Ace of Spades was everything I wanted and then some, after hearing about this book months ago I knew I had to read it. While it was unsettling, chilling, and in some parts hard to read, I could not put this book down. The beginning was a little slow, but it was more of a slow burn that made you want to keep reading. The second half of this book was so unsettling and had me freaked out to the max.

While this is marketed as a thriller, it is so much more than that. It explores white supremacy and racism and the author does not hold back. Reading this I could feel bile making its way up my throat because I was so disgusted, outraged, and physically felt sick. Ace of Spades follow teens Chiamaka and Devon who both go to an upper class private academy that is all white people except for them. It is their senior year and they both have big dreams of where they are going after high school, that is until an anonymous texter starts texting the entire student body horrible secrets about Devon and Chiamaka. While they weren’t friends before, they both agree to team up and stop whoever is sending these texts and slowly taking away their chances of going big after graduating.

When I tell you this book blew me away, it really blew me away. It was terrifying to read and the deeper I got the crazier things got. I don’t want to give even a hint of a spoiler because it will ruin everything. If this book wasn’t on your tbr it should be now. It was an incredible thriller that was full of powerful topics like race, sexuality, class, racism, and white supremacy. Seriously, read this book.

This book is a total page-turner that deserves every bit of the hype it's been getting. It took turns I wasn't expecting and touched on topics that are hard to discuss but need to be out in the open.
Both Devon and Chiamaka are complex, believable characters that read like living people you connect with. Seeing the things they go through and the way their lives are affected is anxiety-inducing at the very least. And the fact that I totally believe that the big reveal could be something that could conceivably be real only made it better/worse.
This is definitely one that should be on everyone's TBR.

Many excited thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the early read

Ace of Spades grabbed me immediately and didn't let go until the very last page. The tension and pacing were done to perfection and even though I understood where the story was heading about two-thirds into the book, I was still gripped by how it all unfolded. It was also an important story for how it explores racism in education, LBGTQIA identities, financial inequalities, and the ways all of them intersect. A stunning debut from this author.

This book was so good! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. This is the type of book that pulls you in and doesn’t release you until you’ve turned the very last page. It kept me guessing the whole time and although I’m usually very good at predicting plot twists, I didn’t correctly predict anything in Ace of Spades.
It’s incredibly well written en thought out from the characters to the plot and the setting, everything was perfectly dark and mysterious.
I loved the main characters, especially Chiamaka! And I loved the suspense.
The way the author was able to capture the dark and twisted setting of dark academia has me in awe.

It was really clever how Faridah used Aces as a reason to get to understand these characters and their inner lives more deeply. As Aces becomes more and more of a threat, we learn more and more about Devon and Chiamaka’s lives. Going about the storytelling this way really kept me wanting to read more, and made it so that there was always more to be uncovered.

I loved Chiamaka as a character, and I became attached to her almost immediately. She is a very smart and popular girl who has a lot of friends, is super ambitious, and has tunnel vision for success. She wants to be known as the “it girl” who has what everyone wants; the best grades, the best college choices, the best boyfriend, and she basically has it all.

Aside from that, she is also a true leader who faces everything head on throughout the story, and I really admired her for that. She is my favorite character in this book by far! As a Black girl in a private school myself, I found myself relating to *almost* all of her experiences and feelings and secrets (if you know you know).

I also really loved following Devon throughout this book. He is basically the opposite of Chiamaka. He is a quiet student that tends to keep his head down in school. Devon is a passionate musician, specifically a piano player, and has big dreams of going to Juilliard. Although he attends this very prestigious school, at home his family has a lot of financial struggles, and he is hiding a secret; that he is gay. I am not going to say a lot about him because that would spoil the story, but the depth of Devon’s character and his experience stuck with me as well.

The side characters had me side-eying them the ENTIRE time especially once Aces came into the picture. They all seemed so nice… maybe a little TOO nice… and I thought all of them were just laying through their teeth all the time. When I tell you I was STRESSED for Devon and Chiamaka! While we didn’t get to learn as much about them compared to the main characters, I still felt like we knew enough that they didn’t feel like characters that existed solely for the storyline to make sense.

