Review: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (#Ad)

I was sent an ARC of the First Anniversary Edition for free by Usborne for the purposes of providing an honest review.

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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Published: Original Edition: 10th June 2021 , First Anniversary Eition: 9th June 2022 | Publisher: Usborne | Source: Gift / Publisher
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Website

A compelling, incendiary, and unputdownable thriller with a shocking twist, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism with this compulsive debut.

Hello, Niveus High. It's me. Who am I? That's not important. All you need to know is...I'm here to divide and conquer. - Aces

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light.

Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public.

Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.

Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game... From The StoryGraph.

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The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features anxiety and panic attacks, blood, reference to drug use and drug dealing, bullying, poverty, off-page sex scene, outing of a queer character, suicide ideation, non-consensual pornography, implied sexual assault, stalking, a fire building on fire, reference to police brutality, gun threat, a hit and run, homophobia, and instutionalised racism.

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Review: Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (Bought) - Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.

He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features suicidal ideation, child abuse, and asexual discrimination.

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Mental Illness in YA Month Review: Pointe by Brandy Colbert

Pointe by Brandy Colbert (Bought) - Theo is better now.

She's eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and his abductor.

Donovan isn't talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn't do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she's been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features paedophilia, rape, grooming, anorexia and self-harm.

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Mental Illness in YA Month Review: The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith

The Girl and the Grove by Eric Smith (eProof) - Teenager Leila’s life is full of challenges. From bouncing around the foster care system to living with seasonal affective disorder, she’s never had an easy road. Leila keeps herself busy with her passion for environmental advocacy, monitoring the Urban Ecovists message board and joining a local environmental club with her best friend Sarika. And now that Leila has finally been adopted, she dares to hope her life will improve.

But the voices in Leila’s head are growing louder by the day. Ignoring them isn’t working anymore. Something calls out to her from the grove at Fairmount Park. From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Flux via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features racism.

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Mental Illness in YA Month Review: The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk (Bought) - Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. Death wants to tear them apart.

Autumn always knew exactly who she was—a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan always turned to writing love songs when his love life was a little less than perfect.

But when tragedy strikes each of them, somehow music is no longer enough. Now Logan can’t stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend. Shay is a music blogger struggling to keep it together. And Autumn sends messages that she knows can never be answered.

Despite the odds, one band's music will reunite them and prove that after grief, beauty thrives in the people left behind. From Goodreads.

Trigger warning: This book features discussion of suicide, and panic attacks.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Review: The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton (eProof) - I am a Belle. I control Beauty.

In the opulent world of Orléans, the people are born grey and damned, and only a Belle's powers can make them beautiful.

Camellia Beauregard wants to be the favourite Belle - the one chosen by the queen to tend to the royal family.

But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favourite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that her powers may be far greater - and far darker - than she ever imagined.

When the queen asks Camellia to break the rules she lives by to save the ailing princess, she faces an impossible decision: protect herself and the way of the Belles, or risk her own life, and change the world forever. From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Gollancz for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features sexual assault.

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Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (proof) - Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice. From Goodreads.

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Review: Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley (eProof) - Fifteen-year-old Aki Simon has a theory.

And it’s mostly about sex.

No, it isn’t that kind of theory. Aki already knows she’s bisexual–-even if, until now, it’s mostly been in the hypothetical sense.

Aki’s theory is that she’s only got one shot at living an interesting life–-and that means she’s got to stop sitting around and thinking so much. It’s time for her to actually do something. Or at least try.

So when Aki and her friend Lori set off on a trip to a small Mexican town for the summer, and Aki meets Christa - slightly-older, far-more-experienced - it seems her theory is prime for the testing.

But something tells her its not going to be that easy... From Goodreads.

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