Ace of Spades | 
pickFaridah Àbìké-Íyímídé‘s debut YA thriller is billed as GET OUT meets GOSSIP GIRL for good reason. It‘s a searing high concept novel where racism meets conspiracy to create an intense choking claustrophobia as Aces racks up their campaign against Von and Chiamaka. That said, it doesn‘t nail the final quarter and there are holes in the conspiracy if you think about it too closely but it has pace, it makes you think and it still feels of the moment.
#WeekendReads
I'm hoping to get through Ace of Spades and Phantasma this weekend. ☕️📖❤️
so-soThe only two blacks kids in a prestigious school gets targeted by an anonymous bully hellbent on destroying their lives.
I had a tough time deciding what to give this book. The overall story was decent, however, I could not get past how predictable the bully was and how the characters who were in the running for valedictorian could not see or do anything about it.
#unreadbookshelfchallenge 117/334
pickFinished this the other night.
It was good, very predictable. The story was engaging and the writing was good.
3.8⭐️ only because of the predictability. If you like YA suspense and strong female lead I would recommend for an easy enjoyable read.
bailedThis book feels like the cliched love child of John Hughes and Gossip Girl. I'm in the vast minority of readers who didn't enjoy it. First of all, I feel like it's all been done/said before. The student with the scholarship who feels like an outcast in their shabby clothes compared to everyone else's designer labels (overdone and cliched). The Queen Bee rich girl (predictable). (1/?)
Finishing up this book about two black students at an elite private school. This debut YA novel is tackling many social issues, including racism, homophobia, and generational trauma.
I can‘t wait to discuss it tomorrow for #LitsyBookClub
so-soThis book had an interesting premise and characters, but there were a few things that kept it from being a pick for me. It was a little too similar to Gossip Girl (although part of that might have been the narrator of the audio), got long in some places, and the ending was too abrupt without answering some of my questions.
#audiobook #YA #LitsyBookClub
pickThis book was brilliant! It reminded me of Pretty Little Liars but tackled bigger issues. I can't believe the author was so young when she wrote this and could truly capture different perspectives and build up suspense. I was unsatisfied with the ending but I still recommend it!
pickIt got a bit slow in the middle but overall a good read. One of the better everyone has secrets high school mysteries I've read
7 #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
so-so(2021) It's a YA thriller about two Black kids at an otherwise all-white academy who become targets of an anonymous harassment campaign. I liked the premise, and most of the development, but the climax was too rushed and deus-ex-machinaey for me. But I'm not the target audience and others have loved it so ymmv.
It's been a target of book bans: with its diverse characters and social justice themes, it's not hard to see why. Read #BannedBooks !
pickThis is a proof copy. I enjoyed this YA mystery set in a school called Niveus Private Academy. A mysterious person called Aces is telling the whole school secrets from two students Devon and Chiamaka. Who is this person and why are they doing it? It was really gripping and quite a ending.
pickI‘m not usually a fan of YA (sorry, I had enough teenage angst when I was a teenager…) but this one had caught my eye and it was worth it. The character building was very strong, which balanced out the relatively predictable plot. It was definitely a page turner, though!
Roll 48 for #Roll100 and 1 of 2 I was hoping to get through for #AwesomeApril
I think that this book would be really interesting to read, just based on the content. The teen drama genre has always been really fun and I think that the topics that this book covers will really add to the story,
Devon and Chiamaka, Niveus Academy students, are exceptional senior class prefects. Devon is surprised because he keeps his head down, accomplishing his goal of becoming invisible to the Niveus students. Chiamaka has spent the last three years cultivating an ideal reputation at school. Their year is going great until an unknown person with the alias “Aces“ begins anonymous text messaging, revealing secrets about them that threaten their futures.
#wondrouswednesday
🍁 MG Leonard…I follow her on Instagram. She loves dogs, chocolate and books. We were made to be besties!
🍁🍁Recommendations from you lovely littens 📚
🍁🍁🍁Tagged
pickThis was really powerfully written, although based on a core premise that I found a bit hard to buy into (no spoilers). The narration alternates between the only two Black students in an elite white school, one on a scholarship from a low income neighborhood and the other well off. Basically a thriller, dominated by a mystery villain, it also looks at race, class, and sexual identity among teens in a provocative way.
