A very compelling book, dark reading in places, but you have to finish it.
Just hope it was not based on a true life story.

That evocative cover almost hints at the darkness that hides inside this book. The themes are heavy but valid and relevant.

This mixed boarding school was awash with problems and problematic people. A toxic culture was afoot and events led to a plot that was a mysterious who-dunnit. I might not know much about boarding schools but I sure hope they're a little kinder than this one.

The plot was salacious with rage and character darkness. I was fully pulled in and a bit breathless on letting go. A gripper of a YA that will appeal widely

Where Sleeping Girls Lie was flawless and worth the wait. Buckle in cause this book is a ride, it with haunt you whilst simultaneously make you want to rage at the world.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé has again created a gripping mystery, whilst remaining devastatingly true to the world in which many young adults find themselves in. Insightful in its portrayal of life, how justice is hard-won and not always achievable in the ways we wish it was. Its a portrayal of sexual assault and how societies willingness to look the other way (or simply not believe the victims) is raw, it's heart-aching exploration of grief is something that many will relate too.

This is my favourite read of the year so far. This is one of the only books I’ve read where I didn’t find the plot overly predictable, with likeable characters and great story-telling.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Usborne Publishing, via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Usborne Publishing, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
This book follows Sade who starts boarding school after her family dies. On her first day she meets her roommate Elizabeth. However, on day two she wakes up and Elizabeth has vanished. The book follows Sade as she investigates the secrets of her new school and what happened to Elizabeth.

Thoughts
I really enjoyed this book! I think if you liked Ace of Spades this book could work for you. I found the book slow to start but it definitely picked up in the second half.

Sade is an interesting character with a mysterious past, I love the friendship she strikes up with Baz, Elizabeth’s best friend, as well as Persephone.

This book is incredible, and should be in all schools! I was expecting something similar to Ace of Spades, and while it is not massively dis-similar, there are twists and plot lines that are totally different and I didn't see coming.
I felt like there was maybe 100 pages too many in the middle, After Elizabeth went missing, and before the student died (both mentioned in the synopsis- but with 300 pages between) it felt like there was a bit of a drag.
I did really enjoy this one, and recommend it to all teens, and for all women.

This is an important read for multiple reasons and I feel heavy finishing it because of those and Àbíké-Íyímídé hard truths.

However, I found this a bit long and I really struggled with the writing at times - some of the descriptions were strange and the dialogues were sometimes really robotic, like no one would speak or talk like that. I found this again in quite a few paragraphs describing Sade’s inner monologue

A brilliant read which really made me think about injustice and social issues. This book absolutely nails these themes. The characters are 3D and they will make you cry, smile and want to scream. But you won’t forget it. I’m definitely going to buy more books by her. Fabulous 5/5.

This is the first book I’ve read by Faridah, and I can’t believe I didn’t pick up Ace of Spades sooner. It is just sitting on my book shelf collected dust and I will definitely be reading that soon. Every go read Where Sleeping Girl Lie.

This book was an interesting concept and one I went into very blind. I did really like the school setting and generally if I’m going to read YA that’s what really works for me.

I did find the writing style a little slow at times especially with the story having such a mystery element, I just didn’t feel particularly gripped or invested although having said that, it is definitely just my preference for books of this type as appose to anything about the actual writing- I think if I’d have read this as a teen I’d like the pacing more.

I liked the exploration of bigger issues in this book, I liked the friendships formed and just the overall feel of the story, there were moments where their maturity felt a bit inconsistent that I found a bit jarring but it didn’t pull me out of the overall plot.

Overall I thought this book was enjoyable but I’d have personally enjoyed it more if it was a little more pacey and maybe even shorter as a result of that

Another stand out novel by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé!
Where Sleeping Girls Lie is so brilliantly and beautifully constructed, and is genuinely the perfect mystery.

The characters are written so real and their lives are so complex, gripping and interwoven that you easily fall into the story and believe every single word told. Sade is a wonderful protagonist and her friends, peers and enemies are so intricately woven into her story.

I’m usually pretty good at uncovering the mystery before the book, but this had me completely lost in the best way! The next move was completely unknown throughout the novel.

The main issues that take place within the book - institutionalised sexism, abuse and rape - are so well researched and Àbíké-Íyímídé deals with them with great sensitivity, whilst still making sure they are rightfully uncomfortable to read about.

It’s eery, it’s messy, it’s full of dark academia goodness and the cast is beautifully diverse! It’s a perfect read, with cliff-hangers that forcibly drag you into the next chapter. Go read it!

Thank you to Usborne and Netgalley for the ARC!

If you love dark novels with building tension, set in boarding schools and surrounding very real and raw subjects, this one is for you! A dark YA thriller with a slow build that felt searingly realistic, with a great cast of characters and important topics of mental health and sexual assault.

Definitely check the trigger warnings, as a lot of dark and heavy topics are mentioned/showed in the book!

