#ya thrillers

[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

📖Delicious Monsters

Liselle Sambury

Margaret K. McElderry Books

YA Books

Ages: 14+

Pages: 512

#our stories matter #ya thrillers #ya ghost stories #liselle sambury #black authors

[creator-of-calm-queer-chaos]

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Book Review

HOLY CRAP!! It deals with such important topics SO WELL I LOVE IT!!!

Okay here you go:

Fast facts:

Title: Ace of Spades Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Pronunciation Guide: Fa-ree-dah Ah-bee-keh Ee-yee-mee-deh Genre: YA Thriller Rating: 10/10

Review:

When you mix the mystery/thriller quality of One of Us is Lying but better with the complexity of race from The Weight of Blood but better, you get Ace of Spades. I cannot put into words how much I loved this book. It genuinely held me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. It deals with genuinely difficult subjects with a skill level I have NEVER seen before. This story is supposed to be dark, and to shove the horrors of systemic racism at you so you cannot ignore them, as so many people do. If you are able, and especially if you are white, I beg you to read this book and to actually think that shit like what happens in the book is real. We see it in slightly more toned down versions more frequently, but this shit happens. It is supposed to be dark. And it is supposed to teach you a lesson about what gets hidden away.

Okay, okay, what's the plot?

Devon and Chiamaka are the only two Black students at Niveus Private Academy, a fancy high school made of white legacy students. Devon is a musician with dreams of getting into Julliard to help his mom and younger brothers get out of their struggling home. Chiamaka is a popular girl who, while her family is well off and stable, doesn't have a legacy to lean back on.

As Devon and Chiamaka enter their senior year, they are made Prefect and Head Prefect, respectively. Chaimaka is not shocked. Devon is. At first, it seems like senior year will work out splendidly.

And then Aces comes into play. An anonymous texter (or texters?) starts sending texts to the entire school with information about Chiamaka, Devon, and a few other students - information that they all thought they had buried deep.

Chiamaka and Devon end up teaming up to uncover a nasty history of racism, secret societies, and discover just how far Aces is willing to go to bring them down.

Told in a dual perspective, this book explores the horrors of systemic racism and what it means to be Black in a world of weaponized white privilege.

DUN DUN DUUUUN!!!!

Seriously though, it is a fantastic book. I read it for a book club and I cannot wait to discuss it.

It deals with some pretty heavy topics, so I will put those, along with how prevelent/how much it is discussed below the cut. Spoilers in the sense of that these topics will be discussed, but no plot details. I would suggest skimming those, or feel free to message me if you just want a yes/no answer about a specific topic.

Again, I want to highlight that this book is dark. It is supposed to be dark. If you read it and think it is a fluffy thriller, you have missed a fundamental part of it. This book is about racism and the depths of white privilege - and weaponizing race.

Check out Àbíké-Íyímídé's website about Ace of Spades here, and where to buy it: https://www.faridahabikeiyimide.com/aos

Potentially triggering topics and how long they are dealt with (spoilers in the sense of these things will come up, no major plot points are revealed. Some small scenes will be spoiled.)

Racism: The entire book (more obviously in the second half) deals with racism. This includes institutions that are explicitly trying to ruin the lives of Black students specifically. This includes benefits of having white legacy parents. This includes what it feels like to have curly hair, and the power that wearing your 'natural' hair can have. This book deals with racism, and it does not hide how terrible it is.

Stalking: Aces stalks Devon and Chiamaka. Like, explicetly stalks them. There are major invasions of privacy that happen. A character is photographed changing - levels of stalking.

Homophobia: There is quite a bit of homophobia throughout the book. A character is non-consensually outed, multiple friendships/relationships are broken because of fear of how people would treat them if they knew they were queer, and a character is beaten up (it's show as a memory) because he is gay (in this scene/memory, he remembers being called slurs)

Bullying: Most of this story is about bullying. I don't know how else to put it. People are assholes in this story.

Toxic friendships: There are many many toxic and fake friendships, including when the main character is the toxic one.

Death/murder: A character killed another character pre-start of the book (we do see this scene in a vivid memory/nightmare, more in this in car accident/death), and that haunts them throughout most of the book. We learn about a group of people who killed at least one person, though we do not know how.

Hate crimes: There is a group of people who commit terrible crimes (including murder, as mentioned above) to people of color. This is a major premise of the book, more explicitly in the second half as the characters figure out what is going on.

Drug dealing: One character dates a drug dealer and works for them at one point. The person they are dating gets arrested later in the story.

Drug use: A character is revealed to have been using drugs, and it is rumored that another character also used drugs. These themes are present for about a page each.

Car accidents/death: A character gets into a car accident with another character that kills someone, and they do not report it. This haunts one of the main characters throughout the story. The accident is described in detail for a few pages, and the character has flashbacks to aspects to this scene multiple times.

