Ace of Spades Review

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is so clever in her writing of this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the first 100 pages a tad slow, but the pacing after that more than makes up for this.

The story revolves around Devon, a dedicated musician, and Chiamaka, a driven queen bee, who are the only Black students at their fancy private school. Then, like “A” in Pretty Little Liars, anonymous texts from “Aces” start circulating at school which dredge up Devon and Chiamaka’s dirty secrets.

As the obviously racist targeting continues, Devon and Chiamaka become tentative allies while their other relationships suffer. Their white peers and “friends” either do not understand the toll this takes on them or are outright hostile to the idea that Aces might be racist.

“‘I work hard for everything I get. You’d still get in with affirmative action or whatever scholarship they give to you guys, while I have to work twice as hard.’

I want to tell him that people like him, boys with white skin, they never work twice as hard. Boys like him don’t have to carry the weight of generations and generations of hate and discrimination.”

As their trust in their friends and institutions dwindle, Devon and Chiamaka decide to take action on their own and the result is dramatic and exciting. I read this book in 3 days, even though it is almost 500 pages. It is immersive and well-written with thoughtful insight on every page.