on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
- Get link
- Other Apps
Re-read.
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 438 (13hrs49mins)
Started: 3 March 2024
Finished: 6 March 2024
Summary:
Chiamaka is determined to have it all: head prefect at her elite preparatory academy, valedictorian, Ivy League acceptance, the whole nine yards. Devon hates the fact that his prep school tuition is keeping his Ma at work for more hours every day, but also wants nothing more than to use the education to launch him into the music composition program at Juilliard. When a mysterious texter known only as "Aces" begins to circulate private and dangerous information about both Chi and Devon, they slowly realize that they--the only two Black kids at the elite school--are very much being targeted.
Thoughts:
It's quite how this book had the same impact on me both the first time I read it, and during my re-read over three years later. It's a brilliantly written book, harsh and horrifying and suspenseful. I didn't love the ways it seemed to echo Pretty Little Liars--anonymous texter, unlikeable protagonists, the constant feeling that someone was being tricked--but aside from that I was such a fan of this book. It's rare to see real and important social issues essentially in the format of a dark academia thriller, but it was a very clever use of YA tropes in my opinion, and I'm glad I was given the excuse to re-read the novel.