Book Review: Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-lyimide

 

Ace of Spades is described by amazon as Gossip Girl meets Get Out.  Having never seen Gossip Girl, I can't say if that's how I would feel.  I kept thinking Carrie.  Well into the book I remembered the Get Out reference and I guess I can see why some might go there.

Anyway, the book tells the stories of Devon and Chiamaka (or Chi for short) as they relate to Niveus Private Academy, the school they both attend.

Devon comes from a poor family.  His father is MIA (you learn why late in the book so I won't spoil it here) and his mother works three jobs to make ends meet for Devon and his two younger brothers.  Devon is at Niveus through a scholarship.  It doesn't cover everything but it does allow him to be able to attend.  Niveus is considered a springboard for the top colleges.  Devon is a gifted musician and wants to attend Juilliard.  He will need another scholarship so he works hard at school and is constantly working on his audition.

Chi comes from a rich family.  Her father is Italian and her mother is Nigerian.  Chi has been working her entire life to be the top student at Niveus and has her sights set on Yale and med school.  You learn, very early on and from her own perspective, that she uses people.  She's been working her way up the ladder of success from a young age and she presents a confident, strong woman at school, but it's only an act that she uses to get what she wants - Yale and med school.  She wants to be the most popular.

On the first day of school their senior year, Devon is named as a prefect.  Chi is named head prefect, something she had been working for and expected.  Devon, on the other hand, has no idea why he was selected. He's taken completely off guard.  He doesn't like or want the attention it brings.

All seems good though, until an ominous text goes out to the student body from an unknown number and a "person" who identifies themselves as "Aces".  Aces threatens to divide and conquer, like any good tyrant would do.

There is also a new headmaster at the school.  There is speculation and gossip as to what happened to the previous headmaster and it seems to be a little unsettling to Chi because she has spent the past three years cultivating a relationship there as well.  Devon doesn't give it a whole lot of thought or consideration.

But after the first text that Aces sent out, more texts go out with private videos and pictures, rumors and innuendo about either Chi and Devon.  They're hurtful, embarrassing and they just keep coming.

Separately Devon and Chi go looking for answers as to who could be doing this, and why.  You learn (and maybe it was told earlier than I realized and picked up on) Devon and Chi are the only black students at Niveus.  They question if the attacks are racially motivated.

They turn to people they believe are their friends.  Things they've confided end up being sent out via text shortly thereafter.  They don't know who to trust.

Eventually they begin to work together and start coming up with some startling answers.  It starts to feel dangerous and they question how far they should push this, pursue this.

I loved this book.  I couldn't put it down.  When I tried to I would have to pick it right back up because I wanted to read more.  I wanted to know what was going on as much and Chi and Devon did.  It's told in first person POV by both Chi and Devon, in alternating chapters.

I would recommend this book - it may be the best one I've read so far this year!

Book Review: The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

 

This was another GMA recommendation that I borrowed from my library.  I had read the a blurb on it and it was something along the lines about how one black woman (Nella) has been working away for a time and is relieved when a second black woman (Hazel) comes to work beside her because the first black woman had been the only black person to work for the company.  There was something about how when Hazel came to work, things started changing around the office - she was moving up very quickly, even though Nella had been there for two years and seemed to be going nowhere fast.

It's with that in mind that I sat down to read the book.

The company Nella works for is Wagner Publishing and Nella is an assistant to an editor, Vera.  Nella seems to be doing a good job and people seem to like her but she feels a bit invisible because she's black.

Then when another editor hires Hazel, another black woman, to be her assistant, Nella is thrilled.  She feels an immediate bond with Hazel and confides things to her that she hasn't really confided to anyone else at work.  At times she feels she should hold back but Hazel encourages her to open up with "you can be real with me, sis" a line that seems to annoy Nella, at least in the beginning.

But, having the impression I did of the book, which is that someone sabotages Nella at work, I found myself willing Nella to hear me yell "don't trust her!  she's out to get you!"  She didn't hear me though.

Nella starts noticing that everyone seems to love Hazel and treating Nella as if she's been replaced.  She tries not to take it personally but when Vera starts sending manuscripts to Hazel instead of Nella, Nella starts getting concerned for her job.

Then she gets a note:  LEAVE WAGNER. NOW!  It was left on her desk and she has no idea who dropped it off, or who it's from.  She becomes suspicious of every one.  Who would want her to leave?  Her name on the envelope had been written in purple ink so she goes on a bit of a quest to find who has purple pens.  She doesn't know who to trust.  She doesn't even tell everything going on to her live in boyfriend or her best friend.  Not that she doesn't trust them but she believes they will give her advice she won't want to take, even though she knows she should follow it.

