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sydneynorrie's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death
amibo's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
azaliz's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
it's an amazing book! Full of Black culture and love and power.
It also shows Black women in STEM! People exploring who they are thanks to videogames (including trans and non-binary folks)! And just, people basking in a world where they can be themselves and not oppressed <3
There's also some very real discourse about what it means to be Black nowadays, the weight of history and prejudice.
There's also some very real discourse about what it means to be Black nowadays, the weight of history and prejudice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Stalking
Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, and Gun violence
Minor: Transphobia
alisazhup's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Minor: Cursing, Medical content, and Police brutality
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs and Toxic relationship
the_rainydayreader's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
fast-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, and Racism
hagiasophia's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
read this for a book club, so my thoughts may change some after we meet, but these are my current thoughts:
- the premise of a 17-year old running a game with only one other mod and apparently doing it without paying for pretty much anything is so unbelievable. i could not suspend my disbelief at all. this book should have either been more realistic (older characters, a larger group of people running it) or gone full sci-fi and taken place in the near future where we have the tech the story describes.
-Writing is incredibly bland and simplistic and the characters are flat. Malcolm is a caricature and all opportunities for interesting discourse are thrown away with how much of a stereotype of a "hotep" he is. The relationships b/w characters did not feel authentic at all. The plot twist was so predictable.
-This book spent way too much time explaining stuff. It is clearly trying to target both Black teens and non-Black teens, but details the details of near every aspect of Black culture introduced. It was tedious, especially since I was familiar with most of the terms. Kids can look up terms they're not familiar with, they don't need their hands held as they're guided through every word they don't know. And it tried to take a global perspective but failed to do so. It's totally US-centric, which there's nothing wrong with, except story presents Slay as a game that encompasses all of Black culture across the world.
-The book was pretty fast to read, and I am not the target demographic so I'm trying not to bee too hard on it. But not for me at all and just poorly executed overall.
- the premise of a 17-year old running a game with only one other mod and apparently doing it without paying for pretty much anything is so unbelievable. i could not suspend my disbelief at all. this book should have either been more realistic (older characters, a larger group of people running it) or gone full sci-fi and taken place in the near future where we have the tech the story describes.
-Writing is incredibly bland and simplistic and the characters are flat. Malcolm is a caricature and all opportunities for interesting discourse are thrown away with how much of a stereotype of a "hotep" he is. The relationships b/w characters did not feel authentic at all. The plot twist was so predictable.
-This book spent way too much time explaining stuff. It is clearly trying to target both Black teens and non-Black teens, but details the details of near every aspect of Black culture introduced. It was tedious, especially since I was familiar with most of the terms. Kids can look up terms they're not familiar with, they don't need their hands held as they're guided through every word they don't know. And it tried to take a global perspective but failed to do so. It's totally US-centric, which there's nothing wrong with, except story presents Slay as a game that encompasses all of Black culture across the world.
-The book was pretty fast to read, and I am not the target demographic so I'm trying not to bee too hard on it. But not for me at all and just poorly executed overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
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? Yes
4.5
This book has been touted as the black, female answer to Ready, Player One; but I’ll say the story and message of this book is so much more than that.
Slay explores harmful rhetoric by both white and coloured people in an engaging and truly emphatic fashion. This book isn’t meant to educate (and it’s not any POC’s responsibility to educate white people about racism), but being white, these kinds of books provide an excellent slice of insight into a lot of matters that we can truly never fully understand as we just don’t live them.
It’s a truly nuanced read that discusses the need for black spaces that celebrate black excellence which aren’t monopolised by white people. It’s also a fantastic celebration of women in STEM and is a true love letter to black culture of all it’s different facets.
Slay explores harmful rhetoric by both white and coloured people in an engaging and truly emphatic fashion. This book isn’t meant to educate (and it’s not any POC’s responsibility to educate white people about racism), but being white, these kinds of books provide an excellent slice of insight into a lot of matters that we can truly never fully understand as we just don’t live them.
It’s a truly nuanced read that discusses the need for black spaces that celebrate black excellence which aren’t monopolised by white people. It’s also a fantastic celebration of women in STEM and is a true love letter to black culture of all it’s different facets.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Bullying
butyougotmysoul's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
This book was really well written, engaging, and exciting. There were several parts that I felt were a bit extraneous and didn't add too much to the story, but it was negligible when compared with the overall book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Child death, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, and Police brutality
archosaur's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Bullying