Slay by Brittney Morris

Jan 09, 2019 Brittney Morris rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

I mean, I think it's pretty cool.

Aug 25, 2019 may ➹ rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, 2019-reads, ownvoices, poc, poc-author, diverse, poc-main, pov-female, arc, important-messages

SLAY is a book that I think should be in everyone’s hands. It’s such an important read, and I think it’ll be an eye-opening experience for many, while Black people will find comfort in this story so openly celebratory of Blackness.

The book follows high school student Kiera, who developed the game SLAY in an effort to carve out a space for Black gamers, after having to deal with the racism prevalent in the gaming world. With half a million users, it’s a community for and of Black gamers coming ...more

flag 91 likes · Like · see review

Nov 23, 2018 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] marked it as to-read

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, owned-tbr, unread-review-copies, diverse-reads, owned-physical

I need more books about gamer girls in my life and a badass black gamer girl who creates her own video game and takes some racist POS to task? YES. PLEASE.

flag 83 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2019 Lola rated it really liked it

Shelves: racism, high-school, 2019-publications, gaming

This isn’t the type of story that I would typically read. Mainly because I prefer to actually play games than to read about them. But SLAY is such a unique and thematic MMORPG that I couldn’t help but get curious about it. I also loved the fact that it was created by a teenage girl with a normal life many people can relate to. Keira Johnson’s voice is equally strong and gentle. She is kind, patient, loving, smart … but not one to let disrespect slide.

Half of the story is spent in the ‘‘real ...more

flag 77 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2019 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, 4-star, read-2019, young-adult

This whole book was so deeply fantastic. It's one of those ones where you have to remind yourself to like, unclench your JAW, because you're reading and stressing and loving the whole thing. I admit not not being knowledgeable about video games, but this actually made me wish I played something. (I mean I did Sims at 14 but WHO DIDN'T.) I also thoroughly respected the heart and love and care that came with reading an #ownvoices book about Blackness. The book is a love letter to black teens and ...more

flag 56 likes · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2019 Nenia ⚡ Aspiring Evil Overlord ⚡ Campbell rated it liked it

Shelves: les-arcs-de-triomphes, ya-ya-land, stem-heroines, poc-interracial

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

SLAY, on the surface, is everything I want to read about in a book. STEM heroine, science-fictiony elements, video games, diverse rep, real world issues, and political/feminist dialogues. Below the surface, however, are several Issue Sharks swimming and circling and waiting for me to dive down below and check it out so they can chew up my expectations to ribbons.

Did my expectations become sad, tattered ribbons of disappointment? No. But ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2019 Lauren (The Novel Lush) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arcs, black-excellence, young-adult

I'm going to really work on this review so I'll probably edit it several times, but MY GOD this book is so fucking GOOD! So much of our culture packed in 300 some odd pages. Generations of Black nuances and expression everywhere I looked. UPLIFTING Black people of all shades, all genders, all sexualities, all personalities.

Aside from that, this book is just a piece of art! The thought and world building in the game alone. THOSE CARDS FRIGGING SENT ME! Can we actually have this game please? ...more

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2018 Sana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: disaster-the-opposite-of-aster, let-me-give-you-a-hug-or-a-100, feeling-the-aster, friendship-of-the-unshakable-kind, lady-bosses-in-charge, murder-is-terribly-exhausting, girls-make-everything-better, these-family-dynamics, kick-names-take-ass, no-romance-no-problem

'As we duel, as we chat, there's an understanding that "your black is not my black" and "your weird is not my weird" and "your beautiful is not my beautiful," and that's okay.'

Damn, this book! My favorite part of the whole book is easily the MMORPG, SLAY, itself but I'm also highly appreciative of how much about being proud of Black culture it is about as well as some very kickass and well-developed Black characters while being super relevant to issues that are faced by Black people by other ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Sep 15, 2019 Olivia rated it it was ok

Now, before we start and you go mouthing off at me, I am a firm believer in equality. I hold everyone to the same standards no matter their race, religion. sex, sexuality, whatever. I'm a plot-driven reader and honestly don't give a fuck about a characters skin colour. The only thing I care about in a (main) character is a lack of an annoying personality. That being said, I went into this book with a completely open mind, hell, I shouldn't even have to be writing this disclaimer, but as I'm Now, before we start and you go mouthing off at me, I am a firm believer in equality. I hold everyone to the same standards no matter their race, religion. sex, sexuality, whatever. I'm a plot-driven reader and honestly don't give a fuck about a characters skin colour. The only thing I care about in a (main) character is a lack of an annoying personality. That being said, I went into this book with a completely open mind, hell, I shouldn't even have to be writing this disclaimer, but as I'm white, I'm sure I'll be getting some racist backlash from someone. (Also btw white and black are the only races that exist in this book.)

