When I first heard Ace of Spades described as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, I knew I had to read this book. And now that I have, I can say that this comparison is 100% accurate. Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for my ALC - I loved listening!
Devon and Chiamaka have one thing in common: they are the only two black students at Niveus Academy. Other than that, they couldn't be more different - Chiamaka is the Blair Waldorf-esque queen of the school, while Devon likes to stay in the background. When the mysterious Aces begins to target them, spilling their secrets to their classmates, they team up to try to find the culprit and salvage their futures.
This book is a wild ride - the plot will grab you and entertain you, but definitely also make you think. I really enjoyed the author's note (read by the author) in which she explains that she started the book when she started university and realized how few of her fellow students were minorities. She views this story as an allegory for discrimination against students of color in the educational system.
Both Devon and Chiamaka are well-drawn characters, and I loved hearing their stories orally. Devon is gay and Chiamaka is bisexual, and I appreciated that their queer identities were well explored in their stories. Both narrators did a great job showing the emotion and fear that their characters felt as they saw their hard work begin to crumble. I felt very connected to the characters and was eager to see how they fought back against Aces.
If you like YA mystery/thrillers, I would definitely recommend this book. Fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder should enjoy this one! Also Gossip Girl and Get Out fans of course!
Devon and Chiamaka have one thing in common: they are the only two black students at Niveus Academy. Other than that, they couldn't be more different - Chiamaka is the Blair Waldorf-esque queen of the school, while Devon likes to stay in the background. When the mysterious Aces begins to target them, spilling their secrets to their classmates, they team up to try to find the culprit and salvage their futures.
This book is a wild ride - the plot will grab you and entertain you, but definitely also make you think. I really enjoyed the author's note (read by the author) in which she explains that she started the book when she started university and realized how few of her fellow students were minorities. She views this story as an allegory for discrimination against students of color in the educational system.
Both Devon and Chiamaka are well-drawn characters, and I loved hearing their stories orally. Devon is gay and Chiamaka is bisexual, and I appreciated that their queer identities were well explored in their stories. Both narrators did a great job showing the emotion and fear that their characters felt as they saw their hard work begin to crumble. I felt very connected to the characters and was eager to see how they fought back against Aces.
If you like YA mystery/thrillers, I would definitely recommend this book. Fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder should enjoy this one! Also Gossip Girl and Get Out fans of course!