Dark Academia

This is not a fantasy! No shade to the fantasy genre, which I love, but I think many readers assumed because of the cover that this was a fantasy novel and it is not. It is squarely a crime, mystery, thriller. I generally avoid comps for many reasons but this one seems to really fit nicely: Gossip Girl, with a dash of I Know What You Did Last Summer, and a dose of Get Out.

Chiamaka and Devon don’t have much in common, but they both attend Niveus Private Academy. Chiamaka is ultra wealthy and a queen bee and Devon is neither. Chiamaka is in love with her best friend, who is down for hookups, but she’s hoping for more soon. Devon is in a secret relationship and still not ready to tell his mom he’s gay, and struggling to watch how hard she works to try and provide for them.

What they do suddenly have in common is that a person referring to themselves as Aces has decided to mess with both of them by slowly texting out private things about each of them to the whole school. Who is behind this? And what could Chiamaka and Devon have ever done to suddenly be targeted?…

This is told in alternating POV between Chiamaka and Devon, taking you both into their different experiences in school and their private lives, and the audiobook has dual narrators (Jeanette Illidge, Tapiwa Mugweni) which paired really nicely. If you want a bit of fun drama with some very real social commentary, pick this one up. I will absolutely pick up Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s next book no questions asked.

(TW homophobia, hate crime/ gaslighting/ alludes to date rape/ mentions past suicide attempt, brief detail)

The genius of this book for me was in its delivery. Basically, the way it unfolds. Most thrillers or crime books wait for a moment to throw a twist at you that’s meant to either shock or feel out of left field. This is twisty but in a totally different way.

Imagine sitting in front of a long stage and only the center is lit as actors perform their story. Then as they come to the end of their performance, another part of the stage is lit and suddenly you see a much larger picture of this story. That’s the brilliance of what reading this was like. Plus, revenge!

Because I’m a big fan of the feeling of a fun surprise that this genre can deliver, I’m going to be light on the actual plot points beside how it starts: Teddy Crutcher teaches English Lit at Belmont Academy. He’s finally reached his goal of being awarded Teacher of the Year but it’s just not enough for him. You see, Teddy is the kind of person who thinks he always knows better and no one else is ever behaving the way he would approve. And so between secret wars with teachers, students, and parents, he finds ways to “correct” their behavior or just punish them. But a body at the school throws a wrench in his plans…

It’s twisty and sharp with a dark thread of humor packaged in a way that feels fresh. Absolutely one of my favorite reads this year, and I love that Downing’s three books have all felt written by her while also all being completely different. Count me as a fan always awaiting her next release.

(TW past suicide mentioned, brief detail/ diet culture)