Suicidal thoughts/attempts: It is mentioned that a character tried to commit suicide very briefly (the whole conversation lasts less than five lines).

Gun violence: A character is held at gunpoint towards the end of the story. This part lasts about two pages.

Police brutality: It is mentioned that a character is killed by a police officer (we do not know the character who was killed). This part lasts for only a few lines.

Incarceration: A drug dealer above gets incarcerated, and a main character visits them in prison. A main character's father was incarcerated, and we read a memory of the main character visiting their father in prison as well.

Sexual assault: There are two instances where characters were assaulted, one where a character does not remember pictures being taken of them, and another where pictures are found of an unknown character and a character describes the photos as feeling nonconsensual and as if she was being 'used.' Each of these instances are maybe a third of a page long.

#ace of spades #Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé #Faridah Abike-Iyimide #YA books #ya literature #ya book #ya thriller #ya thrillers #book reviews #book review #books with poc mc #black mc #gay mc #bi mc #first gen mc #lgbtq mc #lgbtq poc mc #dual perspective books #bookblr #books #bookaholic #bookworm #bookish #book nerd #biblophile

[nerdynatreads]

 ☆☆YouTube | Tumblr | Instagram | Storygraph ☆☆

book review || Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

video review || TLDR Version -- September Wrap Up || 13 books!

Holy shit this was so good. Mad Veronica Mars vibes this time around.

Jackson really does weave a really surprising mystery for a ya story, but what’s truly impressive is the realistic depiction of how solving these crimes have worn on Pip. This book is dark, but not in the gory, violent, awful crime sort of way. The way grief is showcased and the writing style when she’s in shock, absolutely haunting, so perfectly puts you in that same mindset. The development of Pip’s character felt shockingly grounded for a story where the teen detective is solving crimes before the police.

I can’t believe I took so long to continue this series because I really blasted through this one. Every time I was listening to the audio, I was so absorbed. The book is so fast-paced and the multimedia elements really make you feel like you’re a part of the story and add a layer of fun to trying to solve everything. The podcast element certainly made me compare this to Sadie and it held up.

The relationship with Ravi, from the first book, is still cute and adds a little levity to an otherwise heavy story and I love Pip’s dad, he’s so pure. I still just wish we got a little bit more character work on people who aren’t Pip.

4.5 / 5 stars

#book review #good girl bad blood #agggtm series #a good girls guide to murder #a good girls guide to murder series #holly jackson #bookshelves #ya thrillers #ya mysteries #book recs #book recommendations #bookblr #booklr #book tumblr #booktube #booktuber #book youtube #studyblr #q

[ofteaandsparrows]

Bookvent Day One: the Girl's I've Been by Tess Sharpe

Genre: Thriller

Quote: 'There's no solid ground. I learn to dance on a tilting one instead.'

Favorite Character: Nora O'Malley

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

#booklr #reading #books #thrillers #ya thrillers

[sarahbethdurst]

Books of Wonder Launch Event

Had a fantastic time at Books of Wonder last night at the launch event for THE LAKE HOUSE and the paperback of E. Lockhart's FAMILY OF LIARS!!! Huge thanks to E. Lockhart and Books of Wonder for making the evening so delightful!

#books #new books #ya thrillers #books of wonder #sarah beth durst #the lake house #e lockhart #family of liars #book launch

[qosic]

I put all my 愛 for the game into this one, to everyone who has beared my shouting about this modern classic for the last 4 years, I thank you!!!

Commissioned by Greg Chun (eng voice of Kaname Date) He will be doing a signing session at a later date where you can get this as a print, go follow him for more info on that!

#ai the somnium files #aitsf #ai the somnium files nirvana initiative #art #qosicart #kaname date #iris sagan #mizuki okiura #aiba #PHUeuuuwwwwwwwwwwww this took a lot out of me #Hey can you draw this one character? oops suddenly ENTIRE cast #not only that the colours got me really mental locked if ya catch my drift #bless greg for being my second VA commission ever but also the best one I might ever get #Happy AI anniversary soon too (It's in september) #It's funny because as this game was being promoted via the leminiscate youtube ARGs I thought it looked so dumb #but then I played VLR and ZTD and they blew me away so furiously that I was like “I MUST PLAY ANYTHING THAT UCHIKOSHI TOUCHES” #and you should too if you like mind bending mystery pseudo science thrillers!

[teencenterspl]

Why try to beat the heat when you can embrace it? Kick back on your towel, crack open a cold drink, and settle in with one of these sizzling thrillers!

