Are you interested in joining a real conversation about contemporary societal issues? Introducing Real Lit Remote!
Come join The Center for Equity and Inclusion and the UW Tacoma Library to discuss Brittney Morris' Slay.
We will meet Thursdays during lunch hour (12:30-1:20) via Zoom.
"Ready Player One meets The Hate U Give in this dynamite debut novel that follows a fierce teen game developer as she battles a real-life troll intent on ruining the Black Panther–inspired video game she created and the safe community it represents for Black gamers.
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”
But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”
Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?"
Please note: We will be conducting these sessions online via Zoom video conference calls. Real Lit is completely optional and you will not be graded. If you love to read and have conversations about the book, then Real Lit is the perfect place for you to find community! Students receive electronic copies of books on a first-come, first-serve basis. Preference given to folks who can attend most meetings. Contact
alainac@uw.edu,
jmjk@uw.edu or
mailon@uw.edu if you have questions.
Zoom video sessions can be close-captioned. We will work with you for further disability accommodation.