First of all, let me just say that Malcolm is up there with Umbridge and Voldermort as my most hated book characters. What a dumpster fire of a human (well fake human because he's just a character but you know what I mean). Honestly, he's the main reason I had a hard time getting through this book. Sometimes he'd say or do something, and I'd just had to put the book down and have a silent rage party. It's no secret that Brittney Morris modeled him after Eric Killmonger (I mean when we first meet him Kiera says he looks like Killmonger) in looks, personality, and... ideals. So yeah, he's a hot psychopath. More about him later because oh boy.

I know that Brittney Morris intended to flip racism on it's head in this book, having her black characters say racist things about the white characters... but all the while trying to convince us that Kiera wasn't racist? I wasn't really sure what she was trying to get at, but here's the jist of what I got: segregation is racist... uh we all know that. But Kiera makes a game for black people only (segregating them from the rest of the population and vice versa), but Kiera isn't racist because she's black. Now I'm going to get some hate for this, but that's bullshit. Everyone can be racist, no matter the colour of your skin. Point finale. And you can't say " We want equality BUT we get to do things that other races get hate for and it be okay". That's not equality. Moving on.

Oh! Also there's this strange them going on about being "black enough" to be considered black or something I don't get it (because honestly, who cares if you don't like or act like the majority of a community... everyone is different and that should be okay), but is seems a little bit offensive if you ask me.

Main girl Kiera is a little racist and more than a little bit in denial about it. She spends most of the book acting like a prejudiced idiot, and when her fellow game developer comes out as mixed-race to her and admits she was afraid to tell Kiera that, Kiera just becomes more prejudiced. I mean, for god's sake, she thinks the only white boy in her life is a Nazi because he has opinions that don't line up with her own (mainly that he thinks exclusion based on race is racist and Kiera doesn't). Unfortunately she is so in denial it's hard to read sometimes. YOU CAN'T FIGHT RACISM WITH MORE RACISM. It only furthers the divide and gives every side more ammunition.
Kiera has developed Slay, a black-only virtual reality video game that is implausible (we'll get to that in a second), but actually seems like it would be a good time. She's a coding genius (even though we never actually see her use her skills), excellent at math (again, there's no real proof of that but we're supposed to take it a face value), hates getting her white keds dirty (subtle, right? It's obviously meant to be keeping that whole white and black seperate thing, but honeslt no one likes having pale shoes get dirty so it didn't have the impact Brittney Morris was going for... the froot loops/white milk thing Jordan Peele did would have been much more impactful), and... well honestly that's all we really know about her. Unfortunately all of the characters (except Malcolm but we'll get to him) were flat and lacked substance. I just couldn't make myself root for any of them which is unfortunate.

Slay? Basically a game of rock paper scissors (but with cards) in virtual reality. What's so implausible about it? This game is described to be very realistic with incredible artwork and sound effects, movement, object interactions, etc. The thing is that this game is run by two teenagers , 17 year-old Kiera and 19ish year old Cicada who don't have any money. Games of the caliber described in the book cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars... and you expect me to suspend my disbelief enough to believe that a 17 year old who can barely afford an hour with a lawyer (and who's only source of income are sparse tutoring 60$ tutoring sessions) and a 19 year old with 37 euros in her bank account are the only ones to fund this project? Mmmm...
The reason this was an issue to me has the same root as to why I have a problem with a lot of YA science fiction: because I do require some aspect of realism in science fiction. And yes, I know it's science FICTION, but the thing about science fiction is that authors are supposed to build off of pre-existing science and fill in the gaps with their own ideas, real or not. But completely ignoring science, or in this case, finance, in a world where it doesn't need to be thrown away (a.k.a. not a post-apocalyptic setting or otherwise), is just lazy writing in my opinion. IF this were my book, I would have had a wealthy benefactor (anonymous or not) donating to the development and upkeep of this game, which wouldn't be that implausible considering how popular SLAY is described to be. In my mind that would have had minimum impact of the actual narrative, but would have made a world of difference.

