Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (review)

Reviewed by: Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Natalie Berglind Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah Where Sleeping Girls Lie. Feiwel, 2024 416p Trade ed. ISBN 9781250800848 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250800855 11. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 8-12 In the wake of her father's death, Sade Hussein is headed to the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy for her third year of high school after a lifetime of sheltered home-schooling. The change from her old life is drastic, the weight of grief making the transition even harder. Thankfully, her roommate Elizabeth is welcoming, helpful, and friendly—that is, until Elizabeth goes missing, leaving her BFF Baz dejected and suspicious. The stories the academy's staff are feeding to students don't match up with the evidence, and as Sade becomes more invested in Elizabeth's disappearance, she falls headlong into a rabbit hole of the elitist students' darkest secrets and betrayals. Even as she finds new friends, she's learning how little she can trust anyone around her, especially when she's got her own secrets to keep. While the mystery elements of this novel are awkwardly handled, with reveals held for too long and eventually provided in the form of extended flashbacks, the slower pace allows readers plenty of time to settle into the complicated dynamics at play in the atmospheric, posh British academy. Sade is an easy protagonist to root for, and her relationship to each of her new friends is well-balanced; the support she receives from her budding crush, Persephone, along with Baz, is as sweet as it is powerful. Themes of processing trauma and the prevalence of rape culture, particularly where it pertains to privileged white boys, permeate this sad but ultimately hopeful story. The ending is realistic, leaving some perpetrators apprehended and some excused due to their connections, but the portrayal of kids fighting back against an old-guard, damaging system makes for an undeniably empowering read. End Page 238 Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois