5⭐️


Content Warning: SA, Suicide, Drug use

After the death of her father, Sade Hussein was finally able to attend a real school after being homeschooled her whole life. She was accepted to Alfred Nobel Academy, a prestigious boarding school, as a third year and expected life to go on as normal. But since Sade always seems to be a magnet for trouble, her new roommate Elizabeth goes missing the day after Sade moved into the dorm.

The mystery surrounding Sade draws the attention of "the Unholy Three," the popular girls who run the school. She soon finds herself in their folds. She spends most of her time trying to learn more about the popular crowd and investigating what happened to Elizabeth, all while trying to catch up on her mountain of school work. Then a student is found dead and Sade is sure it's all connected.

Wow. Just wow.

When I first started this was concerned about the Mean Girls similarities. There were characters that matched up with each of the main Mean Girls characters (The Unholy Three were The Plastics, Elizabeth=Janis, Baz= Damien, etc) and the main story began with a girl who grew up homeschooled going to a new school. But luckily, the similarities stopped there.

This covered a lot of hot button topics including race issues, misogyny, and the argument that a girl reporting SA could "ruin a boy's life" as if he hadn't already ruined hers. All of this wrapped up with an unreliable narrator who is dealing with her own grief after the death of her family. I loved that even though Sade had only known Elizabeth for less than 24 hours when she went missing, she never gave up on trying to find out what happened to her. I loved all of the support each of the girls provide to each other regardless of their social standing. And there's a budding sapphic relationship intertwined with everything as well.

Thank you to Natgalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing this ARC to me!

Wow! Wow! Wow! I just finished Where Sleeping Girls Lie and I loved it! Even though this book is considered young adult, I found it unforgettable. The book was written in such a way that I was thinking about the characters when I wasn’t reading, and couldn’t wait to get back to them. This book should be mandatory reading for every senior in high school. It is the first book that I have read by this author, but it won’t be the last. 5 stars.

DNF

I really wanted to like this book, considering I absolutely loved Ace of Spades, but either my taste changed since then or the writing style in this book is vastly inferior because I could not get into it. I don't mind a lot of YA books but the voice of the main character in this one felt so juvenile and I just could not get into the book at all. It felt like a middle grade story rather than a high school/young adult and once it sat in my Kindle for this long I know I'm not finishing it. I hope I can get back to it eventually but I know it's not for me for now.

Dark Academia ✅
Mystery ✅
Sapphic ✅
Mean-girls core, but dark ✅

Where Sleeping Girls Lie follows Sade, who has been accepted into the prestigious boarding school, Alfred Noble Academy. Shortly after she arrives, her roommate, Elizabeth, disappears, and suspicion is (briefly) cast her way. With all eyes on her, Sade catches the attention of a group of girls known as the “Unholy Trinity,” and is befriended by them.

After a short time, everyone moves on from Elizabeth’s disappearance and Sade, along with her Elizabeth’s best friend, try to piece together what happened.

As they dig deeper into Elizabeth’s disappearance, they begin to realize that the school is not what it seems and there are dark secrets lurking in the water.

Final thoughts: The women in this book deserve the world and the men (besides like…….3) are absolute garbage. Chuck them in the bin immediately lol!

Be sure to check the content warnings for this one as there are topics that may be upsetting to some readers. Nothing is super graphic, but it’s best to be prepared before you dive in. A huge thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC! 🖤

I sadly had to DNF this book about 40% through.
I read Faridah Àbíké-íyímídé’s debut novel “Ace of Spades” and absolutely loved it. But this book just didn’t click with me in the same way her previous book did. I found the characters dull and the pacing incredibly slow.

Sadly it just wasn’t for me but I could see teenagers picking it up and really enjoying the story.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Feiwel & Friends for an ARC in exchange for my honest review :)

I received a physical ARC so I will be using that as my method for this book. I will come back with official updates for this review if able once I finish the book there.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide is a young adult thriller following Sade who is starting at a prestigious boarding school after being homeschooled her entire life after the death of her father. Soon after she arrives, a girl goes missing causing Sade to start looking into the school and what might be lurking within.

I did enjoy this book but not as much as I wanted to. I never like it when a thriller feels long. With the previous book by this author I read, Ace of Spades, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! So in comparison, this book felt very slow to me. I know this book relies more on the character development than being fast paced but I found myself losing interest a few times and almost putting this book down.

