Ace of Spades
2021 • 480 pages
Ratings60
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings60
Average rating4.2
Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully. All you need to know is . . . I’m here to divide and conquer. Like all great tyrants do. —Aces When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too. Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures. As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly? With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé.
Reviews with the most likes.
Sometimes a book screams at me to read it and so I hype it up so much in my own head. You can imagine that can end very badly if I end up not liking the book because the crash back down to earth hurts. Such was not the case here. NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT.
One private school. Two Black teenagers from the opposite sides of society's tracks. Devon's mom has sacrificed much so the musical protege can lead them to a better life. Chiamaka wants for nothing. One anonymous texter exposing their darkest secrets.
This book is very difficult to review because it is, amongst other things, a thriller. And I'm don't want to give anything away as that really would ruin the book for you. I will say it is twisty and dark. I went in kind of blind and don't regret that at all. It was a Bookish First win and once I saw the cover I knew I had to have it. BOOKWORM INTUITION IS REAL.
I think books like this are super important to show how ingrained racism can be in institutions, but for me, the execution was lacking. The beginning reads like a gossip girl rip-off with nothing new. Then you move on in Part 2 of the story and the inconsistencies and plot changes just give you whiplash. I also think there are some issues with how the book ends. The epilogue gave some good insight into the future, but also had added details that just seemed ridiculous to me.
Overall, this book had potential but lacked the proper execution for me.
Get Out meets Gossip Girl is exactly on the nose. Took a while for the plot to kick in and get moving. Could have used some tighter editing and the characters didn't feel like real people, they felt like ideas, which in the afterwards seemed like the author's intent.
