Tag: high school

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YA Review: Slay

Title: Slay
Author: Brittney Morris
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

Seventeen-year-old Kiera has top grades, a great boyfriend – and Slay, a massively popular online game that she coded herself. While her friends and family know all about the grades, as well as her boyfriend and their plan to go to college together, no one in her real life knows about the game. She has an in-game friend who helps her to manage and develop the game-play, but she hides her online identity from everyone else in her life.

And there’s a twist. Slay is a role-playing duelling game with an extensive virtual world, designed to be a celebration of Black culture. Kiera’s own experiences of racial abuse and systemic racism in other online environments inspired her to create a safe space for Black gamers. Entry is by invitation, intended only for Black players around the world – and Slay has half a million of them.

When a young player is murdered for his in-game currency, everything Kiera has built begins to fall apart. There are threats of lawsuits against Slay, and when the story hits the news, Kiera finds herself accused of racism for excluding non-Black players from her game. The more Slay is in the headlines, the more certain she is that she must hide her involvement from everyone she knows.

I loved this book. I loved the joyous celebration of Black culture, in everything from the duelling cards to the players’ costumes and the virtual environment Kiera built. I loved the central characters, and their contrasting views on how to be Black and proud in the USA today. And I loved Kiera – her intelligence, her friendships, and her commitment to the game that brought so many people together. I followed her through the highs and lows of the story, feeling her heartbreak at the attacks on her creation, and punching the air with her victories. The in-game duelling scenes were exciting, and the descriptions of the players and the settings were wonderful. As the threats closed in, I couldn’t put the book down – and I couldn’t guess what would happen next.

I’m giving a very well-deserved five stars for this exciting and inspiring YA novel. Highly recommended!

Have you read Slay? What did you think of the story? And what about Kiera – were you on her side? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: The Forevers

Title: The Forevers
Author: Chris Whitaker
Edition: Audiobook
Rating: 3/5

This is a UK-set high school novel with a difference – the world is probably ending, and the characters are living their lives against the clock. It’s a powerful idea, following a group of teenagers as they navigate an uncertain future in a world that is slowly falling apart.

The asteroid has been headed to earth for ten years, and so far every attempt to divert it has failed. The final mission might succeed, and life might go on – but what if it doesn’t? Will the teenagers of West have the chance to live before the end?

Mae, a girl with a reputation as a troublemaker, searches for the truth about her friend’s death. Did Abi Manton kill herself, or did someone in town have a motive for murder? As normal life begins to unravel, Mae uncovers her classmates’ secrets, finding friends, allies and enemies in unexpected places.

With this setup, readers might expect a complete collapse of law and order, or a sense of apocalyptic panic, but that’s not story the author sets out to tell. As the end of the world approaches, the characters definitely become more brave and less law-abiding, but they still go to work and school, practice for concerts and make plans for the final school dance. This could have been a book about what people do when their actions don’t have consequences, but if the final mission succeeds they will all still have to get up in the morning and navigate the rest of their lives. The threat of success is a clever twist, adding balance to the story and allowing normal life to continue as the clock counts down.

I didn’t get on with the book at first. The author introduces a large cast of characters, and jumps straight into their relationships, rumours, crushes, and cliques. To begin with I had trouble remembering who was who, who was rumoured to be sleeping with whom, and who liked or hated the protagonist. While Mae’s sister and her best friend are well drawn and rounded, the other characters were harder to tell apart, and I found myself struggling to care about their stories.

The plot develops slowly, with fragments of evidence about Abi’s life and death surfacing among all the other secrets and lies. Every character is hiding something, and it feels as if Mae is constantly sidetracked by the scandals she uncovers in her classmates’ lives. There is an answer, and all the pieces fall into place in the end, but not before we’ve heard about every other scandal in town.

Mae is an interesting protagonist. She doesn’t think twice about breaking and entering, particularly in the expensive part of town. She has no problem stealing from the rich kids to support her younger sister and the grandmother who is struggling to look after them, and she’s always top of the suspect list if anything happens at school. She’s learned not to care what other people think of her, and her only soft spot is for her sister. As the book progresses, she finds herself caring about the people around her. As she finds out more about their lives, she begins to understand that life isn’t plain sailing for anyone – even the families in the biggest houses in West.

The asteroid that might tear the world apart ends up bringing the teenagers of West closer together. If you’re looking for a slow-burn murder mystery with a large cast of friends and enemies, or a high-school gossip story with a twist, this is the book for you.

Have you read The Forevers? What did you think of the story? Would you be a Forever in the same circumstances? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: One Of Us Is Lying

Title: One Of Us Is Lying
Author: Karen M McManus
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5

A high-school locked-room murder mystery, narrated by the students suspected of the crime. One Of Us Is Lying is a cleverly constructed story that kept me guessing as the suspects slowly revealed their secrets and pieced together the evidence against them.

Five students find themselves in detention together – the athlete, the prom-queen wannabe, the gossip king, the high-achiever, and the drug dealer on probation – but only four will leave the room alive. The survivors find themselves questioning what happened during detention, and working together to understand what the murder means for each of them. All of them have something to hide – but which of them has a motive for murder?

The story unfolds gradually, with each survivor narrating their own chapters as the evidence builds. I was completely hooked, turning the pages to find the next twist and the next motive, and developing theories as each character confessed more about their lives.

Keeping secrets from the reader when the book is written in alternating first-person chapters is difficult, but the author manages to reveal her surprises and plot twists gradually, without making readers feel cheated or misled. We feel as if we’re getting to know the characters as they get to know each other, and this ensures that the first-person revelations feel entirely natural as the story unfolds.

The four suspects feel very different, with different concerns, ambitions, and family backgrounds. With each new twist, another character comes under suspicion, and the reader is constantly guessing who has a secret worth killing for. The supporting cast adds depth to the story, with friends, sisters, parents, teachers, and boyfriends and girlfriends adding to the tangled web of grudges, motives, and opportunities.

It’s a clever premise and a gripping story with a satisfying ending – and a sequel, which is definitely on my wish list.

Have you read One Of Us Is Lying? What did you think of the story? Will you be reading the sequel? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.