And finally, that piece of shit Malcolm. Basically everything that comes out of his mouth is blatantly racist or sexist. I mean, he thinks that everything in society is designed by white men to keep black men in their place, and he believes that black women should be solely focused on their man. Oh also he thinks that inter-racial couples are disgusting and that we need to keep races pure... you know, like the Nazis did. I mean, he is so hell-bent on "proving" how racist all white people are that he disguises himself as a Nazi (swastika, blackface, character name, attitude and all), and goes into Slay just to blow it up from the inside because he thinks that video games were designed by the white man to distract black men from accomplishing great things. I actually hadn't heard that one before. And he's hella abusive. Oh my god. When Kiera is busy with other things, he legit confronts her in the cafeteria (very aggressively may I add) and demands to know why she isn't focusing all her attention on him. He eventually even posts a death threat on twitter (his handle is @xxPeaceMongerFOOxx which, you know, made me laugh because he doesn't want peace) and Kiera (as most abuse victims do) still believes he loves her and that "he's just confused".
It took Kiera so long to realize that he is a straight up psychopath and let her sister call the police on him for that death threat. I mean it took so long that I was getting really frustrated, but unfortunately that's the reality of abuse. The victim is often in denial and continues to defend their abuser. She kept saying that "he's just confused" and "he's just angry". Yeah, he's angry, but her sure as hell isn't confused. And poor Kiera believes that she can still "fix him" after the death threat. Sorry hun, but first of all that's not your job, and second of all, you can't fix a psychopath. Psychopathy is a way of being and isn't classified as a mental illness for that very reason. But thank god for Steph who talked some sense into Kiera (and tbh she was probably going to call the cops anyway because that's what a good sister does).

There's also this little thing I noticed peppered throughout the book. Kiera is so convinced that the world is Eurocentric (the western world is... but the western world is essentially Europe so idk what to tell you)... but holy shit is this girl (and most of the US from what I've seen) Americanocentric. A lot of Americans believe that problems they are facing in their country must apply to the rest of the world. They don't. In Canada for example, our biggest racism issue is how a lot of people treat our indigenous peoples. And in the UK a lot of people have a huge issue with Polish workers. And this doesn't just apply to migrants and racism. Also there's this whole thing about "white English" (a.k.a. British English) being the standard, but considering that they invented the language, they should by default have the authority over it. We wouldn't want to appropriate a huge part of a culture, would we?
Look, I'm not trying to offend my american counterparts, but holy shit... some of you have got to cool it.
(Also I don't know if Brittney Morris knows how different countries work because in some parts of the book set in different countries there was some very... questionable and stereotypical things that she claims to be going on... as if she took one experience from one person and generalized it to an entire country.)

Anyway, because of Malcolm being such a fucking prick (and the frustration that ensued), the characters being flat as hell and the just a little bit too implausible game, I'm going to have to rate this book a 2. I'd still say it's an entertaining read, though. Just not an amazing one. ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2019 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: diaspora, bookcon-wishlist, 2019, july-2019, debuts, best-book-of-the-year, reading-rush-2019

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I do now. I was lusting over the cover of this book when I saw it advertised for #Bookcon2019. But now that I have finally gotten my hands on it and gotten a chance to read it I know that this is the book that I wanted to read as a little girl. As a Black woman I appreciate the depth of this novel and I'm sitting here reeling as it is Brittney Morris's first novel. I will certainly be buying copies of this book for the Kieras in my circle. Waiting with bated ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2019 Claire ✨ rated it it was ok

Shelves: advanced-reader-copy, category-genre-contemporary, reviewed, category-age-ya, great-concept-shoddy-execution, rated-2-star

In this mixed bag of novel, where the video game logistics don't make sense and the characters are boring, SLAY falls far short of slaying.

Oh boy. Here's an accurate depiction of my reaction from the start of this book to the end:

The biggest problem with SLAY is that the video game itself just isn't plausible.

