I LOVE THAT SO MUCH *screams* i did not think this would end up being a cult to attack on black people in a white supremacy high school and the rest around america but here we are. a clear 5 star from the beginning with devon :,) and his sexuality and family problems and growing up in an area where he was poor and thought of as a criminal contrasted to chiamaka’s rich life but surrounded by toxic people in her life. the premise from the beginning was interesting enough with “aces” and exposing devon/chiamaka’s dark secrets and constantly guessing who it was…which i was wrong it was the whole school…chile… but the huge part with racism/class and context which just made me sure the 5 star rating. i liked belle till her betrayal (alexa play traitor by olivia rodrigo) and terrell sweetie :,) and jamie burn…quite literally…even though i will never fully understand what these characters and black people go through everyday, being a poc this whole scenario would scare the shit out of me, relating to elements about these characters especially understanding white privileged i was screaming majority of every chapter and annotating so many quotes i related to so much. another fantastic recommendation even though it tackles through very serious topics that black people and poc still go through to this day, which in the book with 16 years later devon and chiamaka are still fighting for justice and to take down these schools/companies who treat people like slaves/worthless which is the undertone throughout the book, anyways 5 stars! finally a book i enjoyed after 2 months? of struggling to enjoy books.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation