E-Audiobook: Slay by Brittney Morris
I remember ordering this book for my library shelves last year when it was released. My coworker had suggested for me to read it because it's about gaming and I love video games. I finally downloaded it as an ebook and e-audiobook. E-audiobook to listen while I work or work around the house and ebook to read before going to bed.
I really enjoyed listening to the e-audiobook. The voice actors where perfect for each character. And it is great to hear Kiera, Claire, and a couple of auxiliary character's voices read their respective passages.
The book is mainly told through Kiera who is an honors student at Jefferson Academy. She is one of only a handful of black students at her school who is dating Malcolm, another black student who does not want to fall into black stereotypes. This is not a love story even though Kiera has a boyfriend. This is a story about identity, friendship, escapism, and gaming.
The story quickly turns into suspense when a gamer named Jamal is murdered over SLAY coins. Emerald (Kiera's online moniker) is harassed by a mysterious SLAY character claiming to bring justice to Jamal. The mysterious character assumes racist character modifications and threatens to sue Emerald if she refuses to duel him. Emerald immediately begins to doubt certain friendships and goes out to seek legal advice, and ultimately agrees to a duel where winner takes all, rights to characters, the name, everything SLAY.
!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!
I began to notice that Kiera's relationships was going to fail as soon as she let the reader know that she prefers to play SLAY rather than spend time with her boyfriend. You can't blame her knowing that she is the game developer and that she puts in a lot of hours into creating new cards for combat. SLAY is a MMO turned based game that uses cards for defense, offense, and hexing. All cards reference an item, person, action, landmark, etc. of black culture. The game itself sounds awesome! I would definitely play it if it were real, and who doesn't love VR?!
I personally thought it was odd that she hid SLAY from her friends, family, and boyfriend. I didn't think that playing in her room with a VR set was realistic but that's besides the point (I play Beat Saber and I can't keep quiet, let alone me bumping into furniture, and getting too excited). I also didn't like that her friendship with Claire remained anonymous throughout most of the story. Who doesn't feel curious and try to find something about the person they have been playing with/chatting/making a GAME! for the past three years?? But please, don't let these opinions of mine ruin the story, in fact, it was AMAZING! I loved SLAY so much!
What I loved...How realistic is Kiera's perception of her family and friends. When I was a teenager and have felt embarrassed or assume that an accomplishment of mine may not sit well with others, I used to not draw attention for fear of rejection or negative reaction. Kiera hit the nail in the coffin with her actions and reactions. I loved that she loved video games and felt out of place with Legacy of Planets. When I play online and have the opportunity to design my avatar, I love a certain style and I do get bummed when I am not able to modify my character. Kiera, was not able to get her preferred skin for her character to better represent her online with Legacy of Planets, and worse of all she was a victim of racism. She decided to make a stance and create a video game where she felt included and provide a safe space for the black gaming community. It is clear that her game is a success with 500k registered accounts, and scheduled tournaments.
Emerald created SLAY with Cicada aka Claire, a French black young woman in her second year in college. It was great to read how much fun Kiera and Claire had making the game, and how they become closer as the mysterious SLAY character threatens to raise hell. The reader gets to read a couple of other characters POV in a few chapters. They have no connection to Kiera nor Claire other than they play SLAY or have family members who do. However their presence is essential to the themes and plot of the story.
The story touches on hard themes of racism, and identity. As a female gamer, it was great reading about a female teenage girl love the world of online gaming and embracing it.
I really enjoyed listening to the e-audiobook. The voice actors where perfect for each character. And it is great to hear Kiera, Claire, and a couple of auxiliary character's voices read their respective passages.
The book is mainly told through Kiera who is an honors student at Jefferson Academy. She is one of only a handful of black students at her school who is dating Malcolm, another black student who does not want to fall into black stereotypes. This is not a love story even though Kiera has a boyfriend. This is a story about identity, friendship, escapism, and gaming.
The story quickly turns into suspense when a gamer named Jamal is murdered over SLAY coins. Emerald (Kiera's online moniker) is harassed by a mysterious SLAY character claiming to bring justice to Jamal. The mysterious character assumes racist character modifications and threatens to sue Emerald if she refuses to duel him. Emerald immediately begins to doubt certain friendships and goes out to seek legal advice, and ultimately agrees to a duel where winner takes all, rights to characters, the name, everything SLAY.
!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!
I began to notice that Kiera's relationships was going to fail as soon as she let the reader know that she prefers to play SLAY rather than spend time with her boyfriend. You can't blame her knowing that she is the game developer and that she puts in a lot of hours into creating new cards for combat. SLAY is a MMO turned based game that uses cards for defense, offense, and hexing. All cards reference an item, person, action, landmark, etc. of black culture. The game itself sounds awesome! I would definitely play it if it were real, and who doesn't love VR?!
I personally thought it was odd that she hid SLAY from her friends, family, and boyfriend. I didn't think that playing in her room with a VR set was realistic but that's besides the point (I play Beat Saber and I can't keep quiet, let alone me bumping into furniture, and getting too excited). I also didn't like that her friendship with Claire remained anonymous throughout most of the story. Who doesn't feel curious and try to find something about the person they have been playing with/chatting/making a GAME! for the past three years?? But please, don't let these opinions of mine ruin the story, in fact, it was AMAZING! I loved SLAY so much!
What I loved...How realistic is Kiera's perception of her family and friends. When I was a teenager and have felt embarrassed or assume that an accomplishment of mine may not sit well with others, I used to not draw attention for fear of rejection or negative reaction. Kiera hit the nail in the coffin with her actions and reactions. I loved that she loved video games and felt out of place with Legacy of Planets. When I play online and have the opportunity to design my avatar, I love a certain style and I do get bummed when I am not able to modify my character. Kiera, was not able to get her preferred skin for her character to better represent her online with Legacy of Planets, and worse of all she was a victim of racism. She decided to make a stance and create a video game where she felt included and provide a safe space for the black gaming community. It is clear that her game is a success with 500k registered accounts, and scheduled tournaments.
Emerald created SLAY with Cicada aka Claire, a French black young woman in her second year in college. It was great to read how much fun Kiera and Claire had making the game, and how they become closer as the mysterious SLAY character threatens to raise hell. The reader gets to read a couple of other characters POV in a few chapters. They have no connection to Kiera nor Claire other than they play SLAY or have family members who do. However their presence is essential to the themes and plot of the story.
The story touches on hard themes of racism, and identity. As a female gamer, it was great reading about a female teenage girl love the world of online gaming and embracing it.
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