Plot

The plot of Ace of Spades is phenomenal. It only took about 30 pages for me to get settled in with the story, and then I was HOOKED. I physically could not put this book down! The plot starts off at a quick pace and doesn’t slow down; in fact, things just keep getting crazier and crazier and I was loving it! While the suspense of who Aces is was slowly killing me, there were so many WTF moments, sad moments, and moments where I screamed into my pillow because of the romance.

There was a good amount of action, too, and it was done well! It didn’t really come until towards the end, but I really didn’t feel like more action was needed. I was dealing with more than enough without action scenes.

There is murder, love, drama, anonymity, secrets and pain in this story. SO. MUCH. PAIN.

And I loved every second of it. I don’t want to say more because spoilers but trust me, you won’t be bored at any point in this story.

This is one of the top books I have read this year, if not of all time! The plot was there. The character development was there. The plot twist WAS THERE!! I have seen both of the comp. titles and that plot twist STILL hit me like a brick.

This book is a must read for everyone, but it’s an especially important book for young people who are Black. I guarantee you that you will find value in this story. I related to and felt for the main characters and all of their experiences more than I ever have to any characters while reading. I have never felt more represented and seen in a book in my life. This book will stay with me forever.

This book fascinated me right from the beginning! And after that, it was such a thrilling ride. With a complex and relatable cast of characters, Àbiké-Íyímídé has managed to craft an intelligent, gasp-worthy novel that no one should miss out on reading.

I came for the Gossip Girl x Get Out plot and stayed for the amazing, amazing storytelling. I cannot believe this is Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's debut novel. The high-stakes, intricate, and engaging plot weaved with social commentaries that aren't in your face but also in your face? Not to sound unprofessional but *chef's kiss*

Ace of Spades felt like Pretty Little Liars meets Get Out.

Devon and Chiamaka are the only two Black seniors at Niveus, an exclusive private school. Both have secrets, but both have managed to work hard and position themselves for a great college once they graduate. Until the Aces, a mysterious secret society, starts posting anonymous secrets about Devon, Chiamaka, and other students at the school.

Devon was a great character. He's a scholarship student who's close to his single mother and dreams of attending Julliard. Chiamaka was from an upper-middle class family and in love with her white best friend, who was happy to hook up with her but didn't see her as girlfriend material.

Ace of Spades was a fast-paced and suspenseful YA mystery and a fresh spin on Dark Academia. I figured out one piece of the puzzle but not the whole thing.

In my opinion, YA mystery is such a challenging genre to write in. Faridah executes it flawlessly, however. This book dragged me in from the beginning, and didn't let me go for the entire ride. The mystery is beautifully spun, and absolutely intriguing. I was trying to figure out who was behind everything the entire time, and I was actually surprised by the reveal. The characters were expertly fleshed out, and easy to root for. I loved learning about them as the story went on. However, what I loved most was the discussions of racism and the Chiamaka's and Devon's unerring ability to fight the racism they experience. The discussions of being a BIPOC queer individual were also well developed and discussed. Plus, the dark academia vibes were *immaculate*. This wasn't a horror novel, but my heart was racing the entire time I read. Seriously, run to pick up this book, don't walk!

I loved it. I just...loved it.

At first glance this seems to be a typical story about a high school bully, but this turns into so so so much more. This book gave me Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, a dash of I Know What You Did Last Summer with hefty doses of seasoning à la Dear White People and Them.

Chiamaka and Devon couldn’t be more different. Chiamaka’s family is rich, she’s popular and ambitious. Devon’s a scholarship kid, has only one friend, and is working hard to escape his current life. But on the first day of senior year, their worlds implode when the mysterious Aces sends a few inflammatory text to the entire student body. Now with their private lives on display and their dark secrets in jeopardy, the two must work together to find whoever is out to get them.

Full review tk on my blog.

I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredible debut! This book pulls you in quietly and then slams you in the face.

Devon and Chiamaka, the only two black students at a prestigious private school find themselves the target of a cyber bully, who refers to themself as Ace. What starts out as pranks and outing of private information quickly escalates into dangerous territory. Now, Chiamaka and Devon, who never really interacted much before, find they can really only rely on each other to get to the bottom of who Ace is and why they are being targeted.

