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

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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