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A review by deidra_shadetreereads
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
So I walked away from this having similar feelings as I did when I finished The Other Black Girl and Children of Blood and Bone. This book was clearly something the author just wanted to do and a publisher picked it up. That is confirmed in the author's note which I do wish I had read sooner or that it was in the front of the book but I digress.
The plot and the main twist don't work without it being set in the U.S. but you can tell the world is built off a combination of television worlds. I don't like when you can tell the author is writing about something they don't know. So I could never fully sink my teeth in and suspend my disbelief that Chiamaka and Devon weren't completely tipped off that something was up as the only Black people period in this whole school off top. I guess that that was too trusting for me and I didn't ever believe that Chiamaka had made it to the top, besting all those rich white kids, because of anything she'd done. She definitely believed it though and she was supposed to. Devon had the right energy for the most part but again, I couldn't fully believe that it took until senior year for him to perk his antennas. Though it did make more sense for him to keep his head down considering his former school and neighborhood situation to be fair.
With these things being so intertwined and my main problems with the book, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars. It's not a bad book and the writing is fine. I knocked it out in a couple days so I'd say it's very readable in that regard. I wouldn't read another YA thriller set in a U.S. high school by Àbíké-Íyímídé but I read something else!
The plot and the main twist don't work without it being set in the U.S. but you can tell the world is built off a combination of television worlds. I don't like when you can tell the author is writing about something they don't know. So I could never fully sink my teeth in and suspend my disbelief that Chiamaka and Devon weren't completely tipped off that something was up as the only Black people period in this whole school off top. I guess that that was too trusting for me and I didn't ever believe that Chiamaka had made it to the top, besting all those rich white kids, because of anything she'd done. She definitely believed it though and she was supposed to. Devon had the right energy for the most part but again, I couldn't fully believe that it took until senior year for him to perk his antennas. Though it did make more sense for him to keep his head down considering his former school and neighborhood situation to be fair.
With these things being so intertwined and my main problems with the book, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars. It's not a bad book and the writing is fine. I knocked it out in a couple days so I'd say it's very readable in that regard. I wouldn't read another YA thriller set in a U.S. high school by Àbíké-Íyímídé but I read something else!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Homophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Chronic illness and Classism