Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - SLAY

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

SLAY by Brittney Morris

31 reviews

riella_reads's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read this one in one day thanks to an extra long commute. I really loved this one. It's a little different than what I expected, but in a great way. This had some really good commentary and friendships. I also saw that this author thought of this idea after watching Black Panther so I think if you liked both that and Ready Player One you will like this.

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bookowllover's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.50 stars
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TW; Racism, Racial Slurs, Toxic Relationship, Death, Cancer, Child Death, Violence, Gun Violence
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Going into Slay I wasn't really sure what to expect, I had been putting this one off for so long. Kiera is your average seventeen-year-old but by night, she turns into a game developer and SLAY player Emerald. I really enjoyed the endless representation, pop-culture references, and some of the message behind this book. I didn't really enjoy how unrealistic the book felt at times especially the whole creation of the game itself.

When a young boy winds up dead due to a dispute in-game, Kiera's world comes crashing down - everyone wants her to be held responsible for a game that seems to be targeted towards black gamers. When it seems as a player infiltrates the game and threatens to sue Kiera, she must spring into action to save everything she's ever worked on.

One of the things I liked most about this book was the dialogue and the interaction between characters, although, I must say I really disliked Malcolm and found his views to be a little out there. I would highly suggest this book as it does hit on very difficult topics and subject matter that should be acknowledged.

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sydneynorrie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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amibo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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alisazhup's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING! This book deserves SO MUCH HYPE! There was a nuanced discussion of safe spaces, a cute sister/family relationship, an epic video game world, an exploration of what "Black excellence" really means, themes of internalized racism, girls in STEM, Black culture, friendship with people from different races, different regions/countries etc. etc. etc. As a white person this book gave me a lot of perspective. I only wish it was longer! I think a sequel could work with this book.

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thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

SLAY is a book that I really wanted to read during #BlackHistoryMonth, and it ended up being one of my last reads in February! This is a great read if you like the excitement of sci-fi elements while preferring that the story be grounded in a contemporary world. SLAY is set in the (hopefully!) near future where virtual reality gaming is more commonplace.

This book reminded me of Warcross by Marie Lu, but as I mentioned earlier, it has a more contemporary setting and deals with present-day racial issues. One of the things I liked most about this book was that the characters had different ways of expressing their Blackness and often discussed their perspectives with one another. Kiera and her sister were one of the best examples of this, and seeing them accept and support each other showed how strong their relationship was.

The amazing descriptions of SLAY made me wish I could play a VR RPG right now, and Morris did a great job making the game feel real! I appreciated how the stakes felt high for Kiera and the other players, without the typical sci-fi threat of "the end of the world." Their virtual world was being threatened, and that was enough to keep me invested. This was a really timely and fun YA novel, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

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