The protagonist, Kiera, is a hard-working student with high grades who created and now maintains SLAY without her parents or anyone else knowing. I had so many questions that made it ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Aug 24, 2019 Melanie (TBR and Beyond) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019, kick-ass-females, covergoals, ownvoice, read-in-2019, physical-arcs, ya-contemporary, cry-worthy, siblings, friendship-goals

“As we duel, as we chat, there's an understanding that "your black is not my black" and "your weird is not my weird" and "your beautiful is not my beautiful," and that's okay. It' brings tears to my eyes if I think about it too long.”

I knew when I saw this that I wanted to get my hands on this, so I actually requested this in two different places - just incase! I mean it was marketed as Warcross meets Black Panther - yes please! Thankfully Simon and Schuster was lovely enough to send me a “As we duel, as we chat, there's an understanding that "your black is not my black" and "your weird is not my weird" and "your beautiful is not my beautiful," and that's okay. It' brings tears to my eyes if I think about it too long.”

I knew when I saw this that I wanted to get my hands on this, so I actually requested this in two different places - just incase! I mean it was marketed as Warcross meets Black Panther - yes please! Thankfully Simon and Schuster was lovely enough to send me a physical arc because this was such a wonderful book.

I have to start by saying that I'm a little out of my depth with this review, SLAY wasn't written for me in any shape or form. This book is unapologetically black and I can't even begin to imagine what this book has meant and will mean to so many young black teens - it makes my heart happy to think about it. I'm going to review this the best I can, but keep in mind that I am a middle-class, white, Canadian girl and my voice isn't the main one you should be listening to when it comes to this book. I encourage you to search out ownvoice reviews on this, it's so very important.

This story features a seventeen year old girl named Keira, who is leading a kind of double life. One part of her life is being the good daughter and sister and going to a mostly white school and trying to excel, so she can get into a good college. The other part of her life, she is the creator and co-admin (with another young bi-racial girl) of an online MMORPG for thousands of the black community only called SLAY. Her parents, siblings and boyfriend are completely in the dark about this - she has remained 100% anonymous. Her fear is in telling them is that they will think it's a waste of time and not really get what she is doing for the community and how important it is to her and so many others. Unfortunately, a player of the game is murdered outside the game because someone wanted some of his game items and so begins a giant new circus about violence in video games, as well as questions if the site is racist for being anti-white.

I want to get this out of the way real quick - there is no such thing as white racism. Racism means oppression, not hurt feelings. If you are not being oppressed by another race, by their actions then there is no racism. Therefore, there can be not white racism - just name calling. Just saying... SLAY is based on games like World of Warcraft, but it for the black community only and all the game play is based off historical, cultural, entertainment and everyday references that mean something in the black community. No, not just the US community - world wide. It sounds like such a badass game and I'd do it no justice if I ever tried to explain it but it's very well thought out and super accessible for the people that are not gamers. I will say that there is a lot of gaming talk and I am a gamer, but I don't think many will struggle with it. I promise, it's broken really easy and keeps it interesting. It's not even my type of game and I was completely invested - the stakes always seemed high and the characters were amazing sounding. A friend actually asked me if there was a game like this for certain communities. I sadly answered, "no, because it would be swamped instantly by other communities with nothing but hate fueled comments." It's a shame. I think safe spaces are very important and as a girl gamer I get the desire for just wanting a place where you don't have to be called names or harassed.

The one thing I could really relate to in this book is the girl gaming aspect and it being assumed they were men and ending gave me such chills and brought tears to my eyes. This is for the girls - the STEM girls! This book hears you and gets you. I wanted to stand up and cheer for these girls - just thinking about the ending in this book makes me weepy - it's so flipping empowering and I think the author for putting it on paper and allowing me to read it.

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that it's a bit far fetched in terms of the creating the game. A massive game could not be run by two young girls alone - it takes a ton of people. It also takes cash, there is a reason that games aren't free - they aren't cheap to make, especially on the caliber of SLAY. Also, there is no way they could just being doing it in their spare time - not realistic. You'd be a slave to your PC if you were creating something like that and keeping it going. This didn't really bother me, but it might frustrate some because of how unrealistic it is and how easy the author makes it seem.

