*Content Warning: mention of sexual assault
Xolo Score 5/5
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a gripping Young Adult thriller that intertwines gender social themes with dark academia. The story centers on young Shade Hussein, a Queer Black Muslim teen that finds herself as the new kid at the prestigious boarding school, Alfred Nobel Academy. Shade immediately finds herself in a perplexing and dangerous situation when her new roommate, Elizabeth, goes missing on Shade’s second day at the academy. Together with Elizabeth’s best friend Basil and a group of popular girls dubbed the Unholy Trinity, Shade unearths the school’s insidious patriarchal and predatory culture.
*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***
Àbíké-Íyímídé excels in crafting multidimensional, relatable, and diverse characters who grapple with complex issues. Shade has dealt with a lot of familial tragedies, and with it comes waves of grief and PTSD that she isn’t always equipped to handle. From her quirky sidekick Baz to the influential queen bees with rough exteriors, each character depicts the reality that many teens are dealing with brutal and dark realities even at a young age. And that they’ll find ways to cope, whether it’s healthy or not.
The novel delves into the darker aspects of life at an elite boarding school, shedding light on the pressures faced by students in high-stress environments steeped in a predatory and patriarchal culture. The privilege male students have to harass, bully, and sexually assault others haunt the school, particularly the female-identifying students. Elizabeth’s disappearance quickly reveals the double standards and lack of accountability to Shade when she suspects the school’s championship-winning male swim team may be at fault. The school soon absolves itself of any responsibility for Elizabeth’s disappearance. Instead of prioritizing students’ well-being and safety, the school’s administration quickly looks the other way for the sake of their image and endowments. To save her friend and rid the school of gendered violence, Shade and her friends take matters into their own hands for justice and retribution.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a harrowing dark academia thriller that powerfully exposes patriarchal and predatory schools.
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| To what extent are there BIPOC leading characters or perspectives? | How well does the author avoid writing BIPOC experiences through the white gaze? | To what extent does the author challenge white-centered beliefs? | How well does the book explore nuances between intersectional identities? |
Score | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
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