When a real-life murder occurs between two SLAY players fighting over game currency, Kiera is appalled.  She's even more disturbed when her beloved creation is labeled racist and violence-inducing.  As much as she longs to stand up for her game, Kiera can't risk exposing her identity.  But, when push comes to shove, she's forced to take action.  Will those actions unmask her as the creator of SLAY?  What will happen if it does?  Can Kiera defend and save her game or will her safe haven be shut down forever?

SLAY, a debut novel by Brittney Morris, asks some intriguing questions about online gaming, racism, Blackness, fitting in, and standing out.  As a white woman raising an adopted bi-racial child, I found the book's exploration of Blackness particularly eye-opening and insightful.  I'm not a video game fan, so that part of the novel struck me as as dull and headache-inducing as watching someone play a game.  Not gonna lie, I was tempted to skip all the in-game sections.  I didn't, but those scenes just didn't engage me at all.  Kiera was likable (in spite of her constant self-centeredness) as were her friends (other than racist, manipulative Malcolm).  The plot was compelling enough to keep me turning pages, but it contained a lot of illogical actions and weird dichotomies that drove me crazy.  For instance:  The recurring theme of being one's authentic self is an important one, but I couldn't understand how that works in a video game where everyone is hiding behind a false name, appearance, and a lot of times, personality.  That makes no sense at all.  I was also confused about why Kiera's addiction to gaming had to be a big secret.  My kids brag about being gamers!  I especially didn't get why it had to be kept from Kiera's parents—if they're "cool" with their underage daughter having sex with her (racist, manipulative) underage boyfriend in their house and they're not at all worried that their daughter spends endless hours cooped up in her room, are they really going to care that she's a gamer?  Again, totally illogical.  I could go on, but I won't.  Suffice it to say, I had some big issues with the plausibility of SLAY's whole setup, which took away from my enjoyment of the book.  Overall, I liked it enough to finish, but the novel

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School and 17-year-old Tyler MacCandless don't get along very well.  It's not that he doesn't try.  He does.  And it's not that he isn't smart enough.  He is.  It's just that his ADHD makes it difficult to sit still, impossible to concentrate.  It's a whole lot easier to pretend he doesn't care.  Blowing off class to spend quality time with his game console is more to Tyler's liking anyway.  And, if he does it well, it might even lead to a real job.  That's what Rick Anderson, an Air Force vet who's become Tyler's mentor and father figure, says.  He's given Tyler an amazing new game to test—if Tyler can reach a high enough score, he can earn his way into flight school.  At the very least, the game keeps his mind off his other problems: failing grades, his workaholic mother, and an older brother who's in rehab trying to get clean.  

Ani Bagdorian is a brilliant, 16-year-old computer programmer from L.A.  A freshman at Yale, she's feeling just a little out of place.  At least her secret job designing software for a mysterious company called Haranco pays for most of her tuition.  Even if the whole situation makes her feel a little uneasy.  Still, she doesn't dare quit, not if she wants to keep herself out of jail.  

When Tyler and Ani meet, the two are instantly attracted to each other.  Not that they're allowed to have any kind of relationship.  Haranco won't allow it.  But the more the two learn about the dangerous game they're both playing, the more sure they are of one thing:  something screwy's going on.  And they're going to get to the bottom of it, whether Haranco likes it or not.  With a powerful corporation tracking their every move, the pair will have to use every ounce of smarts, sense and courage they've got to solve the mystery before people get hurt—people who include not just themselves, but everyone they love.  

While the premise behind Playing Tyler, a debut YA thriller by T.L. Costa, sounded intriguing, it also seemed ambitious.  Maybe too ambitious for a newbie author.  Turning a plot that already sounds far-fetched into something believable—well, I just wasn't sure Costa could pull it off.  And she didn't, not really.  Still, there were things the author did right, things that surprised me, things that made the novel more entertaining than I thought it would be.  Tyler, for one—the thoughts constantly pin-balling around in his head, echoed in the stacatto rhythm of his narration, as well as his hot-tempered, half-baked ideas and actions just seemed right-on for a teenage boy with ADHD.  After reading a few chapters of the book, I actually said aloud to my husband, "Wow, no wonder [a kid we know]'s the way he is, if this is what goes on in his head all day."  So, that at least seemed authentic to me.  The rest?  Not so much.  Costa's prose definitely impressed me more than I thought it would, but Playing Tyler's still full of contrived plot twists, under-developed characters and a storyline that should have been trimmed in order to create a stronger, tighter narrative.  I ended up enjoying this one, more or less, but it's still a pretty average thriller, in my (oh, so humble) opinion.  And yet, Costa is an author on which I'll definitely be keeping me eye.  

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of The Kill Room by Jeffery Deaver)

Grade: 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Playing Tyler from the generous folks at Strange Chemistry via those at BookSparks PR.  Thank you!

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Pandora Walker's as plugged in as the next teenager.  Like all her friends, the 17-year-old spends hours texting on her cell phone, scrolling through Facebook updates, and playing her favorite virtual-reality games.  But when her laptop starts interacting with her—well, that's when things get really weird.  

It all begins when Pandora opens a mysterious e-mail, supposedly from her long-lost father.  Downloading the included attachments triggers a chilling message from her favorite online game:  Beat the Game.  Save the World.  Pandora's sure the whole thing is just some elaborate prank, but when the Internet crashes, the phone lines quit working and cities around the nation go dark, she's convinced that this is no joke.  She has to believe what she's reading on her computer screen—in ten days, life as she knows it will end.  The only way to save it?  Beat a terrifying, very real version of Pandora's Box, the most popular virtual reality game in the world.  Pandora hasn't even mastered the original—how is she supposed to conquer this one?  It's impossible, but she has to play.  And win.

When the FBI shows up on her doorstep, accusing Pandora of cyber terrorism, she realizes she's going to have to save the world on the run.  Along with her neighbors, two stepbrothers she barely knows, Pandora's racing across the South trying to figure out game clues that are astonishingly personal.  With chaos reigning on the streets, surviving in the real world's becoming just as dangerous as fighting monsters in the game.  Even if she can level up enough to beat Pandora's Box, she might not survive looters, street gangs and the government agents who won't give up until they have her behind bars.  As the world falls to pieces around her, Pandora plays as well as she can, as fast as she can—but it may not be enough to save herself, let alone the planet, from total annihilation.

Although the plot of Doomed, a new YA dystopian thriller by Tracy Deebs, gets confusing, it's engrossing enough to keep readers engaged.  The gaming aspect keeps the story (somewhat) fresh, although there's plenty of the same ole, same ole as far as dystopian elements go.  I found Pandora sympathetic, but annoying, especially since her affections kept flip-flopping between her two travel companions.  Fickle much, Miss Walker?  Also, the story gets a little far-fetched (okay, a lot far-fetched).  Overall, though, I found Doomed to be a fast-moving, action-packed thriller compelling enough that I digested it pretty much in one sitting.  It didn't bowl me over or anything, but I still enjoyed the read.     

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a bit of The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon)  

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for strong language (half a dozen F-bombs, plus milder invectives), violence and sexual inneundo

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-galley of Doomed (via NetGalley) from the generous folks at Bloomsbury.  Thank you!