I feel like I was all over the place with this review. I haven't given the best overview ever but please don't be scared of this book because you think it's a gaming book or that you won't get it because you aren't black - you should read it for that exact reason. It will likely open your eyes to some really important topics. I know it did for me. I highly recommend this one, I wish I could do it better justice but please go read it.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a physical ARC in exchange for my honest review.   ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

May 11, 2019 Megan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adulting-but-younger, arcs, blurbs-and-opinions

This book was not made for me, but that's okay--that's kind of the point. As a white person, I'm so very rarely the person on the outside looking in, and so it's good and important and wonderful that I felt that way while reading this. I'm meant to be aware that I'm in a space not built specifically for me. So when I say, yeah, I absolutely adored this book...I can only begin to imagine how this book feels for black readers.

SLAY digs into some incredibly difficult topics, but does so with poise ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2019 Hollis rated it really liked it

Shelves: heroines-i-love, ya, not-all-the-feels-but-some, 2019-reads, arc, contemporary, ebook, hello-diversity, smart-ladies, romance

This book is getting a lot of hype and, honestly, it deserves every single bit of it. I don’t remember exactly what it was, or who, inspired me to request this one but I’m so glad I did. So here I am paying it forward : watch out for this one.

The summary perfectly sums up (hah) what this is about, there’s no need for me to rehash anything in my review, and honestly the less I say about this, the better, I think. Not only because it isn’t my place to talk about representation (which I never would This book is getting a lot of hype and, honestly, it deserves every single bit of it. I don’t remember exactly what it was, or who, inspired me to request this one but I’m so glad I did. So here I am paying it forward : watch out for this one.

The summary perfectly sums up (hah) what this is about, there’s no need for me to rehash anything in my review, and honestly the less I say about this, the better, I think. Not only because it isn’t my place to talk about representation (which I never would for an #ownvoices story) or what this book is or isn’t doing right (also not my place) — though I think it got everything right, to be honest — ultimately, all that matters, is this book both entertained and educated me and I loved the experience of reading it.

The wide-lens of this particular conflict is, I think, so important. It’s a multifaceted narrative. Race, identity, culture, gaming, ambition, history. It’s all tied up beautifully. I might even have teared up ar the end. Got me a bit in my feels there, Morris.

And speaking of beautiful. Beyond the relevant, and relatable issues, that readers will experience, the creativity? Incredible. The secondary setting of Morris’ story is this immersive VR online world and the way she infused not only Black culture but also Black history into this game was just unreal. Except, I want that to be real. I would wish for that kind of safe space, sans trolls, to exist for gamers who are otherwise treated terribly in the anonymous space that is the internet, who constantly have to listen to hateful vitriol spewed at them across the ether by strangers. A place that celebrates, and even educates, as well as focuses on mutual love and respect, even as opponents duel each other.

I enjoyed this book so much and absolutely hope the buzz continues post-release and this finds its way into many hands, no matter their colour. There's something for everyone here, even if this book isn't about you. Maybe, even, particularly if this book isn't about you.

I know I'll be picking up whatever this author comes out with next, too.

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities. ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Oct 01, 2019 Bookishrealm rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya-realistic-fiction, books-i-own, books-read-in-2019, ownvoices

Update! Here's my full review: https://bookishrealmreviews.blogspot....

4.5 Stars. It took me forever to read this book because I was giving birth to my daughter while in the process of trying to complete it haha. Let me start by saying that this book isn’t for everyone. A lot of people will pick up this book and feel disconnected because they don’t understand the cultural and social importance of this book for black readers. I’ve seen this book get low ratings under the guise of “I don’t ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2019 Mili rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-the-book

This is a beautiful written book about being a Black teen that touches topics like racism and cultural appropriation. The setting is a high school with mostly White teens. And it is such a wholesome tale about friendship and trust. And learning how to listen to eachother.

Kiera is our MC, she lives with her sis (who goes to the same High school) and her parents. Kiera who btw kicks ass! Builds her own online game called SLAY for Black people only where everyone can be theirselves. It has become a ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2019 Vanessa rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2019, ya-contemporary-i-read

Happy Book Birthday!

Reviewed on July 7, 2019:

I've been wavering between 3. and 4 stars since completing SLAY, so I'm settling on 3.5 stars because I have a HUGE gripe with the 'twist'. Not only do I have a gripe, it only gets addressed within the span of 2-3 pages. Even after a month, I still feel unsatisfied. I don't even know how to talk about it without spoiling it, so I'll mark the spoiler below.