This book went from dark and mysterious to down right terrifying for these two teenagers. This book will definitely keep you guessing as you uncover more and more of the truth about the motives behind their torment. Àbíké-Íyímídé has crafted this brilliantly edge of your seat story.

I was a bit nervous when I saw Ace of Spades was being pitched as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, but in hindsight that was such???? a perfect description of this book????? And I had a blast reading this, even with its really eerie and terrifying moments.

Devon and Chiamaka couldn’t have been more different from each other. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé did an incredible job writing their perspectives and giving them very distinct voices and goals. It was great reading about them slowly coming together to investigate the mystery behind Aces since they had such clashing personalities at first.

Regarding the Aces plot in particular: I loved it so much. I think Àbíké-Íyímídé perfectly captured the spirit of it while giving it her own unique twist that really messed me up and horrified me when it was revealed. It was done so well and I really appreciated how it all came together.

I also really really reeeeeeeally loved the queer romance subplots and how they were done, even with the heavy emotional impact they caused at times. I wasn’t expecting it and it fit so so well with the mystery.

Everyone who enjoys a good and creepy mystery story with smart characters and in an academia setting should, for sure, give Ace of Spades a try. ❤

This book is outstanding. It is very heavy and possibly triggering, that's undeniable, so read it with care, but the characters are so well constructed, and the plot is... everything was perfectly executed. The characters are messy and the study of the characters' personalities, as well as the portrayal of the responses to various kinds of abuse. I don't have many coherent thoughts about it, but I feel uncomfortable using words such as 'enjoyable' and 'good' to refer to it. It's a groundbreaking book, and an extremely important one; it delivers necessary messages in an emotionally wrecking way.

This book gets ALL the stars. Let me start by noting, definite content warning for exploiting Black trauma, eugenics, and aggressive racism. When this book started, I thought it had a similar feel to Gossip Girl, but it is truly so so much more.

The story explores institutional racism (especially in education) by following the only two black students at an elite private school. Chiamaka and Devon come from opposite worlds, Devon is a scholarship student from the wrong side of town, and Chi comes from a mixed raced family with just as much money as her fellow students. I was gasping nearly every chapter during the second half of the book and the betrayals that were uncovered hit hard.

This is definitely a story that will sit with me for a very very long time and I'll be telling many others to read it.

This was a WILD and crazy story! I loved the racial tones, and felt that while this was a thriller, the racial story was the winner of this plot.

I loved this story and I think YA readers will too!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC and here are some of my thoughts:

Things I Loved
-I adored this book conceptually with its use of the idea of social eugenics, or institutions weeding out/destroying the lives and futures of Black students in very tangible ways
-Also explored the idea of getting comfortable living in a white world but having the rude awakening to the fact that nearly all American institutions have been built to oppress Black people in some form or fashion
-Did such a great job of painting a spectrum of racism, just really expressed some of the subtleties and the different levels to racism from institutional, to systemic, to behavioral day to day, to a fundamental belief system
-I don’t normally like thrillers, but this Gossip Girl/ Get Out hybrid set a really amazing tone that has my glued to the book (specifically in the second half)

Problems
-the characters seemed a bit inconsistent even though there was a lot of telling and not showing lol (Devon has some I am statements that just don’t match up with his character/actions but maybe that inconsistency is intentional??)
-I think in an attempt to subvert certain Black stereotypes, the author fell into them a bit. For example Devon is a poor Black student who gets accepted into this rich white private school but has to sell drugs (stereotype), but only to provide for his family (humanization/rationalization of stereotype). I think in the author’s attempt to create multidimensional characters built from stereotypes, it all became a bit too neat and square at times.

