Tuesday 5 March 2024

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé


Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. After being home-schooled all her life and feeling like a magnet for misfortune, she’s not sure what will happen. What she doesn’t expect though is for her roommate Elizabeth to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the most popular girls in school – collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ – and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them - especially Persephone, who Sade finds herself drawn to - playing catch-up in class, and trying to figure out what happened to Elizabeth, Sade has a lot on her plate. It doesn’t help that she’s already dealing with grief from the many tragedies in her family.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade investigates, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she realized. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.

First of all; this is a huge book, much bigger than Ace of Spades, her first novel. Second: there's a lot to remember and keep track of, and I resorted to a notebook and notes every time something happened that seemed like it might be important. (A lot of them weren't, but a lot were!) You can probably keep track much better than I can, though.

The settings and characters were beautifully realised and described. Like Ace, I'm sad to say that I wasn't surprised by anything in the plot; I can absolutely believe that people, both students and adults, would act like this without remorse. It's a sad sign of the times.

If you have some free time coming up, definitely give this one a try - you won't regret it.


Where Sleeping Girls Lie publishes on the 19th of March, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

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