Gossip Girl Meets Get Out
Throw in some Pretty Little Liars and you have a great YA Mystery
I’ll be honest, I often avoid YA. In the past I’ve had some experiences where I feel the writing feels too young and distracts me from the story. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé really changed my thinking on YA in general. This was a fun, suspenseful and thoughtful mystery, and I am so glad I read it.
I picked it up during an amazon kindle sale after remember Grace Atwood of The Stripe had recommended it a few months ago. She has great book recommendations, and she just redid her site to make searching the books she’s read even easier. Definitley check it out! I figured that she’s a girl who loves mysteries and thrillers so if she’s recommending it, it has to be good.
Ace of Spades kicks off at the start of senior year at Niveus Academy and is told in dual point of views from our main characters, and the only two black students, Devon and Chiamaka. Devon is a scholarship student who keeps to himself, immersed in his music, so he is shocked when he’s selected as a prefect for the year. Note, I had only heard of prefects from Harry Potter so immediately imagined Percy Weasley from the movies, I assumed the role is the same? Chiamaka is wealthy, the queen bee, cool and calculating, and to no ones surprise, is named head prefect. In a way, she’s also a loner like Devon as she never really lets anyone in. Both students are ambitious in their own right and have big dreams of prestigious colleges. Shortly after the first assembly a text is sent to the whole school by “aces” outing Devon and a football player, sharing intimate photos of the two of them. Aces continues to target Devon and Chiamaka by alternating text blasts about each of them, progressively getting worse and worse.
I won’t give anymore away but what I loved was that since each chapter was POV from either Devon or Chiamaka, you got to hear and understand their internal dialogue. It really put me in each of their minds, understanding their frustrations and terror with being targeted, and gave me a glimpse into what it could be like to be a minority in a majority white setting, all while dealing with relatable teenager issues like applying to college and exploring your sexuality. The books takes on issues of racism and classism in a unique way.
If you’re like me and typically avoid YA, go ahead and dive into the genre with Ace of Spades, you won’t be disappointed.
