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A review by discarded_dust_jacket
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.0
Gossip Girl meets Get Out. This book had my hands sweating and my heart racing! It was equally infuriating and enthralling; I couldn’t stop turning the page.
I really admired how Àbíké-Íyímídé used her characters to highlight a lot of the many ways that whiteness manifests to harm Black people. There’s the outwardly violent and malicious folks, but then there’s the white character whose family is poor and doesn’t necessarily benefit from class privilege, but who resents Black people for what they view as “affirmative action” or unearned advancement, and harnesses their white privilege to exert power.
Then there’s the “decent” white person who recognizes the harm of systemic racism and wants to be viewed as separate from it, but also does nothing to challenge it because it’s “too big” and they’re just one person—one person who continues to benefit it.
I really admired how Àbíké-Íyímídé used her characters to highlight a lot of the many ways that whiteness manifests to harm Black people. There’s the outwardly violent and malicious folks, but then there’s the white character whose family is poor and doesn’t necessarily benefit from class privilege, but who resents Black people for what they view as “affirmative action” or unearned advancement, and harnesses their white privilege to exert power.
Then there’s the “decent” white person who recognizes the harm of systemic racism and wants to be viewed as separate from it, but also does nothing to challenge it because it’s “too big” and they’re just one person—one person who continues to benefit it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Fire/Fire injury