I enjoyed Ace of Spades so was keen to read this when I saw it!

A slow burn of a mystery with great characterisation. I enjoyed this despite its dark content. Sade's story was (at times) a tough one to read and I was grateful for the content warnings. I would recommend this to my students but perhaps with more caution.

I’m really struggling to know how I feel about this one.
On the one hand it’s brilliant and powerful and speaks to the strength of women (particularly those of colour). Yet on the other, it left me feeling very depressed and in despair of toxic masculinity and rich white men in powerful positions. It didn’t really turn out to be about what I expected. It was much darker and disturbing because it focuses on such real upsetting problems.

I’d definitely suggest people check trigger warnings before reading. I should have took more note of them…

There was lots I really liked and appreciated about this.

Loved the dark academia atmosphere. I’m a sucker for an imposing, beautiful boarding school setting.

The characters were so diverse and interesting. I’m always so glad to see more black voices getting published and heard. Plus it was very queer. Although not the main point of the story, so didn’t get as much attention as I might have wanted, I really liked the sapphic and Achillean romances.

And, my main highlight of joy was side character Baz and his secret stolen Guinea pig!

I think the dark subject matter in this book is very important to explore in fiction. It’s a very real problem and too many people don’t get the justice they deserve. I just wasn’t expecting this book to be about what it was and it was a challenge exploring it without warning. (That’s on me, I need to be better at looking at content warnings!!)

I’m aware I’m being fairly vague as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to go in blind.

A very worthwhile read that covers lots of important and sensitive topics. It will unfortunately be very relatable to a lot of people. Although very sad, it was more realistic that things didn’t all get wrapped up completely neatly. Yet there was still a sense of hope at the end.

I definitely recommend, but with caution! This will be a hard read for many and possibly not one to pick up while feeling sensitive and vulnerable.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an E-arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a reference to an article that is mentioned at the end of the book, once we know the secrets that are kept by the characters we encounter. It is, intentionally, designed to rouse dislike of the misogynistic attitudes that pervade this novel. Appropriately, it is also clear by this point that the girls we encounter during this book do not lie, and have only just found their voice.
Our main character is Sade Hussain, a young girl who is about to start a new life at Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. She arrives at the school and is taken under the wing of her roommate Elizabeth Wang. Unfortunately, soon after Sadie’s arrival Elizabeth goes missing. For reasons that become clear later, Sade takes it upon herself to look for clues as to what might have happened.
As Sade digs, she unearths secrets that are shocking, though sadly not a surprise given the culture in which we live.
Sade is not what she first appears to be, though we are given plenty of clues throughout the book that alert us to this. The characters are privileged and, perhaps, at times rather like caricatures. However, the sentiments behind the book are timely.
I curious to see what teen readers make of this. Many of my students loved Ace of Spades and while I think this is a welcome exploration of attitudes to consent and how we manage expectations of all involved, I wonder if it is a little drawn-out at times and whether they will find the ease with which Sade is able to find just the right people to help her at the time she needs them just a little implausible.

Teenager Sade enrols at a boarding school following on from the death of her only remaining family member. She is allocated a house sister called Elizabeth with whom she will be sharing a room but after only a day, Elizabeth disappears and in the face of indifference from those in authority, Sade is determined to discover what has happened to her.
After a strong start, the mystery slowly unfolds. We know that Sade has secrets in her past and her anxiety hints at the trauma she has experienced. As the new girl she has to make all new friendships and her relationship with Baz offers a lightness which contrasts well with the dark themes of the book. The book has themes of power and privilege as well as sexual assault, grief and suicide, all of which are written without being heavy handed. The complex and diverse cast of characters is easy to keep track of because they are so well crafted.

This was a fab YA novel, the only thing that I would criticise is that I think this would have done brilliantly as a series, there was so much background and I would have loved to have watched the characters develop more and uncover more about their shady pasts, upbringing and the who why’s and what’s or how they all ended up attended ANA. (The school)

Set in a boarding school in the uk we meet Sade Hussein on her first day at ANA , this book goes straight in and doesn’t miss any details. There are lots of taboo subjects covered and the characters are all well developed but I would love to read more about some of the less popular characters too.