#Booked2022 #DarkAcademia
pick#2022Book93
This was my second time reading this book. While I still enjoyed it, a lot of the suspension of disbelief moments didn‘t hold up quite as well.
pickWhat a read. Challenging, difficult, unsparing, immersive, powerful. Far more than a story about school bullying, this is an unflinching look at systemic racism and how it can affect the vulnerable and strong alike. As well, an exploration of relationships and how we can lie even to the ones we love most. This book was affecting and thought-provoking and stimulating — highly recommend.
so-soTo keep it short, I didn‘t really like it. The idea was executed poorly, the entire time I was thinking ‘Pretty Little Liars rip off‘. All the “surprises/twists” were so obvious and the ending was an absolute let-down. There was almost no character growth and the plot was so unbelievable. I‘m disappointed in it, because I love books that talk about social issues and racial injustices, but this one fell so short and was such a let down.
Back-to-school season pick — super bargain grab from Book Outlet, which is a great online site for Canadians to get discounted books, btw. Not sure I‘m in the mood for high drama but we‘ll see how it goes…
Who keeps buying all these damn books?!? Oh. Wait. That‘d be me.
#alphabetgame #
Great idea @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
I loved the tagged book….intrigue, drama and high school.
Thank you for the tag @Bookgoil
Can you think of one…. @hannah-leeloo @Blerdgal_Fenix
pickIf you like ya fiction, this book has everything you need. Even if you‘re not a ya person you should still give it a go, maybe just pretend it happens at a work place rather than high school? Lol
What a great book, coulda been longer or a series imo ♠️
pickThis was really good! I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first, but a fun take on semi-horror similar to Get Out. There are so many layers to Devon and Chiamaka. They come from such different places and yet the system lumps them together and the endpoint is the same. Chilling.
pickA compelling thriller with a twist that explores institutionalised racism explored from a YA perspective. A private academy where money is no object and students lives seem perfect. Dig deeper beneath the surface and dark secrets soon come to light. A diverse range of characters that you come to care about.
It was hard to put this book down as it was so addictive. Such a read with an incredibly powerful message
Started this Friday night and hoping to finish by tomorrow after work!
Dark, institutionalised racism and an amazing writer!
Someone asked me@to describe the genre or type of book this is — for some people it would be a horror and others a thriller. If I had to like towards something 🤔 get out meets gossip girl mixed in with pretty little liars dash of mean girls
pickThis book… 9 out of 10…truth seen in art. it is a mix of get out & thriller. It is well written giving the prospective of two black students that eventually come together to deal with racist harassment. I think Everyone should read this book. I wanted the end to have something more(like the full exposure of the school), but the epilogue has satisfying end. #poc #lgbtq #woc #aces #spades #racism #ya #getout
So this came up on Libby and I have decided to read it. I have been in a reading slumps, but I am going to see what the hype is about. So far the opening seems normal but the point of views are crazy — let‘s see what happens.
pickI‘ve heard everyone raving about this book. I get it now. So many nuances within one story. It‘s one of those reads that will sit with you. One of the most important things highlighted was how though Chiamaka and Devon were both Black they came from very different worlds. This affected how they interacted with those around them at school and each other, but not how the world saw them. I could keep going. The author put the stacked system on blast.
Okay so I like forgot this was a thriller and started listening to it and the two narrators plus the writing were awesome so by the time I realized it was going to be a little scary (especially because as a reader you are like never trust the person who [redacted]). What if your school had a Gossip Girl, but they only seemed to care about destroying you and another student?
The kids are back, so they got to open their #blitsy packages. Caden thought everything was awesome & he‘s super excited about the tagged book. He also got his dad a Black Panther water bottle a couple years ago and was excited to have his own. We all agree the gummy bears are tasty (they rival the albanese ones.) (I plan on swiping the tagged book when he‘s not here 🤓)
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️ As others have said, it‘s a riff on Gossip Girl but with structural and individual racism turned up to a million. There were places where the writing wasn‘t great, some things that didn‘t quite make sense, and the racism was maybe over amplified to the point of losing impact. BUT it was also compelling. I liked and wanted the best for the characters and I wanted to know what happened to them. I didn‘t like a lot of it, but I was invested.
pickIt was pretty good and I feel like this is an important read. I really wish black students didn‘t get treated this way, and that moving forward, we can do better.
pick3.5 ⭐
Ace of Spades, all comes down to race. “Social Eugenics”. I find that this book opened a window to explore more in-depth and real life cases of this practice. Of people purposely being held up to get shot down. This book was an interesting. It brings forth conversations on actions of people and their consequences, and opens doors to find ways to fight practices like illustrated within the pages of the book.
TW: Racism, Sexism, homophobia
pickI really liked this book and finished it very quickly. I liked the theme of fighting injustice and thought that the characters were very well-written. I thought it was very exciting and the book had me sitting at the edge of my seat and wondering who the anonymous Aces is. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
