Review: Ace of Spades

Title: Ace of Spades
Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Usborne
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

An incendiary and utterly compelling thriller with a shocking twist that delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism, from an exceptional new YA voice.
Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light.
Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.
Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high-school game…

Review:

Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo are chosen to be school prefects at Niveus Private Academy. It isn’t a surprise for overachieving Chiamaka, but Devon is surprised at being chosen. Soon after they’re chosen, anonymous texts are sent to everyone in the school, revealing secrets about Chiamaka and Devon. These texts, from the anonymous Aces, threaten to ruin their futures. As more texts are sent, the stakes of secrets become more dangerous. Chiamaka and Devon have to work together to figure out who Aces is, before their lives are completely destroyed.

This was a disturbing story. The best comparison titles for this book would be Gossip Girl meets Get Out. It was fast paced and suspenseful. I truly couldn’t figure out what was happening, and I couldn’t put the book down for the last 200 pages.

This story addressed some serious issues. There was homophobia and racism, as well as sexual assault and violence. Many of the disturbing scenes seemed exaggerated for the story, yet it also felt like it could happen in real life. I don’t want to give away what happens, but this story had a creepy, realistic quality, which made it even more disturbing.

Ace of Spades is a disturbing look at racism and homophobia that everyone should read.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett

One thought on “Review: Ace of Spades”