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blackandwhitejacket's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Toxic friendship
_jasmine_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Gore, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Outing
Minor: Drug use, Police brutality, and Death of parent
brokenbodybitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
- I loved the writing style, it was so well written and detailed and descriptive that you really just get sucked into the story and the characters
- I LOVED the gossip girl element of it, made it very stressful
- I really like how they talked about their queer identities
- I seriously just couldn’t keep up I kept thinking I was catching on and then it would twist and get bigger and more intense
Seriously can’t recommend this book enough just please check trigger warnings since it does deal with sensitive issues
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
readandfindout's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Devon and Chiamaka are the only two Black students at Niveus Private Academy. During their senior year, a mysterious stranger going by the moniker Aces starts to air their secrets to the entirety of the student body. As more and more of their secrets are leaked, Devon and Chiamaka decide to work together to find out who is behind Aces and why they are sharing these secrets now.
'Ace of Spades' is the perfect type of thriller that grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets it go. Abike-Iyimide continually ramps up the tension in the story and it kept me hanging on each chapter. The beginning is slower as Aces starts revealing secrets and the reader gets to know Devon and Chiamaka. Once we reach the midway point, the story starts to fly with reveals and twists that continue to be dropped. There is a lot more going on than it first appears and we get hints that add up overtime to create great reveals.
There are a few pieces that I would have liked some more explanation for. Both are spoilers so I won't go into detail but there were specific situations that were touched on that I would have appreciated further explanation on. It was unclear to me if certain things that had happened were indeed accidents or if there was more set-up behind them.
Even so, this is one of the best YA thrillers I have read and it does a great job of matching the thrilling elements with commentary on racism, homophobia, and classism. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what Abike-Iyimide writes next.
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
mallory10100's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
HIGHLY recommend this book!!oreo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
ellieprb05's review against another edition
- 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
This book started of a little slow, but by page 200 i was hooked.
This book was so intense and i was at the edge of my seat the entire time, it literally read like a movie but so much better.
This book also had amazing representation and dealt with such serious and important topics in such an amazing way and really educated me
This did not read like a debut novel it was incredible, i would highly recommend
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Gore
certifiedpiccohoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Anyways, with that part out of the way, this book is fantastic. I say this about a lot of books, but this actually might be the best book I've read. I really don't know what to write here because I can't really find any faults? Every part of it was fantastic, and for the same reason I'm struggling to find something especially outstanding because everything was equally amazing. Chiamaka and Devon's friendship was developed really well, as well as their individual arcs.
Again, please check trigger/content warnings before you start - this book doesn't hold back - but it's going to be one of my top recommendations from now on.
Also Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé if you read this please write another book it doesn't matter what it's about I'll buy it in a heartbeat😭
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore and Car accident
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Police brutality
yvonne_cl's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol