At Niveus Private Academy, the students are rich and ruthless. This includes Chiamaka, senior head prefect, who intends to leave her mark on the school before she heads to Yale. Every move she makes academically and socially is to secure her position at the top. Her hard work starts to unravel when an anonymous texter starts sharing secrets about her with the rest of the student body. Secrets that could ruin her chances at the life she’s so carefully set herself up for.
Devon, the only other Black student at the school besides Chiamaka, is also being targeted by the mysterious “Aces” who out him to the entire student body by sending out risqué photos and videos of him and his boyfriend. Unlike Chiamaka, Devon lives in poverty and is at Niveus on scholarship. His dreams of attending Julliard to pursue music will only happen if he can put a stop to Aces’s plan to ruin him.
First of all, how beautiful is this cover? I was excited to read this one and it did not disappoint. It was a lot heavier than I expected, as it covers serious social issues including racism, homophobia, elitism, and white supremacy to name a few. However, these topics were woven beautifully into the plot and although fictional, this book highlights some of the more extreme instances of divisiveness that are prevalent in our current society. It got a bit slow for me about halfway through and the ending felt rushed, but otherwise this was a powerful debut that didn’t feel like a YA thriller at all.
Devon, the only other Black student at the school besides Chiamaka, is also being targeted by the mysterious “Aces” who out him to the entire student body by sending out risqué photos and videos of him and his boyfriend. Unlike Chiamaka, Devon lives in poverty and is at Niveus on scholarship. His dreams of attending Julliard to pursue music will only happen if he can put a stop to Aces’s plan to ruin him.
First of all, how beautiful is this cover? I was excited to read this one and it did not disappoint. It was a lot heavier than I expected, as it covers serious social issues including racism, homophobia, elitism, and white supremacy to name a few. However, these topics were woven beautifully into the plot and although fictional, this book highlights some of the more extreme instances of divisiveness that are prevalent in our current society. It got a bit slow for me about halfway through and the ending felt rushed, but otherwise this was a powerful debut that didn’t feel like a YA thriller at all.