I do think the last 25 percent of this book helped my overall enjoyment. There were a lot of interesting plot developments. I think the subject matter tackled in this book is very important and will be very impactful to its audience.

Definitely check content warnings before reading this book because there are a few heavy parts. I will continue to read from this author because I still enjoyed this book, I just had very high expectations.

Just not for me. Felt a little too slow and I’m really burnt out on thrillers right now, so I had a hard time feeling connected to it.

I am thankful for the opportunity to review this early ARC. I like having titles on my radar that I can confidently recommend to the right audience, and this is one of them.

High schooler, Sade, is the new girl at a prestigious boarding school. She comes with a secret and is immediately cast in the dark shadows of rumors when her dorm mate goes missing within her first week. Weird things happen like finding a dead rat by her door and a music box that shows up but then quickly vanishes. The popular group of girls, The Unholy Trinity, take Sade under their wing at the same time the hottest guys from the school’s swim team have an eye for her. Sade is determined to solve the mystery of her missing dorm mate but she’s up against some big problems of her own, dealing with nightmares and sleepwalking, seeing the ghost of her past.

I feel the story dragged a few times but overall, it had ok pacing. The very beginning had me a bit concerned because it felt all too similar to Harry Potter; Sade must take an aptitude test to be sorted into which of the eight Houses she will live in for the year. Each house’s uniform has a different colored tie. This story is very much like Hogwarts meets Mean Girls, without the magic. It’s definitely YA, which isn’t a bad thing. it’ll work well for the intended audience.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie has great representation for female, BIPOC, queer, and Muslim, rest assured there is no black trauma or homophobia, yet the author is still able to bring to attention to all of these in different ways. Fantastic job for young readers.

While you don’t see it immediately, this story centers on the #MeToo movement. Caution is advised to those with triggers, but everything is done in an age-appropriate way. I’d have no problem giving this book to a highschooler 16+

Pre-order now! Comes out March 19th, 2024

Thank you to @NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends (an imprint of @macmillanusa ) for the early preview!

5 out of 5 stars. Where Sleeping Girls Lie was everything I could expect and more from Faridah Àbíké-lyímídé. The plot was extremely well done and kept me wrapped in throughout the whole book. The characters were extremely well thought out and I thought the plot was something scarily realistic.

This book was killer. I don't even know what to say to tell you without spoiling the book. Just know that you are in for a ride, and you should let the book take you on that ride.

A girl comes to a boarding school and shit gets way darker than she could've imagined that it would. That is all you need to know, if you like dark academia, mystery-thriller, boarding school settings, etc. This book is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my arc copy.

Sade is starting her third year of high school, and she’s attending the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy, a boarding school. She has recently lost her dad and lost her mom years before. Her first night, her roommate disappears, and people think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling all around her, Sade is determined to figure out what happened to Elizabeth. As she keeps digging, she realizes there is more to Alfred Nobel Academy than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner.

I love a good dark academia mystery so this one seemed like it would be a lot of fun. I did struggle a little bit with the pacing, I found it to be rather slow for my liking and because of that it took a while to get into the book. With the slow pace it felt like it took forever to get through the over 400 pages, and I do think that it could have been edited down to accommodate this. There was a lot of mundane information that could have been left out. However, pacing aside, the mystery was still rather intriguing and entertaining. I enjoyed getting to know Sade and her friends. The characters were all well developed, including the side characters. This is a great YA book and shines some great light into some important topics, ones that I think are important even for this age group to read. Now, that being said I do think it is best for the upper end of the YA spectrum and I suggest you check trigger warnings. This book provoked some strong emotions.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the ARC!!! This book releases on 3/19 and I can’t wait for others to read & enjoy!

My only complaint about this book was the pacing. The beginning and end I flew through but the middle had some slower parts that I was pushing myself to grasp.
If there’s one trope I love it’s Black characters at a twisted/corrupt secondary school trying to uncover some secrets. That’s exactly what this story entails. I loved the mystery that quickly turned into a serious conversation. There were characters that I adored like Basil and so many suspicious individuals. I will read ANYTHING by Faridah and I thought this was a fantastic sophomore novel.

“There was nothing mundane or reasonable about death. And yet people seemed to have a habit of doing that around her [Sade]. Dying”.

