The book Slay by Brittney Morris embodies black girl STEM magic and it is highly recommended for girls in STEM! In this book, the main character named Kiera is a high school student by day and a game developer by night...
Kiera created the game 'Slay' as a safe haven for black people to be able to be themselves and take a break from the problems they face in the real world.'Slay' is a virtual reality where people can create their own character and duel each other using cards based on black pop culture. It is a representation of a utopia where we people can come and just be themselves.
Kiera's game makes the news when a young boy who played the game was killed due to something that happened in the 'Slay' world. People began to interpret her game as being dangerous and racist. Just when things couldn’t get any worse for Kiera, someone infiltrates her game and threatens to destroy the beautiful safe haven that she created. She has to figure out how to win her game back, not just for herself, but for all the people that use Slay as an escape from their problems in the real world.
This book does a great job at showing that spaces where people can be themselves and feel connected to others are extremely essential. It also breaks stereotypes by showing how Kiera, a young girl, created a video game that is played by millions of people all over the world. "Slay" does a good job at raising the question of: should something created as a safe space for one group of people be seen as discriminatory against another group of people? It also shows that girls can also like video games and can even create one!
This book is perfect for young girls in STEM and I would highly recommend it.
If you are interested in ordering your own copy of "Slay", click here.
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