Reviews tagging 'Rape'

As de picas by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

44 reviews

mrmarshall591's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

When I started the audio book, I did not expect it to go the way it did. Although as I went through, I knew what was coming but not to the degree that it came. Wow.

Definitely a psychological thriller, with similar vibes to ‘Get Out’ (although both are completely different stories focusing on different aspects of horrors related to racism). 

4 stars because there was a lot I wish was expanded upon, like a follow-up on characters such a Belle, Scotty, Andre and Jack.

Also, I absolutely love how on the author’s websites there is art depicting the major characters. I have a hard time visualizing things based on descriptions and that really helped! I only found it writing this review since I went searching for one of the character’s names. 

I really enjoyed the author’s note, which mentions how the book was written over the course of her college career which is very symbolic to the course of the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Outing, Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Racism, and Stalking

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Trafficking

Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Vomit

deepcurvesahead's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Gaslighting, and Racism

Moderate: Infidelity, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, and Outing

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Rape, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Murder, and Suicide attempt

moniipeters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Classism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Slavery, Violence, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Self harm

bookishchef's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Damn, this kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. 

Spoiler

I read the Get Out comparison and somehow I still didn't expect ALL of the white people to be in on it. 
I kept assuming it was either Jamie, Jack or Belle (in that order from most likely to least). So when the answer turned out to be "yes, and also all of the other characters", I was shook.

 

I really enjoyed the ride though, even though I thought the final plottwist

Spoiler

(with the news outlet being evil and the school going up in flames)

was a tad predictable.

Spoiler

The entire time while Terell and Chiamaka were chatting about breaking the story to the news, I was very sceptical. It felt so dumb? Especially after all they'd been through and the Belle revealing there were way more people in on it.

 

There are also still some things that puzzle me:

Spoiler

 

1. Was Scotty in on it too? If so, he's a damn good actor if he convinced both Devon and Chiamaka that he didn't do it. His storyline got dropped halfway through the book so we never really got a resolution there. 

2. What happened to Belle? She told Chiamaka what was happening and I don't assume that her family took kindly to that. 

3. How did Devon end up the way he did? We get a little bit of an answer to that in the prologue, which shows that he's living with Terell and his mother but... How? He obviously wasn't getting into Juilliard and he dropped out. Yet the epilogue letter calls him "professor". So what did he do? How did he manage? 

4. What happened to Andre? Is he still serving time? Am I not supposed to care? 

5. Why did Devon's mom hide his father's death from him? It is said in the epilogue that Devon and his mother weren't on speaking terms for a while after he confronted her... And then what? How did that conversation go? This subplot feels unfinished now. 

6. Was Peter the Hacker in on it too? If so, why did he help Chiamaka by revealing what pc the messages were send from? Why did he ask her to put in a good word for him with Belle if he knew Belle's family was in on it too? 
And if he wasn't in on it, how did Aces expect the black students to not (accidentally) ask one of the students that wasn't in Aces for help? 

 

I also have a minor headcanon/conspiracy:

Spoiler

 

We're told by a news anchor that the fire that burns down Niveus was caused by electrical issues. Which seems fair because those issues were mentioned many times before. 
Only I thought those issues were just Aces manipulating the cameras, etc. With how it was set up, I assumed Jamie burned down the library. He was set up as a pyromaniac early on, and then threatened Chiamaka with his lighter. So, when she left him, angry and alone, in the library with his lighter, I assumed he was the cause of the fire. 

Which he may still have been. After all, the book tells the reader many times that the media covers up white crimes all the time. But Jamie, according to the news broadcast, died in the fire. So that would mean he burned down the school without giving himself an escape? Or was he really that upset about being attracted to/friends with a black girl? I guess we'll never know. So, headcanon land it is.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Outing

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism

The N word is used once.

ghostnaps's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ace of Spades really finds its footing in the latter half of the book where things become much more dangerous for the group. I loved getting to spend time with the characters and watching them grow. Chiamaka’s development is fantastic, going from being obsessed with status and recognition of those around her to realizing her own self worth and value. Devon’s growth is subtler, similar to his personality type, passively changing as he realizes how being complacent is still harmful. The truth behind Aces and how they handled it stretched a bit far beyond realism for me; however, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and appreciated the message shared to which I would recommend it for white allies looking to learn what it can feel like being the only black person at times.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

Moderate: Homophobia and Car accident

Minor: Rape, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

mozimmerm's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I found most of this book very interesting! It reminded me of Pretty Little Liars, but it added the twist of the motive being race. I liked the dual POV, as it allowed two perspectives from 2 different paths of life and how they reacted to the same discrimination. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending.

Spoiler

I found the ending too wrapped-in-a-bow. The resolution was all by chance. I did love how they created an organization to counteract the school’s injustice.

However, I found this book entertaining and moving. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Gaslighting, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Biphobia, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Death of parent

didi0236's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Rape

navibo's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a new genre for me, but I don’t regret reading it one bit! It was a perfect mix of well-written characters, a thrilling plot line and a very important message. I can’t really speculate on the accuracy of it. However, I definitely recommend everyone to read it and become aware of the terrible issues mentioned in this book. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of empathy I have felt through the journey of reading this book. I cried, it was tense, sickening, but paced in a perfect way to continue it. Sounds scary, I know, still a must-read tho.
 Didn’t hesitate to label it as five-star one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Toxic friendship, Racism, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Outing, Death of parent, Bullying, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Car accident

shell_s's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Stalking, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

avie_j's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Stalking, Outing, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape, Car accident, Death, and Sexual violence