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A review by l1ndz7
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
4.75
I liked this one more than Ace of Spades. Ace of Spades was great but the epilogue alittle cheesy and too YA for me. This book is similar to Ace of Spades but with a bit less urgency. It didn’t move as fast which I appreciated. I liked how Sade went about her investigation. It was very Pip-like (IYKYK). The overall message here is really important and hits just as hard as Ace of Spades. This was an excellent second novel by Faridah and can’t wait to see what else she writes.
The only reason it’s not getting a 5/5 is because one thing I noticed that I didn’t really feel needed to be explicitly stated, since there was little mention of it, was that Sade was Muslim. It’s mentioned a couple of times but only in reference to the fact that she doesn’t consume alcohol and only eats halal food and is always complaining about the lack of halal food at the academy. This is a poor representation of what it is to be a Muslim and I wish it wasn’t stated all because it didn’t add anything to the story at all. I understand that the focus was on the mystery around Elizabeth’s disappearance and what that ends up revealing and maybe that’s why it wasn’t mentioned more. I just think it’s alittle tasteless to just leave it at that. Just don’t include it.
The only reason it’s not getting a 5/5 is because one thing I noticed that I didn’t really feel needed to be explicitly stated, since there was little mention of it, was that Sade was Muslim. It’s mentioned a couple of times but only in reference to the fact that she doesn’t consume alcohol and only eats halal food and is always complaining about the lack of halal food at the academy. This is a poor representation of what it is to be a Muslim and I wish it wasn’t stated all because it didn’t add anything to the story at all. I understand that the focus was on the mystery around Elizabeth’s disappearance and what that ends up revealing and maybe that’s why it wasn’t mentioned more. I just think it’s alittle tasteless to just leave it at that. Just don’t include it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death