Before I get to that, I will address all the positives :)

Characters:

Kiera Johnson or "Emerald" - ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2019 Drewthereader20 rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-books, debut-authors, audiobook, fall-tbr, new-releases, 2019-reads, tbr-shelf

Wow another great dubet that I read this month. My reading streak is high rn. Onto my next read for the month! 4/5 stars!(:

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2019 Kate (GirlReading) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poc-rep, contemporary, young-adult

A phenomenal book with a beautifully produced and performed audio narration.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute listening to this. It truly deserves to be in the hands of all teens and adults alike. Brittney Morris is definitely one to watch, I can't wait to read more from her in the future. Loved it.

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jun 11, 2019 Ciera rated it liked it

We are a diaspora. We span hundreds of shades, religions, traditions, and cultural nuances. If you don't understand what some of these cards mean, blame the slave trade.

I had a lot of feelings about this book, almost all of them mixed, but I came to the conclusion that although this book is for me in some ways, in many ways it is not. I'm a black, queer woman and over time I have come to terms with each of those identities separately and as a whole. It took a while, all of high school and We are a diaspora. We span hundreds of shades, religions, traditions, and cultural nuances. If you don't understand what some of these cards mean, blame the slave trade.

I had a lot of feelings about this book, almost all of them mixed, but I came to the conclusion that although this book is for me in some ways, in many ways it is not. I'm a black, queer woman and over time I have come to terms with each of those identities separately and as a whole. It took a while, all of high school and college, which is why I'm not the target demographic for this book. The target is black teenage girls who are still learning to navigate their identity as black women and places for them in the world. This book shows them that they can be awesome video game creating, video game playing women; that they can just be themselves and not speak for their race on every little subject and that they don't have to put up with friends or people who ask them to. It ousts respectability politics and shows black people, and all people really, that there aren't only certain types of paths that lead to black excellence but rather that if you are black and doing great things, whatever that means to you, you are black excellence. So I enjoyed it for those reasons.

At the same time, it felt like Morris was trying to define every facet of blackness but in a way that appealed to both black and non-black people at the same time. Instead of hitting some universal understanding of blackness which, of course, is impossible, it fell somewhere in the middle so that for all of its touting of black excellence, the book doesn't feel like it's for the black reader because there is so much apologetic explanation of things. It sometimes read a like a starter guide to the Black American experience and it could get tiresome. However. It was great even to have that experience of my culture being reflected back at me even if I did wish it were less explanatory and made unfamiliar readers have to work a little harder.

I'm a big character driven reader. I don't have to care about or understand a plot to love a story with brilliant characters. That said, the characters in this were...okay. Steph and Cicada, Kiera's sister and friend, were side characters who happened to be the most interesting to me. Kiera's character was often a little too bland--things happened to her more than she made choices and she was too conflict averse in a way that was frustrating. Malcolm, however, was the source of my biggest frustration. As a rare black male love interest in YA, I wanted so much more from him than what we got. What we got was an afro-centric brother who felt like he came out of a Spike Lee movie with his terms and disdain for white people. He felt a bit performative as a character, especially his immediate aggression toward any little thing. (view spoiler)

While the ending was cute, and fitting for the book and did make me smile, there wasn't the sort of conclusive note that it needed after the events of the climax, no conversation that really needed to take place between two characters. Things felt too neatly wrapped and packaged and while I appreciated that feel good aspect, I was left wanting. ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Mar 10, 2019 Rec-It Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-releases, 2019-reads

wowza

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2019 The Nerd Daily rated it it was amazing

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Sasha Zatz

If you love gaming and teenage girls who stand up for their rights, you will adore Slay. It was important and moving, I just couldn’t put it down! The author was inspired to write it after watching Black Panther, so I thought it was smart to pick it up just after I watched the movie and I was not disappointed.

The novel follows Keira, who secretly developed Slay, an online gaming community where black people duel from all over the Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Sasha Zatz

If you love gaming and teenage girls who stand up for their rights, you will adore Slay. It was important and moving, I just couldn’t put it down! The author was inspired to write it after watching Black Panther, so I thought it was smart to pick it up just after I watched the movie and I was not disappointed.

The novel follows Keira, who secretly developed Slay, an online gaming community where black people duel from all over the world. But when someone is shot because of the game, it’s all over the news…and Kiera doesn’t know what to do.