Having read this very stimulating story, I can both understand why lead character Sade Hussein wanted to go to the Alfred Nobel Academy and why she would be so worried. Only the reader can decide if the bad outweighs the good. Mind you, having your room mate dying on your first night at the school was awkward, especially after turning up at the school month’s late because of her father’s demise. I instantly enjoyed the style of writing and this kept me moving throughout the book. The dark side of the school became very dark indeed and is not a school I’d suggest anyone goes to, but this is fiction and anything goes. There are many twists and turns and although you might be wondering, they are difficult and almost impossible to guess. I’d read more from this writer, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé . I’d like to add a star for the way the writer dealt with diversity; she mixed the characters while giving them a full and rounded recognition rather than just naming skin colours or countries or box ticking. This is a good sign in today’s world and more represents the people and the world we live in, especially private and expensive boarding schools in the UK.

13. Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gloriously dark and twisty, a real slowburn mystery tackling haunting contemporary issues.

🪶 Dark academia
🪶 Tackling toxic masculinity
🪶 Strong friendships
🪶 Revenge

Another stand out novel!

Where Sleeping Girls Lie kept me awake at night. It is so brilliantly constructed, the characters are real, their lives so interwoven and complex that you believe every single one. There was no knowing who was going to be a major player next and how the novel was going to move on. Sade's reaction to Elizabeth's vanishing makes perfect sense once you realise Sade's motivation in boarding at that particular school. Her friendship with Baz is sweet but I couldn't understand why she would want to join the elite clique with Persephone and Alice until much later and then it all clicked into place.
The horrendous problem at this school - institutionalised sexism, abuse and rape - made reading occasionally uncomfortable, however, it was sensitively dealt with and I loved that the girls got a place to vent their experiences in a supportive way. It's a cracking read, with lots of cliff-hangers that push you into the next chapter, and the next, and the next.

Where sleeping girls lie

- [ ] Beginning reminds me a little of mean girls - a homeschooled girl suddenly arrives at a high school, gets befriended by a couple of the students and they explain to her all the “groups” in the lunchroom. Including a group of three “popular” girls - except they are called the unholy trinity rather than the plastics!
- [ ] Even down to the “leader” being the ex best friend!
- [ ] Unsure of the age of characters? If this correlates to UK schools ( which it should being set in the UK) that would mean the characters are around 13/14? If US ages maybe 17/18? Doesn’t explicitly say. *ok later says that the missing girl is 17. So that definitely doesn’t track with her being in an English school. She would have left school in England by that age. Certainly wouldn’t be only a 3rd year in secondary school - ie year 9? 17 is university age! Not really sure why there’s this discrepancy because according to an online bio, the author is British?!
- [ ] Another example of an Americanism comes towards the end - that the murder charges were “settled out of court.” Erm, no. That might frequently happen in America but in the UK justice system that is not a thing!
- [ ] Also - wtf is Pi Day?! Not a thing in UK because we put the day first. So 03/14 is not a date in the UK calendar!! I had never even heard of this before
- [ ] Also - if Sade is only 17, why is there no mention of any sort of legal guardian for her? Both her parents are dead, right? She is underage, still a minor, and yet she’s been allowed to just enrol at a school with no adult to give consent to where she is or what she’s doing?! Why?! I understand this is fiction but come on!!! - this is a massive plot hole! No wonder the school administrator was so shocked when she turned up! If she had no family then someone from social services should be around?! Or a trustee at least? Her father apparently was extremely wealthy so surely he would have made some sort of plan for his daughter?!
- [ ] MC is quite unintelligent! Morse code thing and then later - I wonder how they got into my room? Eerrrr probably because you lost your room key somewhere and didn’t report it, and then left the “spare” key under the mat in front of your door?! How frickin stupid can you be - that’s the most obvious place!!!
- [ ] Does the author have a limited amount of adjectives? The phrase “he had an expressionless expression” was used. What?!? WIDEN YOUR VOCABULARY!!!
- [ ] Was surprised the direction this took. There are definite similarities to 13 Reasons Why.
- [ ] Also - the “twin” sister thing kinda came out of nowhere? And also why?! Like it obviously explains some of Sade’s motivations and the ghosts but the bit that threw me was the father only sending the sister to school because she was “older.” Erm….. hello they are TWINS?! They’re the same fricking age?! Didn’t understand that logic at all
- [ ] Overall I liked that this kept me guessing but the ending was a little underwhelming and also quite “neat.” I think it would have been better if Sade had just been expelled. Not everything requires a “happy” ending and this just seemed a little too convenient.
There were obviously many flaws that I picked up on when reading this - these annoyed me but might not annoy others. If you are inclined to solving word puzzles and codes, you may find this one interesting, and the little puzzles - ie anagrams and codes may highlight the ending much more obviously.

They say don't judge a book by its cover but I absolutely judged this book by its gorgeous cover. What can I say? I'm only human after all!

This is definitely a slow-burn and I'm usually not a big fan but I liked the plot enough to keep going. The writing was also beautiful and managed to paint a solid setting for the story to unfold.

