A book recommendation for Felice in Young Royals, that will make her feel seen and understood, is Young Adult novel, Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-íyímídé.
This Get Out meets Gossip Girl inspired thriller, is perfect for lovers of Dark Academia.
Set in an elite all white high school, where the only two Black kids, Devon and Chiamaka, start to feel that all is not right in their last year of school. Their dreams for their future, and their lives, are at risk from a mysterious entity called Aces.
Chiamaka is also the popular girl in her school and is mixed-race like Felice. This book was published the month before Young Royals season one came out, so I would totally recommend d it to be on Felice's tbr. It's also featured in Heartstopper Season one episode one - Isaac is reading it at Charlie's sleepover party.
The author Faridah, who is Black-British, queer and Muslim, was writing Ace of Spades during her first year at a Scottish university, aged 19. The book was part inspired by her experiences there.
About the teenage friendships in Ace of Spades, Faridah has said:
"Something that gets left out of t.v. shows and books often is how much friendship means a lot to teenagers. I think friendship breakups are more common and more hurtful than romantic ones when you're growing up, because those are your main relationships. I really wanted to highlight how toxic friendships and unhealthy relationships can look like. As well as ones that are good but flawed. I think it's really important to show teenagers that. When I was younger there were so many friendships I had that were definitely toxic but I had no words to articulate why they were because I guess everybody's desperate for friendship and nobody wants to be alone."
You can listen to this and the rest of this conversation on @probooknerds podcast. This episode is from June 2021.