Meet Sade Hussein, the newest edition to the elite boarding school, Alfred Nobel Academy, where the students come from wealthy families and ANA protects their own. No longer homeschooled, Sade joins ANA late in the school year and just as she gets acquainted with the boarding school’s rules and social hierarchies, her coy roommate Elizabeth suddenly disappears.

Dissatisfied with the school’s explanation, Sade is determined to uncover what she believes to be the truth, but will her own secrets and the lies of others get in the way? Author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé leads the reader into darkness and tragedy in this mysterious academia thriller. Although sleeping girls may lie in the dark, the truth, no matter how late, is revealed as soon as the are lights turn on.

Make sure to turn on your lights and add this five star read to your bookshelves!

Thanks to Netgalley & Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the E-ARC! Very fast-paced & addictive!! Really enjoyed the concept. Definitely will read Ace of Spades now!

I requested this book because I loved the author's Ace of Spades (another twisty mystery). This one pulled me in right away - I love boarding school settings and unreliable narrators. Definitely influenced by the #MeToo movement which makes it very timely.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

3.5 - I was giddy starting this book—the dark academia vibes and the undercurrent of creepy drew me right in and scratched the itch I didn’t realize I had, a perfect blend of Wednesday and Mean Girls.

We meet Sade, who starts attending a very prestigious boarding school. She’s introduced to her roommate Elizabeth, who shows her around helps her get acclimated. But something seems off from the moment Sade arrives—and it isn’t long before Elizabeth disappears and other mysterious things start happening.

Overall, I liked a lot about this book, and it would have been rated even higher for me if it had been significantly edited down. At over 400 pages, way too much time is spent in the middle that could have been condensed to focus on moving the plot forward. It moved both too slowly but also too quickly, as far as the speed of the relationships developing in the number of days that pass. I’m really glad I read it and do recommend it, especially to younger readers (note serious trigger warnings and some mature themes explored).

If you like YA mysteries that take place in elite boarding schools with a strong black FC that has been through tragedy, then you need to read this. This dark academia follows the fmc Sade, who is starting school in a new boarding school after the death of her sister. When her roommate goes missing, she starts to investigate what's happening in the school and everything haunting the students and herself. There are sudden disappearances, murders, mean girls, and a bit of sapphic romance. I liked this, though it was a bit slower-paced than I expected. I liked the main character, and I felt for her for everything that had happened in her past and for her anxiety. Also, there is a tad bit of teenage crush/tension, but it's not that developed and briefly mentioned. Overall, this was an okay, dark, twisty mystery with lots of secrets. I would definitely recommend this book but please check all the content warnings before reading. Thank you to the publisher for this arc for an honest review.

Read if you like:
- Ya murder mysteries
- Black Muslim fmc
- Sapphic crush
- Boarding school
- Dark Academia

This story drew me in at first. I was very intrigued to learn more about Sade's past and what happened to Elizabeth. There is something to be said about a slow burn when it is done properly, but there were multiple times I considered not finishing this book. There was quite a bit of your typical high school drama fluff. I understand that some of that was necessary towards building to the end reveal, but I believe the details could have been trimmed and shortened. I consider myself a feminist, so the events in this story brought me to anger (which is a powerful thing for an author to have that impact on a reader). However, the way the story ended was much too rainbows and butterflies in comparison to the bleak reality of the situation. I did thoroughly enjoy the revealing of the girl Sade kept seeing in the pool and I feel heartbroken over August's betrayal. Overall, this book just wasn't for me.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The YA category is producing some amazing literature. I wish I had a book like this when I was a teen.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is Abike-Iyimide’s sophomore novel and a highly anticipated 2024 release for me because I loved Ace of Spades so much.

This dark mystery follows main character Sade who is the last living member of her family. Death and darkness seem to follow her around (literally and figuratively). She attempts to begin her life anew at Alfred Nobel Academy, a prestigious boarding school in England. Within hours of being there, her roommate, Elizabeth, goes missing.

As Sade tries to figure out what happened to her roommate she also begins to uncover secrets and lies of students at the school. But also, we begin to discover some secrets Sade has of her own.

The writing in this is superb. I love when YA writers don’t write “down” to their audience. And just like in Ace of Spades there are strong distinct characters. This book deals with very important themes such as rape culture, belittling marginalized voices, and issues of class. I’ll definitely be recommending this to some teens I know.