This is a deeply engaging thriller. It tells the story of two black students at a top private school. Chiamaka and Devon both have bright futures, appointed as two of the four senior prefects and in the running for valedictorian. That is, until, out of nowhere, an anonymous person identifying as "Aces" beings sending text messages to all their classmates revealing their deepest secrets. What first seems like a prank quickly becomes more serious, threatening everything that Chiamaka and Devon hold dear. As they team up, their efforts to figure out who Aces is and why Aces is determined to bring them down takes them down a twisty and increasingly dangerous path, with their once certain futures, and perhaps even their lives, hanging in the balance.

I could not put this down -- I tore through the book in one day. Strongly recommended!

This is a YA Thriller/Dark Academia novel by debut author Faridah Abike-Iyimide. Set at Niveus Academy, an elite school with a mostly white student body, It is marketed as “Gossip Girl meets Get Out”. This was on my Summer Bonanza podcast episode, and I'm happy to say I really enjoyed it! Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo have been named as prefects, or the star students of their class. The book kicks off on the first day of their senior year, and what starts out as the perfect year soon comes crashing down. An anonymous texter only known as “Aces” starts spilling secrets about the student body, targeting Dev and Chi. I really liked Devon, and appreciated that Chi was not your typical character to root for- and she knows it. Circumstances force Dev and Chi together, and an unlikely friendship is formed as they come together to try and take down Aces. There’s a lot of teenage drama, which was not overdone or cringeworthy. The book takes a deep dive into race and racism, and just how wide the network of white supremacy is. This was a very clever and thought-provoking book!

"It's me. Who am I? That's not important. All you need to know is... I'm here to divide and conquer. Like all great tyrants do. -Aces"

In some ways, senior year at Niveus Academy started as usual. A first day back assembly, Chiamaka Adebayo named as Head Prefect. But in some ways, it was different - a new headmaster, an image of an ace of spades interrupting the assembly presentation, and Devon Richards selected as one of the other prefects. Devon is a scholarship kid with approximately one friend and was as surprised as anyone to find himself a prefect. Chiamaka, of course, was a shoe-in. Probably the most popular girl in school, straight A's, president of multiple clubs, with plans to attend Yale for pre-med. The only thing she needs this year is for her best friend Jamie to become her boyfriend.

But then Aces makes their appearance, and Devon and Chiamaka's senior year plans are both out the window. It starts with a text that goes out to all seniors except Devon, with a photo of Devon kissing Scotty. Both of them were closeted, but this outs them to the school. On her usual Tuesday trip to the candy store with Jamie, the shopkeeper accuses Chiamaka of stealing, and when she turns out her pockets, they find a packet of licorice. Chiamaka hates licorice and has no idea what could have happened. The shopkeeper is barely convinced away from calling the police, and soon Aces is letting everyone at school know about it. Aces isn't done finding dirt on the only two Black students at Niveus, and Chiamaka has to get to the bottom of this - before people find out about the hit and run that still gives her nightmares and keeps her from driving.

I know private school/boarding school thrillers are having ~a moment~ and I can see why - the social dynamics are necessarily different when you just have a small, select group of people. When the Aces messages start, everything from that point is very tense, and you do start to suspect anyone and everyone. It was very page turn-y, but I thought that the big reveal is pretty implausible and I just don't think it could actually happen.

But I think if you enjoy thrillers like this - think Neverworld Wake, #Prettyboy Must Die, Gossip Girl - you might give this one a try.

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for the eARC. Ace of Spades was published June 1st.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was so good and full of drama! I loved it, this is one I think a lot of people will really like!

AHHHHH!!! I am soooo happy that my most anticiapted book of 2021 lived up to the expectations I perceived for it!!!

I was fully immersed in this world and loved every moment of it!!! This book was IMPOSSIBLE to put down and had me on the edge of my seat. Words cannot explain how much I LOVE Chiamaka's and Devon's characters. It was horrible seeing just how many people were against them whom were just a bunch of wolves in sheep clothing.

The reveal of Aces was COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED and had me shocked/shooked!!! There were people who I believed had their back but damn near EVERYONE was out against them!!!

One of the Devon's chapter's (#33) straight up had me RUINED!!! Both Chi's and Devon's chapter's just kept breaking me heart!!!

That ending brought JOY to my heart and am so happy that we got a happy ending.