The plot was so engaging, entertaining, and impossible to put down – it will have you up at 2am reading. It was so immersive and interesting and it was definitely character-driven, but was exciting none the less!

“If black gamers want their own space online away from the eyes of the majority, let them have it. Y’all have Mummy and Legacy of Planets. Do you need to have everything?”

The characters are so lovable, especially Kiera and her younger sister, Steph. They felt like such real people with their struggles and insecurities. Kiera’s voice felt real and easy to relate to, her thoughts and opinions are great to read and the dynamic between the two sisters was absolutely beautiful to watch their relationship grow. The side characters, especially Claire aka Cicada, were awesome. It was awesome to see their lives and views occasionally dotted throughout the book, and from Kiera’s perspective too.

Slay, the game, was so interesting! It was fun to see quite a few scenes inside the game and how the rules worked, whether you game or not. I think a lot of gaming based books and even gaming, in general, are often very male-dominated so the feminist aspects of this book are awesome.

Slay was such an amazing and important book that I’d definitely recommend everyone picks up. It discusses race, identity, relationships, and more in such an important way at the same time as being impossibly fun to read. What a gem of a book! ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Nov 02, 2019 Lucie rated it liked it

Shelves: black-author

3.5 Stars
Thank you to Simon Teen for sending me an ARC of this book to read and review.

I REALLY wanted to LOVE this, but I just didn't. For those who don't know I am a software developer so I really felt like the ball was dropped when it came to the technological aspects of the game. Based on the description I assumed it would just be like an online trading card game with a forum attached, something easily created as a website, but it turns out it's a much more immersive world.

Unfortunately it 3.5 Stars
Thank you to Simon Teen for sending me an ARC of this book to read and review.

I REALLY wanted to LOVE this, but I just didn't. For those who don't know I am a software developer so I really felt like the ball was dropped when it came to the technological aspects of the game. Based on the description I assumed it would just be like an online trading card game with a forum attached, something easily created as a website, but it turns out it's a much more immersive world.

Unfortunately it was just SO hard for me to suspend my disbelief enough to believe that a 17 year old created an entirely immersive multiplayer virtual reality video game almost entirely on her own (with the help of a ~19 year old friend), and this colored my reading of the book every time any description of how detailed the game was. Also I'm incredulous at the idea that this video game is hosted entirely on 6 servers. Either that or they have more servers that they are somehow paying for with I don't know what money?? This was so hard for me to ignore because as is implied by the synopsis, the game is a HUGE part of the book. I kept hoping for a bit of an explanation where maybe this book is actually set a bit further into the future where we have some technical advancements that would make a game like this more easily made. No such luck.

Pushing past this I also wasn't a huge fan of the main character, Kiera just seemed to lack common sense. She tried to go see a lawyer and decided to just bring a large jar of money as hopeful payment? What? She's 17 years old and makes online purchases, she must have a debit card?? She's also shown to not be the greatest friend or sister multiple times. Her friend tells her something terrible has happened to her and she ignores her immediately? She also ignores her "best friend" multiple times for no reason. I liked Kiera's sister, Steph much better as at least she was a voice of reason. I also enjoyed Cicada as a character as well. The other side characters could've been fleshed out a little better in my opinion.

Parts that I DID enjoy include the conversations that were brought up and discussed in the book. The best part of the book were the extra chapters from others point of view where we could really see the impact the game has had on people's lives. I thought those descriptions were beautiful to see. I appreciated the discussion around what it's like "gaming while black" and needing a place of our own. I also really enjoyed the discussion about having white friends who are willing to learn, but I disliked Harper (the white friend) as a character. It seems weird that they had that conversation their senior of high school after being friends all their lives.

I also REALLY liked the how the book tries to dismantle respectability politics and appreciated the whole ending of the book. However, there is an abusive relationship described in this book and I wasn't a huge fan of how it was treated. Not to say that it was glorified in anyway but I don't think the signs and signals were treated with the gravity that they needed to be until something overt happens.

