Thank you to Usborne for an ARC of Ace of Spades!
Themes: LGBT, race, revenge
A compelling, incendiary, and unputdownable thriller with a shocking twist, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism with this compulsive debut.
Hello, Niveus High. It's me. Who am I? That's not important. All you need to know is...I'm here to divide and conquer. - Aces
Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light.
Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public.
Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.
Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game...
Ace of Spades is one of the '2021 to read' books. When I saw people getting these cool press boxes, I admit I had book envy. Thankfully I managed to get a copy and I'm not surprised at the creativity of Usborne. Have you seen their stand at The London Book Fair?
Ace of Spades is a dual narrative book that follows Devon, a gay Black boy that lives in a poor area and Chiamaka, a bisexual Black girl who is definitely privileged. They hang out in completely different circles and are the only Black students at Niveus. Where Devon keeps his head down and is focused on his music and getting good grades, Chiamaka wants to be seen and known. She has pretty much planned out how her school years will go. They reminded me a lot of Dan Humphries and Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl fans will understand). They don't have much in common except they want to go to a great university and make something of themselves. This anonymous texter called Aces starts revealing very personal things about Devon and Chiamaka and I mean sex tape type of personal. Straight away I knew it was race related but the way it plays out is very very good and shocking!
The only thing I wasn't keen on was I found half the book was Gossip Girl and the second half was Get Out. Even though I knew what to expect from the Get Out part, I think the way it was done had a good twist to it. The Gossip Girl part was too much on the nose for me and I even found myself reading the text messages in the iconic XOXO voice.
I love Devon. I was rooting for him the whole time and my heart broke when he was outed. I so wanted him and Dre to go the distance. I loved that he was dating this hood, gang leader especially because I've never read that in a book before. I need more of this content. I also really liked Chiamaka's relationship with Jamie. I think at some point everyone has been friends with a privileged narcissist person and Jamie is one of the worst. I like how in the beginning Chiamaka's almost dying to be with Jamie and his approval meant everything to her but by the end, she's really bossed up and sees him for the dick that he is.
Overall this book is about institutional racism and privilege and if you need a book to tell you how hard Black people need to work just to be seen as equal then it's this one. Definitely worth a read!
4/5
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