The story is told from several different view points so that you get a full picture of what's going on.  I will say, I thought I knew where things were going and who all was involved but I was wrong - I wasn't even close!  And the final twist, I never saw coming!  It was chilling.

You know how you hear about the "elevator pitch" where you try to sell your book and you say it's "this movie" meets "that movie" type of thing?  Well, I can only think of one movie to pitch this one with and if I told you what it was, it would be a huge spoiler.

But it was good.  I wanted to keep reading to get to the end to find out what all was going on and who all was involved.  It did not disappoint. 

I should mention that this is the author's debut book and it turns out she had left a publishing company (that she had worked at several years and explains her knowledge of working at a publishing company) to write this book.  In the acknowledgements she suggests that some of the things in the book were based on some of her own experiences.

I recommend this book.

Book Review: Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

I've just finished reading Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia.   It was a GMA Book Club book and I recall Robin Roberts commenting that "they" "always get it right".  I didn't know what that meant but figured she had to say that and I always request the ebook from my library, which I did with this book as well.

 

To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect to like this book.  I delayed the delivery of the book several times and when I did finally check out the book from the library, I immediately felt regret and figured it would likely go unread.

 

Then yesterday I checked to see if I still had it checked out (sometimes they warn me when the return date is close, sometimes they don't - and they don't ask before pulling it back when it's due!  they just take it!).  I had three days and four hours left!  If I was going to read it, I had to start right away.

 

Much to my surprise, it immediately drew me in.  I had been working around the house all day and was asleep by 8:30 but still managed to read almost half of the book yesterday - I didn't want to put it down!  And then, of course, I finished it today.  Such a good book!

 

In general, the story is about immigration.  Why people immigrate.  Why they don't.  There are two "families" followed.  One is a mother (Gloria) her daughter (Ana).  The other is a multi-generational  story about a daughter who comes to Florida from Cuba, her daughter and the family she's left behind and how their story integrates with Gloria and Ana, who have migrated from El Salvador.  

The stories are told from the perspective of each of the primary characters - sometimes in third person POV and other times in first person POV - all women.  It's not told in chronological order, which threw me at least once until I realized that part of the story happened before the other part of the story for that character.

So, while the story is about immigration - in general - for me the story is about relationships.  Relationships with family members, the general public and even with ourselves.  The secrets we keep, hoping they won't hurt us or anyone else anymore and how that impacts our relationships.  The things we do to cope and survive.  There's rape, murder, addiction, death and racism in their stories.  It's pretty powerful and complex.

I read the description from amazon and felt the first paragraph description misrepresented the story - there were things that were completely wrong about the characters but I did like the second paragraph:

From 19th-century cigar factories to present-day detention centers, from Cuba to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia's Of Women and Salt is a kaleidoscopic portrait of betrayals—personal and political, self-inflicted and those done by others—that have shaped the lives of these extraordinary women. A haunting meditation on the choices of mothers, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots.

 

It's that, and more.  I highly recommend it!

Misused Phrasing

 There's a line from Princess Bride that goes something like "I do not think that means what you think it means".  That's kind of how I feel about something I've been reading over the last couple of days.

 

My online news source is yahoo.  When I pulled it up yesterday the big story was about Chris Harrison leaving The Bachelor franchise.  According to the article, Chris was paid a "mid eight figure" (tens of millions of dollars!) payoff on the condition that he not talk about his leaving.  And for what it's worth, pay me a mid eight figure payoff and you wouldn't hear a peep from me again!  But I digress.

But here's the thing.  The first article came out first thing in the morning.  It was only a few hours later that the headline for another article was "Chris Harrison breaks his silence . . .".  The article goes on to say that Chris posted I think it was a tweet that basically said he's enjoyed what he did but it's time to move on, as if he had a choice in the matter and wasn't paid an obscene amount of money to leave.

Then this morning I see another headline that says "Rachel Lindsey breaks her silence . . ." and talks about Chris leaving the franchise.  It said she "spoke" yesterday on I think it was Extra.

Here's what I think they don't understand the meaning of "breaks *their* silence".  To me that means that people have been after them for a period of a time (usually a long time - more than later that same day!) and they've refused to comment.  Based on what I read it seemed to be a "we'll put out our statement and then you can say this and then anyone else that wants to can comment".  But I don't see how someone is "breaking a silence" when it's practically a run on sentence from the first article with no real "breaks" in between. And since Chris spoke, does he forfeit the money?  I mean, that was part of the deal, according to the first article.

I just think the phrasing was wrong.

But speaking of Chris leaving the franchise.  I haven't watched it in years and started watching late in the game so it's not like it makes a big difference to me one way or the other but, personally, I think they're making a huge mistake in letting him go.  He's the face of the show and he handled it seamlessly through the years.  Last year they replaced Tom Bergeron on Dancing with the Stars and again, in my opinion, that was a disaster.  Nothing against Tyra Banks but I don't think she was a good fit for the show - and that is one I've watched from day one.  I think whoever they get to replace Chris will suffer the same way and hurt the show in a negative way.