But the ending, was surprising and made me happy

Two seniors, Chiamaka Adebayo and Devon Richards, have a lot in common. Both of them are of African descent; attend Niveus Private Academy; and, have started receiving anonymous threats from a serial texter who goes by the name of Aces. In order to thwart the uncovering of their deepest, darkest secrets, these two decide to work together in order to discover and expose Aces' true identity.

This fast-paced thriller is an engaging and issue-oriented piece. It is an allegorical examination of systemic oppression in predominantly (and historically) White institutions. This thought-provoking title could serve as the catalyst for many deep discussions regarding the intersectionality of race, class, sexual preferences, and stockholm syndrome.

Gossip Girl meets Get Out is a big strapline to live up to... Ace of Spades delivered. What a debut! A thrilling fast-paced Black queer dark academia. Can I use anymore adjectives?!

The YA authors did not come to play this year. This book will definitely keep you guessing. Ace of Spades is such a timely book which grapples with many heavy yet important themes from institutionalised racism to homophobia. It is so much more than a thriller. Àbíké-Íyímídé did not hold back and I’m glad that she didn’t do more young adults can delve deep into the powerful message. This book packs a punch and I would describe more like a ‘thriller with depth’. My main jibe was the ending was wrapped up too quickly; there were a few things that didn’t add up and I wanted to know more about the secrets.

I highly recommend Ace of Spades for YA (and more), for Black queer representation and for unapologetic social commentary. This gripping thriller is full of twists and turns which will keep you on your toes!

What an amazing debut from Faridah! I can’t wait to see what other twisty tales she weaves for us to devour.

For a full review, please visit my Goodreads page!

——
Thank you to Macmillan Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is an ambitious YA thriller that blends the teen drama elements of Gossip Girl and the horrific social commentary of Get Out. Readers are introduced to Niveus Academy on the first day of school as these well-to-do students enter their senior year.

Chiamaka Adebayo is a wealthy queen of mean, whose high-achieving, social-climbing ways are her ticket to Yale and into the life of being a somebody on a national scale not just in the rich, white halls of the academy.

Devon Richards, in contrast, is a scholarship kid from an underserved community who’s just trying to get through high school, get accepted into Julliard, and provide his family with a better life.

However, the mysterious Aces is not only hellbent on disrupting their plans, they also want to ruin their lives.

With exception to the romance in Ace of Spades linked to explorations of identity, self-acceptance, and a firm stance on self-worth, there is a disparity of joy in this book.

Àbíké-Íyímídé spends a lot of time unpacking issues of assimilation, homophobia, and poverty creating an insufferable environment with very little light pouring in. Her narrative isn’t a powder keg, it’s a simmering fire growing hotter as Aces throws more and more kindling onto the blaze.

Presumably, the multiple romances weaved in and out of the plot are meant to provide some kind of buffer between the abject suffering Devon endures on a daily basis and Chiamaka’s slow realization that the facade she built is crumbling to pieces. However, it doesn’t quite work.

Every one of Devon’s secrets Aces exposes is something that actually happened to him. Whether it’s a previous relationship, an intimate moment, or his current boyfriend. Chiamaka’s are all manufactured and meant to weigh on her mental health and sanity. There’s no balance between these leads just a lot of Black pain.

Àbíké-Íyímídé threw everything into Ace of Spades. Devon is carrying the weight of being a young gay Black teen living in a poor community that’s rife with drugs, violence, single parents, and incarcerated family members. He’s not out to his mom who works three jobs to put him through school while raising her three boys from different fathers.

He has an emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend who kept him a secret. His current boyfriend is one of his best friends and also runs a ring of dealers to make ends meet. He has a homophobic former friend. As well as a love interest from his past who he wants to trust but is suspicious of because of everything going on. Also, Devon’s father is in jail. It’s a lot.

In comparison, Chiamaka doesn’t have as much going on but it’s still a lot to work through. There’s her conniving crew of friends who only hang out for appearances. Her non-romance with her best friend Jamie has very unsettling implications in it from an accident that happened in their Junior year to a drunken night before school started.

She’s a brown-skinned mixed girl of Nigerian and Italian descent who’s ostracized from her father’s family because of their racism. Chiamaka has constructed an image of herself to fit in, but she’s hiding an immense amount of trauma. She’s also learning more about her sexuality as she begins to fall for a girl she shouldn’t.

Large swathes of Ace of Spades are spent on unpacking all of this to the point that it takes a considerable amount of time for Devon and Chiamaka to interact let alone team up against Aces. What keeps the story chugging forward is the strength of Àbíké-Íyímídé’s voice.

