the male main character. It seemed as though the book focused more on him than anything, and he was often too naive for my liking. Plus the narrator’s voice- he was so annoying at times that I wanted to fast forward his parts. I really wish there was more character development with the female main character, so that’s where a lot of my disappointment was because I think she was compelling in her own right. But there wasn’t much written about her, she was mainly driving the plot toward.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault

Having the ENTIRE school and neighborhood behind the targeted racism and tuning of these 2 black kids’ lives was MAJOR!! I loved that they ultimately won and came out on top, helping black kids and their families avoid the racist vitriol. I LOVED that they were still successful after an entire town tried to take them down, but I wish there were greater consequences- like whoever led the charge should’ve been punished. The school blew up, but ALL of the people responsible for making the 2 characters lives a living hell, should’ve been punished and that’s what I wish would’ve happened. spoiler