Ace of Spades

Good read 👍🏽

great story. I am getting into this genre of books!

Please note that although I do not reveal the ending, this review may allude to things that could be considered a spoiler.

Jordan Peele set the bar high with "Get Out" and we are seeing a cultural shift where anything in the horror genre that covers topics of racism is understandably being compared. (This of course is a much-welcomed shift from the history of Black characters in the horror genre. See Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror.) The comparison of this novel to Get Out is well placed, but I would argue that Àbíké-Íyímídé creates something unique as well. Peele opened the gate of taking the history of eugenics and racism in the United States and turned it on its head in Get Out, Àbíké-Íyímídé does the same by using an experience that many Black people and other people of color have experienced in school and added a thriller/horror element to it. There is a particular scene in the novel that brings up similar feelings of dread and then relief that we feel at one of the scenes at the end of Get Out.

Those that have had the experience of being "the only or one of the only" Black people in their school or classroom will understand the feeling of isolation, dread, and otherness that this can bring. This impacts our mental health and can even impact our performance in school. For anyone who grew up learning about the crimes committed against Black bodies from your family; some that seem to sound like conspiracy theories until you find out they are true (okay some are conspiracies, but you can't fault them), and reading about Henrietta Lacks, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and everything described in "Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty" by Dorothy Roberts will be able to figure out or at least have an inkling of what is going on in this book. For me, as soon as I saw the Get Out reference, who was being targeted, and the first few instances of the "attacks" I immediately figured it out. This does not make the book any less thrilling or engaging.

At the heart of this, you have two teens trying to not only figure out who they are but also trying to make something of themselves. It's all too relatable and I would have been invested in anything with characters like Chiamaka and Devon to be quite honest! They are complex and you can't help but admire them. Adding the horror of the anonymous Aces, the twists and turns, the dread of not knowing who to trust--- makes the book all the more suspenseful, amazing, and truly a piece of work that I will be recommending for years to come.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention, that I, like the author, went through a period of time where I was obsessed with Gossip Girl. The glitz, glamor, and drama were unlike anything I personally experienced growing up and I loved that we get a little bit of the GG, XOXO-ness thrown into this novel.

I forgot I was reading YA, so I give this study grace. This books takes you on a journey you hope isn't true, but dramatizing what it's like to be Black in all white spaces. This book brings you into the System at a young age. I love the ending. I wish more characters had the ending they deserved.

Loved this book from start to finish. The story was like if you mixed Get Out, Gossip Girls, and Pretty Little Liars. The way the author used social eugenics and racism to tell this story was brilliant. Also liked the fact that she didn’t never name the state or city that the story was taking place in, which made it very relatable. I enjoyed how she told the story through the eyes of the two main characters, and was able to keep my attention with the minor characters in their lives. Definitely would say this is one of the best books I read this year.