In spite of what often feels like yet another tragic piece added to an already devastating puzzle, Àbíké-Íyímídé’s deft ability in fleshing out these characters compels the reader to become invested. Yes, there are twists and turns in this book that will have you flipping the pages anxiously, but they hold up past the initial adrenaline rush because of her work on developing Devon and Chiamaka.

I just wish that Ace of Spades wasn’t bogged down by so many relevant conversations happening at once. The book essentially is a discourse on the pervasiveness of whiteness, even in marginalized communities, as a corrosive element within institutions and society as a whole. But it also wants to be part contemporary romance along with being a thriller, and the two leads as a pair get lost in it.

There’s just no room for satisfactory development of their begrudging friendship which is meant to be founded on their desire to stop Aces. But, honestly, things just keep happening to these two as events spiral more and more out of control.

Ace of Spades needed more joy, fight, and anger. It’s there in flashes only to be smothered again before coming back. Sure, there’s an argument to be made that such is life for Black people caught in a system not built for them and stacked against their favor. But, we keep having this conversation in media and the preoccupation with Black suffering is becoming too much when Black triumph is often delayed.

This is not to say that the work Àbíké-Íyímídé does in her debut doesn’t bring something new and fresh to the YA book world. It does. Chiamaka and Devon are two Black queer leads fighting to stay afloat in a racist system.

Ace of Spades is topical while being accessible. Teens are likely to eat this book up with a spoon; it’s dramatic and heartfelt. The blossoming romances are so lovely and soft (if you ignore the twists). There is exceptional care given to the interiority of these two kids, their emotions, and their decision-making.

But when the premise of the book falls on the shoulders of the only two Black students in an all-white academy and they have few substantial relationships with other Black folks in their lives that aren’t under attack or threatened in some way, it creates a story that decenters Blackness as a positive.

The ending of Ace of Spades can’t fix that because the majority of the book is spent on Black erasure. It’s still a story that centers on whiteness even as it attempts to deconstruct it and showcase its toxic effects not only on these two kids but also on their white counterparts.

Giving Chiamaka and Devon more time to develop as characters together could have helped change this. But, unfortunately, their parts working to stop Aces feel more incidental than inevitable, which is a shame because it’s an opportunity for them both to find support and friendship in each other. While they do form a bond, there’s nothing about it that feels organic or like it was given the same attention as other relationships.

Despite this, however, Àbíké-Íyímídé is a new exciting voice in YA expressly because she’s pushing at boundaries, engaging in uncomfortable realities, and forcing a conversation with her work. No matter how you feel about Ace of Spades, it provokes a reaction and a need to talk about the various issues brought up and explored in the book.

"I feel destined to...stay here, in this house, in this room, listening to Ma pray to a God who covers his ears when she chants."

"I hate that these systems, all this institutional shit, can get to me. I hate how they have the power to kill my future, kill me. They treat my Black skin like a gun or grenade or a knife that is dangerous and lethal, when really, it's them. The guys at the top powering everything."

This is an excellent mystery thriller to read. I can't recommend it enough. But it's a hard read a lot of the times too. Perhaps the hardest part is knowing it a realistic depiction of the issues Black people face every day; worse, when the big twist comes, you think "oh this is insane! This could never happen in the real world" - but it could, and undoubtedly does to at least some degree. It's heart-breaking to read the thoughts Black people have over things that white people would see as minor inconveniences. A white person gets pulled over for a traffic violation, they might get a ticket and have to pay a fine. A Black person gets pulled over for the same thing? There's a radically higher chance that they may not walk away. This book brings a lot of those issues to light and it made me so angry to read and know that it's a reality many Black people face. Honestly, I think regardless of whether you're interested in the mystery or not, this is a book that every single person should read because of that.

I will say that one other thing I loved about the book was the interesting dichotomy presented between Chiamaka and Devon. Chiamaka's parents are doctors, she's wealthy, she lives in a good neighborhood in a big house. Devon is going to Niveus on scholarship, and his Ma works three jobs just to be able to pay the rest of his tuition. He shares a king size bed with his two younger brothers, and they have lawn chairs for dining furniture. We see both extremes with the characters - the comfortable and wealthy vs the poverty-stricken, scraping to get by. And that comes out in other ways in the book. For instance, Devon is suspicious of most everyone - he doesn't want to share details about Aces and what's going on because he doesn't trust that anyone is on his side. Chiamaka believes - right up until the very end - that she can find justice herself. She trusts the headmaster to help out, she trusts her peers, and others and she is let down by them every. single. time. I feel like it's a rude awakening for her, to realize that money doesn't carry the same weight for Black people, no matter how wealthy they are, compared to the white people in power who can get away with anything.

