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brynalexa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This story is very Pretty Little Liars meets Get Out and I fear that if you aren’t a fan of both of those, you might not get through the book.
While the overall twist was quite predictable, the smaller twists and endings weren’t so it didn’t completely set me off. What did put me off a bit was the absolutely ridiculous choices the characters make…
Also, gay! 😍
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
eihdlidhd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
but also goddamn the two main characters go through absolute hell and back (like legitimately. not to be taken lightly at all. several reviews have described the book as Black trauma p*rn soooooo yeah proceed at your own risk). and like, yes, i get that was probably done to really emphasize the gory, sinister nature of institutionalized racism but also neither chiamaka nor devon really saw any joy in the book? every possible horrible thing that could've happened to them did (apart from being flat-out ly*ched, and still chiamaka came very close). needless to say, they are most definitely traumatized for life after this book. which the book doesn't exactly address. and probably never intended to, given the time skip at the end. however, even during the book it is revealed that devon especially went through some horrific shit as a kid, and the PTSD/trauma response isn't really gone over aside from a brief subplot where he mentions not remembering middle school much due to the extreme violence he endured via being bullied.
overall, the book would've probably done better by being longer. i wished devon and chiamaka's friendship got more screentime, and i kinda wish devon got more closure with jack? maybe that was the point though. devon doesn't owe jack any more of his time, and there's no way in hell that they'd be friends again. i think the main thing i wish is that we got to see more of devon and jack's friendship before jack started distancing himself. because really all we were told is when devon mentions at the beginning that jack is the one person at school he'd call a friend since they'd known each other since they were kids and had a similar class background (both were scholarship kids at their private school). then devon reveals how jack has been treating him different since he came out at the end of middle school so we are led to believe (for at least the beginning part) that jack is just homophobic. then it turns out he was an active white supremacist and all of a sudden devon starts saying that jack was his best friend and talks about how much he loved him. which tbf maybe it was intentional that it took him this long to open up to the reader in his narration since most of his friendship with jack seemed to have developed during the period that was trauma blocked in devon's memory. i cared about jack because he reminded me of my family, but there wasn't much in the actual narrative to make me care about him/devon's friendship with him. so the confrontation at the end didn't hit as much as i think it was supposed to.
overall decent read, would recommend for the messages/themes.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content and Police brutality
dhutton1997's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
mafelrs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Classism
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
First, I wanna say thank you to Miss Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé for creating the world about Niveus Private Academy. This book is beyond perfect! Well, at the start... it feels usual, but after you read about 40 pages of the story, the chills started. I can imagine myself; there... being Chiamaka Adebayo. I positioned myself as her as I read the whole story.
Ace of Spades simply stole my heart! This book is a brilliant book. Disturbing, giving so many chills, brutally-emotional, scary at some points.. but this book is brilliant. Even scarier even there's no ghosts in this story.
This book is the one to read and I hella can't put the book down even for only five minutes. The story, the characters, the settings, the plots... are perfect and sickeningly good!
I never find the thriller-mystery book that left chills so much; even now.. when I write this review and finished reading this already. This book leaves a gasp for me and makes me smirk at the end; the epilogue.
What a perfect of twisted 'oh' ending. All hail, Ace of Spades! ♠️
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization
sashweana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Stalking, and Car accident
theuncannydani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ace of Spades is the story of Chiamaka and Devon, the only two Black students at an almost all white prestigious high school in America. Someone named Aces stars revealing the two student's secrets and more to the whole school. Aces is out to get Devon and Chiamaka, but who are they? and why?
My only complaint was that the "WHO DID IT?" was spoiled for me thanks to the marketing team and book listing on Amazon! I went to buy this book from Amazon (as it was on sale) and the synopsis on their website spoiled the big reveal for me.
Overall, I really liked this novel, I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5, I'm knocking off .5 stars because I guessed some of the ending on my own. I'm also knocking a star off because Chiamaka was a jerk and unpleasant, and half the book was from her point of view so I couldn't avoid her annoying personality.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I listened to this for free on libbyapp.com
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bookishchef's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I kept assuming it was either Jamie, Jack or Belle (in that order from most likely to least). So when the answer turned out to be "yes, and also all of the other characters", I was shook.
I really enjoyed the ride though, even though I thought the final plottwist
There are also still some things that puzzle me:
1. Was Scotty in on it too? If so, he's a damn good actor if he convinced both Devon and Chiamaka that he didn't do it. His storyline got dropped halfway through the book so we never really got a resolution there.
2. What happened to Belle? She told Chiamaka what was happening and I don't assume that her family took kindly to that.
3. How did Devon end up the way he did? We get a little bit of an answer to that in the prologue, which shows that he's living with Terell and his mother but... How? He obviously wasn't getting into Juilliard and he dropped out. Yet the epilogue letter calls him "professor". So what did he do? How did he manage?
4. What happened to Andre? Is he still serving time? Am I not supposed to care?
5. Why did Devon's mom hide his father's death from him? It is said in the epilogue that Devon and his mother weren't on speaking terms for a while after he confronted her... And then what? How did that conversation go? This subplot feels unfinished now.
6. Was Peter the Hacker in on it too? If so, why did he help Chiamaka by revealing what pc the messages were send from? Why did he ask her to put in a good word for him with Belle if he knew Belle's family was in on it too?
And if he wasn't in on it, how did Aces expect the black students to not (accidentally) ask one of the students that wasn't in Aces for help?
I also have a minor headcanon/conspiracy:
We're told by a news anchor that the fire that burns down Niveus was caused by electrical issues. Which seems fair because those issues were mentioned many times before.
Only I thought those issues were just Aces manipulating the cameras, etc. With how it was set up, I assumed Jamie burned down the library. He was set up as a pyromaniac early on, and then threatened Chiamaka with his lighter. So, when she left him, angry and alone, in the library with his lighter, I assumed he was the cause of the fire.
Which he may still have been. After all, the book tells the reader many times that the media covers up white crimes all the time. But Jamie, according to the news broadcast, died in the fire. So that would mean he burned down the school without giving himself an escape? Or was he really that upset about being attracted to/friends with a black girl? I guess we'll never know. So, headcanon land it is.
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Murder, and Pregnancy
The N word is used once.spooderman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder and Pregnancy