#Smith Public Library #Wylie TX #books #reading #ya thrillers #summer days #book recommendations #need to read #rivetedlit #simon teen

[desdasiwrites]

– Amanda DeWitt, Aces Wild: A Heist

#Some people join chess club #some people play football. Jack Shannon runs a secret blackjack ring #asexual protagonist #ace rep #whole cast of ace characters #Las Vegas heist #book quote of the day #Amanda DeWitt #Aces Wild #heist novels #ya #thriller fiction #asexuality # identity # lgbtqia+ rep books

[whoblewboobear]

I will say if we get a Rat Grinders side quest I think it would be a sick full circle moment for Brennan to play Kipperlily while someone else DMs. To me the rat grinders are living through a YA thriller/horror setting and I’d love to explore something like that when we’ve seen essentially a coming of age teen comedy kinda thing with the bad kids.

#maybe I’ll make my own lil dream cast #idk if any of this made sense but d20 does genres so well and in #my heart of hearts the rat grinders are living through their own version of a YA thriller/horror #dimension 20 #d20 fhjy #fantasy high junior year #fhjy

[andreai04]

It was starting to sink in that for the rest of my life, the people I met, the people I became close to—there would always be a chance that they saw me as a payout.

#reading #books read in 2024 #bookblr #books #book photography #book blog #bibliophile #books reading #books and reading #the hawthorne legacy #jennifer lynn barnes #the inheritance games #inheritance games #averygrayson #averyjameson #avery grambs #nash hawthorne #xander hawthorne #grayson hawthorne #jameson hawthorne #ya mystery #ya thriller #inheritance #avery kylie grambs #tobias hawthorne #this was awesome #i love this series #review #four stars #april reads

[bookishlyvintage]

Green & Gold 🍀

#book stack #green books #gold books #stack challenge #fantasy #ya fantasy #reading #books #bookblr #booklr #stenciled edges #illumicrate #owlcrate #thriller #historical fiction

[princesskealie]

well, can you believe it's that time again? somehow it's already been three months, and it's time for my mom to go back to the doctor...if you have a second, please send any prayers/positive vibes her way that the appointment goes smoothly so she can have a happy spring! 🙏🙏🙏

#personal #she'll be getting blood work this time too #hoping for good results there also!! #how is your year going so far? #a bit of a life update for me #last time i think i told you guys that i wrote another novel #a YA psychological thriller #well two agents have requested to see the full manuscript recently!!!! my first full requests ever!!! #really hoping one of them will be a yes!!! T-T #we'll see!!!

[writing-to-survive]

#180

Scientists have created a drug that can access special abilities within the human body. The drug only works for people with still developing bodies, also known as kids. As impressive as these abilities will be, there's a side effect that the scientists couldn't prevent. These young adolescents' body are still maturing, but so are their brains. Past experiments have proven that this drug can...alter, change the mind of these kids into a more aggressive behavior. But, who cares? The government and scientists are hoping that most of the already chosen subjects will cover come it and survive.

#fiction #writing #writing prompts #writing prompt #creative writing #fiction writing #science fiction prompt #sci fi prompt #sci fi prompts #sci fi #scifi #science fiction #science #thriller prompt #suspense #ya writing prompts #ya writing #right or wrong #good or bad #? #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing to survive #writing-to-survive

[gabibookworm]

Happy book birthday to this week’s new releases! 📚

#booklr #books #diverse books #ya books #bookworm #lgbtq books #ya fantasy #ya romance #romance books #thriller books

[aroaessidhe]

YA contemporary books with aroace girls

Other People's Butterflies - aroace MC

The Rhythm of my Soul - 2/3 MCs aroace, one is a girl

Summer Bird Blue - questioning aroace MC

Immoral Code - 1/5 MCs aroace

Loveless - aroace MC

At The End of Everything - 1/3 MCs aroace-coded

Dear Wendy - 2 aroace MCs

Those Who Ripple - 1/4 MCs an aroace-questioning girl

Stuck In Her Head - 1/2 MCs an aroace girl

Switchback - 1/2 MCs an aroace girl

Before I Let Go - ace MC (& assume intended to be aro too)

#aspec books / aspec database / tumblr masterpost

#aspec books #other people's butterflies #The Rhythm of my Soul #summer bird blue #immoral code #loveless #at the end of everything #(some are more thriller or survival adjacent than just straight up ya contemporary) #aroace books #and also. I do not love all of these btw LMAO

[samblakebooks]

Only 7 days to go until Something Terrible Happened Last Night is out in the wild!!

After 7 adult thrillers it's my YA debut 😱🥳

It’s Katie’s 17th birthday – the dancefloor is packed, the drink is flowing and Rave-fess, the Raven’s Hill School confession site, is alight with gossip. Then a huge fight breaks out, sending guests fleeing.

When Frankie, Jess and Sorcha go back to help Katie clear up her wrecked house before her parents get home, they find more than broken bottles … There’s a body on the living room floor.

Can Frankie, Sorcha and Jess discover what really happened that night?

You'll have to read it, to find out what!

Grab it here:

https://www.samblakebooks.com/books/something-terrible-happened-last-night/

🙏❤️

#ya crime #ya mystery #thriller #writer #writers on tumblr #new books #murder mystery #story #books