Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

13 reviews

the_true_monroe's review

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

moniipeters's review

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

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Content Warnings

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

paulabekkerus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

abbiemreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

A slow start that felt a little basic but when it kicks in it really kicks in, loved it from then on! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Sexual content, Stalking, Car accident, Outing, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Chronic illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

allisonbrooke's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was absolutely not what I expected it to be. It was thrilling, infuriating, and heartbreaking all at the same time. I thought some of the author’s beliefs were maybe spelled out a little too much rather than being less obvious and allowing the reader to come to the same conclusion but because of the subject matter and the target audience, I understand why it’s written that way. Also, there were a few scenes that were written in a way that felt too over the top and unbelievable to me, but being a white woman, it could be that my limited personal experience with racism has created a blindspot that disallows me to see something like those scenes actually happening in real life. Despite the two critiques of this novel, I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced and interesting and I think teenagers will really enjoy it and adults could really learn from it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

deidra_shadetreereads's review against another edition

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Car accident, Outing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Chronic illness and Classism

t_higgsreviews's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

5 Stars
CAWPILE = 9.07

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Outing

Minor: Chronic illness, Drug use, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

coryannellerbe's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This felt like a very rare book. It combined a lot of genre things that I LOVE about YA, and elevated them. 

The two main characters are so well written, they felt very real. Reading this was almost like reading a diary. The two leads have their strengths, flaws, things they aren't willing to compromise on. 

Chi is motivated to succeed at almost any cost. She looks at her high school success as a means to an end, and she views a lot of relationship that way too. She doesn't have many friends because she surrounds herself with people who seem to share that same idea: relationships and friendships in high school are a contract, to gain popularity, win awards and recognition, get good grades, and get accepted into Yale University. She's successful and smart, but she acknowledges her drive unapologetically. 

Devon is a bit more of a dreamer, though he comes from a neighborhood where "dreaming is dangerous". He's at school on scholarship and dreaming of getting into Julliard and studying music. He works hard because his mom has sacrificed everything to get him a chance at a rarefied education, and he wants to make all the struggle they've gone through worth it. He's more of a dreamer then Chi, a little more withdrawn and reflective. Plus, while Chi's whole world revolves around their school, Devon almost seems to live in two worlds, one where he clearly doesn't fit in and one where he doesn't feel safe.

This book took elements of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and Get Out and turned them on their heads. It used a lot of similar plot elements to create a world we as readers could recognize while revealing the dark underbelly of the world that we might not have been expecting. 

This is not your average "who-dun-it" and it really feels like it should be required reading in the digital age. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Ableism

sunsetcity's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism