Where Sleeping Girls Lie

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination, emotional abuse, mental illness, death, suicide, rape, and sexual violence.

“Sade was used to luxury, so she knew that wealth came with an abundance of secrets. She could bet that Alfred Nobel Academy had a lot of them. Buried six feet under, beneath the perfectly trimmed rosebushes by the entrance.”

Sade is struck by Alfred Nobel Academy’s pristine and glamorous exterior; however, she is also immediately suspicious of it. The imagery of the “perfectly trimmed rosebushes” contrasts with the darkness underneath, reinforcing the motif of deception and foreshadowing the abuse and misogyny that happen behind the scenes at the elite institution.

The girl watched her too, a strange expression slowly creeping onto her face as she stared at Sade. It was as if she had seen a ghost.”

The simile “as if she had seen a ghost” creates an eerie tone, suggesting mystery and a past connection. Throughout the novel, Àbíké-Íyímídé hints at the existence of Sade’s twin sister through many strangers at ANA who have unusual reactions when they see Sade or indicate they recognize her from somewhere. Elizabeth Wang met Sade’s sister on an online forum for survivors of sexual violence and corresponded with her for several months. When she sees Sade for the first time, she is shocked, thinking it is her lost friend from the internet.

“It was like witnessing a social experiment, this seemingly primitive instinct to split off and go into these little groups. It was so different from her home life and reminded her of movies she had grown up watching. She wondered whether people were aware of how many clichés they fulfilled on a daily basis.”

Sade comes to ANA after having spent her entire adolescence isolated at home. The simile of comparing school cliques to a “social experiment” emphasizes Sade’s detachment, as if she is analyzing human behavior.