If you don't mind slow-paced stories and I mean really slow, the kind where nothing really happens till the last quarter of the book, then you'll enjoy this one way more than I did.

Rating:3.5/5

While Sleeping Girls Lie is my first book by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and I don’t think it will be my last.

When you first start this book, you think it is centred around a missing person, but that’s just one of the many threads that unravel. Elizabeth disappearing feels like the catalyst for this mystery, but the further in you get, you realise that this story has been in the making for quite some time.

I definitely would have rated this higher if the pacing was just a little faster. Parts of this book feel like walking through sludge, I would spend hours reading and feel like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I personally feel like too much time was spent on mundane school days. It also didn’t help that Goodreads has it listed as having over 100 pages less than it does. If I knew while reading that this is over 550 pages, I would have understood the slower pace.

There are also a few minor plot points that don’t come to satisfying conclusions. I’m not going to mention anything specifically as there are huge spoilers, but it would have been nice to have these mentioned.

As someone who has had guinea pigs for almost eight years, every time the guinea pig was mentioned made me so sad. Firstly, it’s kept in a science lab at the school - why?! Secondly, I know Baz liberated it for a good reason but it’s treated so badly. If you read this book, please never feed a guinea pig muffins or keep one on its own in a tiny travel cage. This is a very nit-picky thing to complain about but it made me a little angry as a guinea pig owner.

Other than his mistreatment of said guinea pig, Baz was my favourite character. He’s there for comic relief and I adored his relationship with Sade. This was pretty much the only light part of this book, but these moments were very much needed to break up the intensity.

There were so many characters that I enjoyed, even if some of them were bad people. Pretty much every character in this book is lying about who they are and their involvement in the mystery. It was so fun trying to figure out who was telling the truth.

I also really enjoyed the back-and-forth with Sade and Persephone, but the romantic element of this felt very empty. You could definitely tell that this was where their relationship was going, but even by the end, nothing was concrete. Most of their interactions were very business-like. You could sense the chemistry between them, but I wish more happened with them.

Overall, Where Sleeping Girls Lie was a great mystery but it definitely has pacing issues. I think I would have enjoyed this even more if it had been shorter and had a greater sense of urgency. The cast of characters was complex and interesting and it handled some dark topics very well.

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s addictive play on the traditional, boarding-school mystery is set in a highly-regarded, British public school. Its palatial grounds and gracious buildings cradle the elite’s offspring: children of international business figures and famous designers rub shoulders with the sons and daughters of politicians and the aristocracy. Recently-orphaned Sade Hussein is the newest pupil at the Alfred Nobel Academy, haunted by past tragedies she seems ready for a fresh start. But Sade is rapidly tangled up in the disappearance of her room-mate Elizabeth Wang. When the school leadership refuses to follow up on Elizabeth’s case, Sade teams up with Baz, Elizabeth’s best friend, in a desperate effort to uncover the truth.

Àbíké-Íyímídé’s deftly combines genre conventions and influences here: from Mean Girls to 13 Reasons Why to Christie-style detective fiction. The early part of her story feels like cosy crime served up with a dash of dark academia but as the plot progresses there are a series of deeply disturbing twists. Alfred Nobel increasingly reminded me of those sleepy English villages in vintage murder mysteries, outwardly picturesque but actually concealing deep-seated resentments and terrible crimes. Similarly, the charming, public schoolboys surrounding Sade are revealed to be Jekyll-and-Hyde figures, their polished exteriors merely masking their malicious, predatory desires.

Àbíké-Íyímídé’s narrative constructed a fascinating portrait of the dangerous consequences of unbridled privilege, the entitled boys/men who consider themselves untouchable and the systems that enable them. Àbíké-Íyímídé explicitly connects her story to Oluwatoyin Salau’s case - one that deserves to be remembered. But the English setting with its old boys’ networks and exclusive societies made me think of recent UK scandals. In particular Soma Sara’s exploration of links between numerous, exclusive, British independent schools and a widespread culture of rape, exposed through survivor accounts posted on her everyonesinvited site. Like Soma Sara, Àbíké-Íyímídé’s wants to empower girls, something she highlights. But she also makes it clear that the rot can’t easily be rooted out, it requires an ongoing process of resistance, support, and accountability.

The novel’s not flawless: the sapphic elements seemed understated; the diary entries and transcripts felt like unnecessary embellishments; some developments weren’t totally convincing or read like the remnants of abandoned storylines – especially the relationship between Sade and her father, and her treatment by her family. Although I really liked the bond between Baz and Sade and the detail of life at the school. For the most part I found this intensely gripping, and the underlying political and cultural messages powerful and undeniably relevant.

An interesting twist on the school thriller run of YA books released in recent years. There's plenty of intrigue and romance with an attack on the privileged elite. Cliques, secret societies and unlikely friendships abound.

Believable characters and a fast paced story with an interesting last minute twist. Well worth a read