Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again...

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school, after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has clung to her seemingly since birth, but even she doesn’t expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think Sade had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them―especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to―and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don't care enough about what happened to Elizabeth, it's up to she and Elizabeth's best friend, Baz, to investigate.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade and Baz dig into Elizabeth's disappearance, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.

3.5 stars!!!

This was not at all what I was expecting! I've heard a lot of hype about this author's previous novel but I never actually got around to reading it, so I went into this with zero expectations. This has a great dark academia with representation that is just a part of the story, not the central plot! I was super interested in unraveling the mysteries thoughout this book but when it came to the ending, things just started falling flat for me. I was super invested for majority of the book, it just felt like there was all this lead up for a big reveal and it was just a small thing. But overall, I liked how the main character's past and the mystery in present day tied together and I let out a couple loud “GOOD FOR HER”s. I will definitely go back and read this author's previous novel regardless because the writing in this one was so well done and easy to read.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends for providing me with an eBook copy to review on NetGalley.

First line: The night it happened, there was a party.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a great thriller/mystery. I wouldn't say I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, as it's a bit of a slow burn, but I did feel like I was right there with Sade, trying to solve the puzzle. And it really was a puzzle. With most books, I don't think too hard on the mystery because I know it's going to be solved eventually. I'll come up with theories as I read but that's as far as I go. This book had me entering morse code into a translator and attempting to decipher an anagram. That's how invested I was, and it was so fun!

I worried that Sade and her friends working to solve a mystery would feel a bit like an episode of Scooby Doo, but I was pleased to find that it did not. It was also as realistic as a story about teenagers trying to solve a crime could be. They didn't know more than they should, they didn't solve it ridiculously quickly, and there were even times when they made more emotional than logical decisions. The characters felt very much like actual young adults - their behavior wasn't super juvenile, but it also wasn't overly adult in the way that some characters in books other YA media can be.

Something else I really loved is the way that Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé describes her extremely diverse cast of characters. She does it so perfectly that even I had a clear picture of what they all looked like, and I don't even have the ability to visualize. Not only were their descriptions on point, but their personalities were fantastic. I loved Baz so much. Everyone needs a Baz in their life.

The book starts off with a letter to the reader in which Àbíké-Íyímídé explains that “with Where Sleeping Girls Lie, I write to young girls who feel so much anger, and need desperately for someone or something to tell them that their rage is important, and that the capacity to heal from deep wounds is not at all impossible.” This is such an important message that spoke to the angry young girl I once was (and sometimes still am) in a way that I truly appreciate.