the_cats_pyjamas 's review for:

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

5.0

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This book was so intense and kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole ride. Genuinely, this book is incredibly written and engaging, and felt like the perfect ya thriller. The plot did an excellent job by making me hesitant to trust absolutely anybody aside from the two main characters, however there were still a couple of twists and turns that surprised me. The main characters were both compelling and a good contrast to each other, and the plot was creative while also being grounded in a sense of reality, as even though some of the actual events in the book were exaggerated or taken to the extreme, the ideas that they were based on are indeed reflective of the actual violence and systemic racism that Black Americans face, and I think the author does an excellent job at portraying this. I felt genuinely scared many times throughout this book, mainly for the characters’ safety, and the author does a great job at building up the feeling of being overwhelmed throughout the course of the book. This book is genuinely a great example of the YA thriller genre, and while I am not a huge reader of thrillers, this book was absolutely incredible! Highly recommend!