Overall there are a lot of good discussions in here, I thought the writing and actual descriptions o the world of SLAY were nicely done, and I think if you're not me and don't know much about how coding or game design works you won't have to struggle to suspend your disbelief like I did. I would still recommend this book to black teens who love video games especially. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2019 Laurie –A Court of Books– rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, read-in-2019, standalone, bookcon-bookexpo, contemporary

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

I received an ARC of SLAY at BookCon, this in no way impacts my opinion. However, my opinion of this book is based on an unfinished and uncorrected copy, please note that what I've read may differ from the final book.

I don't feel comfortable enough about what bothered me in this book to actually phrase it properly and to write it down myself. It's always difficult to

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

I received an ARC of SLAY at BookCon, this in no way impacts my opinion. However, my opinion of this book is based on an unfinished and uncorrected copy, please note that what I've read may differ from the final book.

I don't feel comfortable enough about what bothered me in this book to actually phrase it properly and to write it down myself. It's always difficult to give an opinion on something you are not concerned with, and as a white girl who lives in France, I am not well placed to speak about what felt wrong in this book about black American girl. I'll link you a couple of reviews that overall summed up what bothered me in this book regarding gaming and skin colour:
here
here

But I can say that I'm absolutely shocked by the scenes that took place in France. In my opinion, the author didn't research the French history nor the local situation. I actually laughed when a white man in the Parisian subway asked a black girl how she learnt to speak French so well.

"Your French is perfect. Where are you from? or, more loosely "Where are you from, since obviously you're not from Paris?"

First of all, many African countries are french-speaking countries, and second, African immigration has been going on for quite some time now, and most black teenagers in France were born and raised here. Personally, I would more easily assume that a black person in France speaks perfect french than not.

Also, when a Parisian woman put her bag on the subway seat next to her because she doesn't want the girl to sit down next to her, it has nothing to do with the girl's colour, and everything to do with the woman being a bitchy Parisian. Despite being white, I've seen people (white and black alike) doing exactly the same because they didn't want ME to be sitting next to them. Paris is a jungle, I'm telling you. I'm not saying that everyone in France is open-minded and tolerant, there are many bigots here, same as everywhere, unfortunately, but IMO this book misrepresented the place PoC occupies in France.

"When you think of Paris, you think of skinny white woman casually sipping tea and eating croissants in a cafe. You don't think of bald black girls in Converse, ripped jeans, a Dave Chappelle shirt, and round glasses, but that's exactly what I see walking toward me and Steph."

...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 30, 2019 Ivy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: coming-soon-19, arcs

https://bookpeopleteens.wordpress.com...

This book is a powerful debut that makes me extremely excited to see what Brittney Morris does next. The ending was the best part, the climax and conclusion equal parts action-packed, subversive and heartfelt. SLAY is a short and smart novel about the importance of freedom, pride and safe spaces where people can be their kickass selves in today’s frustratingly unjust society. Rating: five YASS cards/five

For fans of: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, Warcross ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2019 The Artisan Geek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bookcase

10/11/19
Finished this book yesterday, absolutely loved it! Review to come! :)

You can find me on
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Website

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2019 Ben Babcock rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2019-read, netgalley, ebook

SLAY in the story is a MMORPG where players duel using in-game cards that derive their names and powers from elements of various Black cultures. Kiera Johnson is 17 years old and should be worrying more about whether or not she’s getting into her first choice college. But she’s also the secret creator and developer for SLAY. She wanted a gaming world that embraced players’ Blackness rather than punishing it. She wanted a space where Black people could express themselves in “unapologetically ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2019 Dylan rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-slightly-interested

oh my god i need this

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Oct 10, 2019 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-riot-rec, z-2019, ebk-kindle, arc-bk-netgalley

Oh. My. Wow!! I now understand why this book is so loved!

I love the idea of a powerful video game that brings people together around their history. I love that Brittney Morris got that idea, and I love how she rendered it in this book. The multiple point of view really helps to understand the immensity of the community, and how a game like this is needed, even in the real world. I love how she treated the online bullying aspect, and how you don't have to plan everything for your future. Let ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2018 Jackie rated it it was amazing

I was privileged enough to beta-read this novel as is was getting sent to publishers. I was delighted to learn that it found a home with Simon Pulse and that more readers will have the opportunity to read this wonderful book!

Slay is fresh, exciting, and perfectly placed in time when the discussion of what safe spaces are and who deserves them is taking place nationally and internationally. Hundreds of thousands of people have found a safe place in the video game Slay, and the feeling of that ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review