From a completely unqualified literary enthusiast. I just like to read and recommend books based on my preferences.
*Spoiler alert* I may unintentionally reveal some things about the book.
Synopsis (in my own words): it’s a mystery, centred around two teenagers, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo. While they are both prefects in their senior year in high school, they couldn’t be more different. Devon comes from the side of the town where people live below the poverty line, and Niveus Academy is his escape from that reality. He hones his talent there and is only concerned with one goal: getting out of that town. He is a loner, basically unknown in school, until the first day of the semester. Chiamaka comes from the opposite side of town where wealth is the norm and climbing the social ladder is a requirement. She’s the Queen Bee in school, which is strange for someone like her. She has her eyes set on a goal that she thinks requires conquering high school, and like Devon, it centres on getting out of Niveus. As both become targets of a bully named Aces, they begin a twisted journey to figure out who is behind the bullying and why.
There is a warning at the beginning that the book deals with racism, homophobia, suicidal ideation and bullying. So take care if you’re sensitive to those topics.
My thoughts as I read: I had a feeling that Aces could not have been a single person, but that’s only because I’m very paranoid and suspect everyone of being shady. I actually had my jaw drop a few times and side-eyed several characters before we start seeing movement in the story. I even made up backstories for people who appeared once or twice in the book, convinced that they HAD to be a part of something bigger. Like the sophomore who brought Chiamaka coffee. Or the headmaster who mysteriously dropped out at the beginning. And even Devon’s dad; what did he do?? So many questions. Please write a prequel.
Interesting topics – Social Eugenics: According to Francis Galton, the originator of the term eugenics, it is an idea for improving humanity through selective breeding. By choosing the socially acceptable ‘best of the best’ and encouraging reproduction, his hope was that society would be filled with offspring of only the best people. At the same time, a part of the goal was to ensure those with more problematic genes could not have kids. Think about forced sterilization when colonizers took over Canada or when Aboriginal women had kids with White men, how they were no longer considered Aboriginal. These practices from hundreds of years ago show up in this book in a really weird way. And it left me with a weary and wary feeling that it could happen in modern society.
My suggestion: (please) write a prequel to Niveus’ tradition in 1965, that shows when they first did it and tell the story from that girl’s point of view. Show us how it started and what happens at Camp Aces where all the legacy kids go to learn about the tradition and how they prepare for it.
My unprofessional rating: 5/5