Why do I do this to myself? I didn't even like Ace of Spades when I read it last year. It felt like it did not deliver on its ambitious promise. Well, this sophomore effort by Àbíké-Íyímídé doesn't promise all that much, and that's about what it delivers, too. The plot is slow to unfold and the denouement offers little satisfaction, especially in the deus ex machina that overturns the school's decision about Sade in the 11th hour. *eyeroll*

Other reviewers have mentioned or alluded to the derivativeness of the premise, from the school sorting students into houses to Sade's homeschool-to-plastics development. It did feel like a bit of hoodwinking. It's not like Harry Potter and Mean Girls are niche little works that wouldn't occur to people in connection with this, for goodness's sake. And neither of those frameworks really fit neatly into a thriller.

I don't doubt that Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé has important things to say, not least based on her personal experience, but I was looking forward to growth in this second book. The fact that she got a publishing deal for two books, presumably on the strength of Ace of Spades alone, goes some way towards explaining why that growth hasn't happened yet.