Overall
With all of this said, this was a really amazing and enjoyable read. At times it was almost unsettling because it was so close to my private school experience (not the social eugenics part lol just the attending a predominantly white rich school as one of the only Black students). But being unsettled by this book is a good thing in my opinion. If you are unsettled by blatant shows of both hostile and systemic racism, the trauma tied to negative experiences based in race, and the proximity of both blatant racial prejudice and institutionalized oppression, then being unsettled by this book is a really good thing. Just like Get Out, the realization that something as mundane as meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time or going to school everyday can suddenly become unsafe or foster trauma is a very present and honest reality for both Black people specifically and oppressed people all over the world. Once you begin to understand this, stories like these aren’t as far fetched as they may seem.

"They say love and hate are the same, just at different ends of the blade."

Ace Of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is one hell of a ride. Devon and Chiamaka are extremely different from one another but are both phenom main characters and alternating narrators. They both have very promising futures due in part to their enrollment at the prestigious Nievus Academy. When someone starts spilling their secrets to the entire student body, their well established and hard fought for lives come crumbling down around them. I'd love to say I find the twists and reveals somewhat unbelievable, but I know better. Unfortunately, variations of this premise are happening all around the country every single day, for decades on end.

Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an advanced reader copy I received from Macmillan in exchange for my honest review.

Ace of Spades is one of those books that you’ll physically find difficult to put down. Each chapter just gets more wild (and horrifying) as you go. Not only does it keep you on your toes and thoroughly entertained, but the social and cultural commentary is top notch. Privilege, institutionalized racism, wealth gaps, white people being white people and not doing the most™, or anything at all, really.

I had mixed feelings about one of our main characters, Chiamika, throughout the story. I think I’ve settled on liking her. There were times when she came off too shallow and immature, but then you read quotes like “What I felt was a desperation to be powerful in a world that doesn’t let girls be. Especially girls like me.” Then my empathy kicks in and I can see where she’s coming from. She knows what she deserves and she’s not afraid to demand it. She may go about it the wrong way at times, but her heart seems to be in the right place.

One of my favorite aspects of the book was how Chiamika’s sexuality was explored. Her realizing she was attracted to Belle wasn’t made into a big fuss, it was a normal, natural thing. Which I find to be very refreshing and healthy. All the queer representation in general was stellar.

Ace of Spades packs a big punch in all the right ways, and I know teens will eat this right up. I’ll definitely be hyping it up at my library!

I am once again asking for authors to actually use the word lesbian to describe lesbian characters.

Warning: this review discusses things that aren't necessarily spoilers, but I believe it's best to go into this book a lot blinder than this review will make you. Please don't read this review until you've read the book, just trust me.

This book was REALLY GOOD. I've never read a book that was more accurate to it's comparison tagline: this story is Gossip Girl meets Get Out to it's core.

Ace of Spades follows our two Black main characters as they become victims of targeted harassment at their elite, all White boarding school. An anonymous texter nicknamed "Ace" leaks sex tapes, frames the victims for crimes, and reveals deadly secrets.

This book is largely a story of deeply rooted racism is in America, and how it thrives to this day. We see the racism in the prison system, in academia, and the white supremacy of American cultists who believe it's there job to prevent Black Americans from ever gaining equality.

This book is also pretty heavy on LGBTQ representation, and how deeply rooted homophobia is in society as well, however there are aspects to this representation I don't love, namely the refusal to just say the word lesbian. "I like this girl more than I've ever liked any man in my life" is not a substitute for the word lesbian. The author has no problem calling the gay male main character gay on MANY occasions, but for our lesbian character we only get lines alluding to her lesbianism? I'm tired.

Overall, this book was amazing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I absolutely couldn't put the book down. This is a beautiful and gripping thriller that exposes just how deep the roots of white supremacy and homophobia are in America by showing the ultimate lengths white supremacists will go to sabotage Black people out of their lives.

This is a story about surviving the kind of people who hide beneath academics opportunity instead of white sheets.

The descriptions of “Gossip Girl meets Get Out” is spot on. This book was painful at points & filled with horrifying moments where I felt certain the protagonists were not going to survive their surroundings.
I’m not always a proponent of dual POVs, but in this case I felt equally connected to both, and their voices were unique enough that it didn’t feel repetitive. I also loved the way that social commentary was integrated- the pacing was outstanding.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .💫

Thank you @netgalley & @macmillan.audio & Feiwel & Friends for the e-Arc!