The book kept me on the edge of my seat and I honestly didn't know how there was going to be a happy ending. There are much-needed confrontations between characters and although there were a couple of things that I wished we'd gotten more information on, ultimately I don't think it was necessary for us to know those answers. The importance wasn't in the specifics, in those cases.

All-in-all, the book is hard to read, yes, but so amazing and so worth all the tears you'll shed and the rage you'll feel.

Chiamaka, the Queen Bee, and Devon, King Nobody, are the only two Black kids at Niveus Academy, an elite school, which only accepts the best of the best, whom eventually become creme de la creme of society after graduation. Both are looking forward to making their exits, Devon to Juilliard to create a better life for his mom and brothers and Chiamaka following in the footsteps of her parents and becoming a doctor. Those plans are put in jeopardy when their deepest and darkest secrets come to light through texts from an anonymous source, known as Aces. Everyone understands why someone would want to take down the The Queen Bee Chi, but Devon's takedown is a bit of an anomaly, since nobody really knows who he is, the only thing obvious is that it just may be time for these students to make the exit from Niveus Academy by getting out!

The YA thriller Ace of Spades was one of my most anticpated reads of the year, I enjoy reading dark academia. Unfortunately, I did not love this book but I did not dislike it either, I thought it had important queer voices that need to be explored, particularly in Black books. I did think the book was very heavy handed on showcasing Black misery, and could have displayed some Black joy in each of these character's lives, despite the difficulties that come with being Black, it is not an onus. I also take issue with the plot, the implementation of racism to enhance white supremacy should not be the only tool used to advance the story's arc, we were never really given any explanation of how the school was able to be so successful in their nefarious endeavors, nor did Chi or Devon speak to former students to help the reader better understand the school's success in ruining its Black students and I wished their had been more bonding between Chi and Devon as more information was revealed, prior to the end of the book. Still, I am happy I read this book mostly because I enjoyed getting to know Devon, queer voice, even if passive at times, his point of view resonated strongest with me and it did tackle very important social themes like classism and homophobia, I rate it 3.5 stars.

Ace of Spades has SUCH an enticing premise - Get Out meets Gossip Girl, I mean! - and it definitely provides exactly that. The execution of said premise is occasionally flawed, with somewhat sloppy writing and choppy plotting (from individual sentences to bigger plot holes, a lot of things just sort of didn't hold together), but it's still a compelling read, with engaging characters whose stories I wanted to know about. I read most of it in one sitting, and at 432 pages, that says a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the advance review copy!

This was my first five star read in a little while and it deserves even more than just five stars!!

I loved this book. It was so well written, so enthralling, and the twists were so well done!!

I highly recommend this book!

-this was part of a special comparison review - Challenging white supremacy through widely released fictional works is not a new concept, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man was published by one of the Big Four publishers after all, and it is a 2017 breakout release, Get Out, that has inspired the two books I will explore in this post. White supremacy is a grasping, far-reaching, and horrifying reality that binds itself to us through early enforcement at school and gains institutional weight as we grow into working adults. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, both released yesterday, use the strength of the thriller genre to confront white supremacy as it occurs at a fictional boarding school and in the publishing industry.

In Ace of Spades we confront the Ivy League feeder school reality of Niveus Private Academy, a boarding school in an undisclosed city within the United States, through the eyes of two of the school’s few Black students, Chiamaka and Devon. A child of two doctors, one of whom comes from a wealthy Italian family, Chiamaka has been raised to find her place in elitist, predominantly white spaces. At the beginning of the book, her reputation as one of the school’s social battle-hardened over-achieving popular girls would lead you to believe that she has successfully navigated her way to the top by her senior year. In a matter of a few chapters, you find that reputation, no matter how jealously guarded, means very little when you lack support—a lesson Chiamaka stumbles through. In fact, much of the book is spent watching Chiamaka realize that she is not confronting a new reality but finally seeing the world as it has always been. On the other hand, her co-protagonist Devon has never led a charmed life. Though also in his senior year at Niveus, Devon relies on the school’s scholarship program to fund his education and his college dreams are built on the hours he’s put into composing the perfect piece for submission to Juilliard, his first choice. He and Chiamaka are forced to work together in order unravel why they have been targeted by the vindictive Aces, who outs him to the school while he is still closeted at home. It is their contrast—Chiamaka’s entitlement and confidence leading them into various strategies and actions and Devon’s more cautious and realist worldview—which allows them to uncover a heinous, decades-old white supremacist secret.

