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A review by hayleyjames24
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really really enjoyed this, surprisingly it did not feel like a 500+ page book while I was reading it.
It dove into some really really deep topics and themes: grief, friendship, loss, the nature of school politics and the power of the elite. I would recomend checking out the trigger warnings before reading but I found that despite being heavy and quite extensive they were done with so much love and care and definitely werent graphic. It was more so the mystery behind the actions and the thrill of seeing whether justice would be served that carried these themes rather than giving us deets on what actually happened. It was great to see these teenagers try to tear down systems and break the status quo. Even if they weren't quite able to really do it it's such an important topic for Young Adults to be reading (and very realistic)
I enjoyed the dark academia side of the story as well and I think the setting was perfect.
I also really enjoyed that they did normal things like actually going to class hahaha, especially because it's set in a prestigious school and Sade has a scholarship.
I loved Baz!! He was such a great friend and seemed to be such a well rounded character. I wish Sade was slightly less mysterious and we got to know her a little better but the reason she was so mysterious was the main plot point lol.
Persephone was also a very interesting character and I loved the way her and Sade's relationship blossomed.
I did like that it didn't necessarily end with it all being tied in a pretty bow (though good things do come out of it) because in real life these situations don't have an easy answer or finish.
Will definitely pick up Ace of Spades at some point.
It dove into some really really deep topics and themes: grief, friendship, loss, the nature of school politics and the power of the elite. I would recomend checking out the trigger warnings before reading but I found that despite being heavy and quite extensive they were done with so much love and care and definitely werent graphic. It was more so the mystery behind the actions and the thrill of seeing whether justice would be served that carried these themes rather than giving us deets on what actually happened. It was great to see these teenagers try to tear down systems and break the status quo. Even if they weren't quite able to really do it it's such an important topic for Young Adults to be reading (and very realistic)
I enjoyed the dark academia side of the story as well and I think the setting was perfect.
I also really enjoyed that they did normal things like actually going to class hahaha, especially because it's set in a prestigious school and Sade has a scholarship.
I loved Baz!! He was such a great friend and seemed to be such a well rounded character. I wish Sade was slightly less mysterious and we got to know her a little better but the reason she was so mysterious was the main plot point lol.
Persephone was also a very interesting character and I loved the way her and Sade's relationship blossomed.
I did like that it didn't necessarily end with it all being tied in a pretty bow (though good things do come out of it) because in real life these situations don't have an easy answer or finish.
Will definitely pick up Ace of Spades at some point.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Suicide