Ace of Spades

+2 stars for: BLACK QUEER JOY IKTR (it comes after a BUNCH of trauma but the epilogue made it so WORTH IT)

+1 star for: capturing the truly sinister energy of mostly white private high schools .. been there!

+1 star for: the martha reveal! i was actually shocked about her connection to the other characters. the rest of the mystery seemed pretty straight forward but that twist got me

this book was a refreshing take on what a gossip girl/pretty little liars universe would look like if black people were the targets. i've always been curious about what that would look like and this did not disappoint! the writing and character development weren't really strong to me but the setting, atmosphere and overall themes are what earn this book a 4 star rating for me.