All in all this is a book I won’t forget, thank you to NetGalley the author and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

I went into this expecting a thriller, but I’d say this is more of a mystery with a focus on character development rather than plot. I still enjoyed it, but I’d recommend tempering expectations before you start.

I absolutely loved the gothic school setting atmosphere. It’s very dark and heavy, which I loved! It’s hard to say much without spoiling, but I highly recommend this if you’re into gothic books.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is an ambitious, dark YA mystery set within a boarding school. It covers the story at an engaging pace and kept my attention throughout. Overall, I thought that this was an interesting take on the boarding school story, with a diverse cast of characters who pushed the story along.

However, the story does deal with a number of difficult topics which readers may find distressing - these are mentioned in the author’s note at the beginning - and should therefore be kept in mind when choosing whether to read this book or not. I would say that it is better suited to older readers than books like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (despite their otherwise similar placements), and would hesitate to recommend it to my students without being sure how they would respond to the relevant trigger warnings. My rating is reflective of this uncertainty.

3.5*

I thoroughly enjoyed this YA mystery set in a boarding school - the author did a great job weaving all the threads together to make a not too predictable story. This would be a perfect autumny read. There are some dark themes in this book so please check triggers before reading!

This was a highly anticipated read for me, I’m so glad it lived up to my expectations!

It had a real gothic feel with its secrets, dark characters who really led me in all kinds of directions. I truly did not know how this would end and I was shocked by the outcome. The ending did feel very bitter sweet as not all justice was fair, but that gave a sense of realism.

I liked the diversity and this reminded me of a good girls guide to murder with its diverse characters, style of pacing with its clues and outcomes. This was fantastic!

When she starts at her new school, Sade Hussein is not entirely sure what to expect. The Alfred Nobel Academy (ANA) is after all a very prestigious institution. And it is certainly not the kind of place where you expect students to go missing!

As if that were not bad enough, Sade is horrified to discover that not only is it her roommate Elizabeth who has gone missing, but that she herself is now viewed with suspicion in some quarters.

This is all very far from what Sade had anticipated, but she's in it now. And navigating an environment where friends are in short supply, she might just have to find her own way out...

This is an absorbing story about secrets, elitism, rivalries and a culture of entitlement. Readers who enjoy dark academia stories will enjoy this one. It gets 3.5 stars.

I have just finished ‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’ by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and have decided to give it 5 stars.

‘Where Sleeping Girls Lie’ is a novel that takes place at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy or ANA. Where we begin in the story we follow out protagonist, Sade, arriving late at the esteemed school. When a student goes missing she and other students find themselves tangled up in the mystery of it.

First, I loved Sade and how thoughtful she was. She was not one to do or say anything on impulse (like a lot of characters have a frustrating habit of doing in this particular genre) and that allowed for me as the reader to really get an insight of her thoughts. As for the other characters (like The Unholy Girls, teachers, swim team members etc.) - they were properly fleshed out which was great given that there are many characters we’re introduced to quite early on and throughout the story. I thought the way her and Baz leaned on each other was sweet and the understanding that she shared with Persephone. There are many characters that are unsavory and I was kicking myself for being fooled by the charisma of a particular one.

As for the plot, I was kept on the edge of my seat and there was little I correctly predicted. I think half way I even stopped trying to guess and let myself go slack-jawed at certain points. There are some heavy themes and so you’ll need to check the trigger warnings but I do believe that such topics and other themes like gender and privileged were handled appropriately given the nature and genre of the book so that’s always a good sign. There’s a great level of mystery and many high tension moments. The length of this book initially made me nervous but once I got into it I really powered through and didn’t even noticed I had read so much in my first sitting.

I’ve not read from this author before but based on my reading experience I sure will be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Usborne for this ARC.