Though I am not typically a thriller reader, I always love untangling a good mystery, something both of these books offer in spades. When I understood that both stories examined white supremacy through this genre lens, I knew a discussion about the strengths of the two were warranted. What stood out to me most when reading these stories was the impact that Get Out has already had on the ways Black creators interpret and explain their own battles with white supremacy to larger audiences. Ace of Spades builds on the tension and disbelief of even the white people whom we’ve built seemingly strong relationships with becoming our own tormentors. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé does a laudable job in building in misdirects about who to trust or mistrust and when, drawing upon all that society has been taught to trust—authority and institutional pragmatism—and putting it under scrutiny. Zakiya Dalila Harris’ novel, The Other Black Girl, draws us in with the story of another Black woman occupying the same space during another time—much like the opening scene of Get Out. From there the story plays with showing us the universality of being Black in these sorts of occupational spaces while also dropping us into the strange and unfamiliar, without quite sticking the landing. While Ace of Spades ends on a triumphant note, The Other Black Girl stumbles into a territory that seems to undermine the opening questions of the book by seeking the approval of the white gaze.
I think both books are worth reading for any Get Out fan wondering at its legacy across mediums. Ace of Spades is a good study of why even Black people with the privilege of youthful optimism, capital, and legacy institutions are never safe—why Black folk have to remain constantly vigilant. The Other Black Girl is great for validating many of the concerns that college-educated Black people have even after we’ve achieved this first major goal post and why we must have support from others in this position to move forward. Like Get Out, after reading each book, I could faintly hear the refrain of Childish Gambino’s “Redbone.” How’s that for legacy?

This is such a brilliant book. Just wow.
Faridah didn't mince words in calling out bullshit and she also made sure to set my heart on a race!
I totally recommend this book and I love it so much.

Rainbows and Sunshine Book Blog
3 June 2021

I have never read dark academia before but Ace of Spades has set the bar quite high!!! I'm in love with both the main characters and I cannot reccomend this enough! It's an incredibly queer, Black and dark YA thriller and I couldn't put it down! (wlw and mlm main characters with dual POV)

Devon is the character that you'd easily root for from the beginning while Chiamaka sort of grows on you. Halfway through I was so much more interested in her POV than in the beginning but both of them are very interesting. The way I literally suspected everyone else to be Aces though😂

It's terrifying and fascinating at the same time. I expected some twists but most of the reveals were a complete surprise and I'm stunned! You know those things where you cannot say anything about the plot because anything could be a spoiler? This is it! This is an experience and I would never spoil it for anyone. All have to say is WOW!!!!!!

Rep: Nigerian-Italian WLW MC, gay Black MC

TW: racism, homophobia, blackmail, outing of a queer character, violence

*ARC provided by the publisher by via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

I was truly on the edge of my seat for this entire book. From the very beginning I was hooked and I couldn't stop reading until the end. I simply HAD to know who aces was.

I genuinely can't recall the last time a book gripped me the way Ace of Spades did. I was immediately intrigued by the premise of "gossip girl x get out," and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's debut did not disappoint. Chiamaka and Devon's dual POV provides a wonderful contrast because of their many differences in both personality and background. Being able to read both of their perspectives also added depth to the story, as readers can experience the events through both of them. It was also fantastic to see the growth of their friendship from acquaintances to reluctant allies to friends on both ends. This novel is addictive and fast-paced, while also delivering a nuanced examination of the insidiousness of racism. No matter what other privileges a Black person might have, they are still affected by institutionalized and systemic racism, Driven by suspense and adrenaline, I absolutely could not put this book down. Àbíké-Íyímídé also did such an amazing job of exploring intersections of identity. Devon is dealing with being closeted and worrying about how his mother and community would react to learning he is gay. Over the course of the book, Chi makes discoveries about her own sexuality. In both cases, the characters show different parts of what it is like to exist as Black and queer. I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone, and I can't wait to read Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's future works! Huge thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advance reader copy of this book, which is a very exciting first for me. Ace of Spades was very well done and I recommend it! My heart was both racing and aching for Chiamaka and Devon the whole time. The author did a great job making me feel like nobody could be trusted. This story deals with heavy and unfortunately very real subject matter, which is tough yet important to read. I look forward to picking up a print copy to get a look at the finished product (and I definitely want to read the author’s note!!).