That all said, as for the controversy that caused this "result" I want to say this:  In my opinion, Chris was in a no-win situation in that interview he did with Rachel Lindsey.  The show was still airing new episodes but had "wrapped" months before.  Chris knew how the season ended and who the bachelor picked in the end.  Was he supposed to (or expected to) trash her?  Would the end result (him getting tens of millions of dollars after being let go) be any different if he'd chosen that path?

I just think he was put in an impossible position and I think the result would've been the same either way.  And I think the show will suffer for his leaving, if it survives at all.  It's a bad situation all the way around and I think the way it's been handled only made it worse.  But that's just my opinion.

Brat: an 80s story by Andrew McCarthy

I borrowed brat: an 80s story by Andrew McCarthy from my library (ebook) and read it in two days time - this includes watching a couple of the movies he talks about in the book as well!  It's worth noting that I had just finished reading Julianna Margulies' book, which took me the entire two weeks the library allows for ebook checkouts because I just couldn't get into it but forced myself to finish so that I didn't have to wait months to borrow it again (since there were others waiting for it).  

 

With Julianna's book I felt like it started very slow.  The writing wasn't great and the stories she was telling weren't all that interesting - at least for the first 1/3 of the book.  And I like Julianna - a lot - but her book wasn't the best memoir I've ever read.  I didn't feel like I learned anything new about her or her work.  And that's okay.

 

But to follow it up with Andrew's book - an actor I wouldn't call myself a fan of and who I constantly confuse with George Newbern - that I didn't want to put down, says something.

I loved this book.  He gives insight into who he is, how he became who he is and where that took him.  And the behind the scenes stories about movies he has been in were great.  

Andrew's father was against him going into acting, that is until he booked Class with Jacqueline Bisset and his father wanted Andrew to invite her to dinner. Ha!  (Andrew declined.)  He spoke about his relationship with his father throughout the book and his father's response to things related to Andrew's acting and income really strained their relationship.  Andrew found some peace with his father before his death but I don't think anything was truly resolved.

I'll be honest, I'm sure I've watched Class before decades ago but I couldn't have told you Andrew was in it.  I had a vague idea of the plot but (spoiler alert!) I would've bet everything that Rob Lowe was the one who slept with his friend's mother.  Before I read the background behind the movie, I watched the movie on some platform (HBO Max maybe?).  I believed his acting and thought he did a good job.  It was his first film and he had to develop some mechanisms to deal with the process itself.  I wouldn't have guessed that by the performance.

I actually had recorded Pretty in Pink a few months back.  Several things - I had no idea Andrew was in it.  As with Class, I'm sure I watched it decades ago but couldn't have told you the plot to save my life.  I knew Jon Cryer and Molly Ringwald were in it but that's about all I could've said for certain.  I also had expected that I would delete the movie without watching it because it's not really on the list of movies I thought I would want to watch (I have a few others of those on my DVR still, but that's a whole other story / issue).  I read the chapter on Pretty in Pink (actually the book's longest chapter) before I watched the movie.

Again, I liked the movie and his performance - I definitely believed him.  Now, without intending to give away any spoilers, the ending the movie has was not the original movie ending.  They screened the movie before release and the ending was a problem so they re-did the ending.  The problem was that Andrew was already working on his next job (on an off-Broadway production) and had shaved his head for that role.  As a result, the final scenes of the movie were shot with him wearing a wig.  

I'm so glad I knew that going in because it made me pay attention to that, whereas I wouldn't have noticed.  But that's part of the point of this - if I hadn't known it was a wig I don't think I would've thought it was a wig.  Since I did know though, it stood out like a sore thumb!  hahaha

Those are the only movies I've watched so far but HBO Max has some others of his movies that I plan to check out, now that I know the backstories (and some I haven't seen).  (Some of Weekend at Bernie's were ad libbed moments.  He thinks the sequel was a mistake.  Also another movie I know I've seen but I wouldn't have said he was in.)

He's also open about his drug and alcohol abuse.  He talks about missing the signs that it would be a problem for him - in hindsight he sees it very clearly.

Bottom line, I enjoyed this book and like Andrew better for having read it and will be less likely to confuse him with George in the future.  

 

I don't feel differently about Julianna - even though I didn't find her book all that engaging (I have read books before that completely changed my mind about someone negatively - this wasn't that . . . I just don't think she's the best storyteller, at least not in word form.  just my opinion.)

So there you go.  Kind of a twofer in book reviews, one I highly recommend (Andrew's) and one I don't recommend so much (Julianna's).  

😁