Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé – Only The Best YA Dark Academia Thriller of 2021!?!

So everyone has been raving about Ace of Spades and I knew it’d be excellent, but STILL– I should have read it sooner!!

I am still in that exhausted post-incredible-novel haze where I’m still absorbing all the twists and betrayals and cruelties that Devon and Chiamaka went through. Easy 5 stars 😩👌🏻 This is so darkly compelling and exceptionally well written.

I really really don’t want to give too much away, because I think the less you know about the plot, the harder the twists hit. So!! Just know it’s about two Black teens in an elite rich school (everyone else is white) and how they are just striving for the top of their class, to be something someday and live their dreams, when they get targeted by an anonymous bully who sends vicious text messages to destroy them. They have to figure out who it is, but in the meantime they’re being emotionally manipulated and destroyed.

“I’m tired of having faith things will work out, only for any hope I have to be violently crushed.”

I loved Devon instantly 😭 He’s a soft musician, gay but mostly closeted because he lives in a tough neighbourhood, and he also is scared his mum won’t accept him. His mother is working like 3 jobs and they’re poor, so Devon is under so much pressure to make this expensive school worth it. He is just SO NICE and his ptsd is so obvious from just existing in this world carved cruelly to hate Black kids, Black boys even more so. Also there’s a scene about his dad that fully made me tear up… Just. Devon goes through a lot.

Then there’s Chiamaka, who is like the mean girl badass popular top of the class prefect, who plays the mind games with the white kids and is untouchable. She’s going to be a doctor. She’s going to THRIVE, no matter what she has to go through. I didn’t like her at first because she treats even Devon like a dirty rug to walk over, but by the end I loved her fiercely and I think she’s exceptionally well written. Her arc is powerful, and so is her personality and character the whole way through. She is unapologetic about wanting to be the best– and WHY NOT. You go Chiamaka.

I stop myself from apologizing-because what would I even be sorry for? Existing too loud?

And omg the TWISTS. The whole book balanced perfectly between being chilling and disturbing, but also realistic in everything that goes down. It’s horrible what they go through, but I would not be surprised if it was real. Truly. This world sucks. By halfway through I knew there was no pausing. I needed to finish it in a day. I needed ANSWERS. It’s also a stark critique of “dark academia”, and the white supremacy and elitism that twists through our society.

Bold, fast-paced, and sobering in a chilling way; this is a thriller not to be missed.

Going to say shout out to my library for buying this one on my request 😂

Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully.
When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.
Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures.
As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?
With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé.

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