Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Ace of Spades

The beginning of this novel was slower than I expected for a thriller (not my usual genre, neither is YA). I was frustrated when the two main characters hadn’t met a third of the way through the book. The story picked up toward the end.

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…

YOU KNOW YOURE BEING WATCHED STOP DOING THINGS YOU DONT WANT SHARED!

Teenagers, am I right?

Also, gay! 😍

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mad_woman_in_the_library's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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megmccreery's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I've truly never read anything like this before, and I was actually scared and had my jaw on the floor several times! Great social commentary with a plot that keeps you hooked. I would recommend reading the TWs since there are several social issues addressed that could be hard for some to read. Read this!!!

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katieandkiri's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This was such a captivating read. I think it’s also worth checking out the Author’s Note at the end. Really e joyed reading this!

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dhutton1997's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

HOLY CRAP THIS IS SO GOOD.

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dangselena's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Insane. Very Jordan Peele-esque. Slow start but picks up around 40 pages in and keeps the pace from there. So hard to put down! Hard to put into words but as a White passing Latina, this book quickly put me in my place in the best way possible. The author places the reader directly into the shoes of two Black teenagers and really envelopes you in their state of hypervigilance and terror. The story reveals very quickly how easy it is for any small misstep to ruin their lives instantly. I thought having the dual narration was particularly interesting because of the different experiences of the characters. While both characters are Black,

Chiamaka is half Italian and comes from a wealthy background while Devon is dark skinned and living in poverty. The author really managed to show how their backgrounds give them very different views of how to solve their problems. While they’re both experiencing anti-black racism, the characters are treated very differently by their aggresors because of their upbringing and even their gender and sexuality.

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