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Slay

Brittney Morris (Goodreads Author)

4.25 · Rating details · 12,636 ratings · 2,974 reviews

'We are different ages, genders and traditions ... but tonight we all SLAY'

Black Panther meets Ready Player One. A fierce teen game developer 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 a college student, and one of the

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Hardcover, 323 pages

Published September 24th 2019 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

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Community Reviews

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Average rating 4.25 ·

Rating details

· 12,636 ratings · 2,974 reviews

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

I mean, I think it's pretty cool. ...more

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Jun 14, 2020 Zoë added it

I had no idea what this was about going in, but it. was. so. good!

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Oct 09, 2020 emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned, contemporary, ya, recommend, reviewed, 4-stars, diverse, authors-of-color

HELLO, EVERYONE.

I HAVE MAJOR NEWS.

Did you know that we can have fascinating, creative, action-packed young adult narratives...AND complex discussion of social issues with deep nuance?

IN ONE BOOK?!

I did not know this. And then I read this book and now I know and I never want to go back.

This has all of the excitement and innovation and cool-world-of-technology of Ready Player One (the only book I will ever call a guilty pleasure), with none of the straight white man this-feels-bad-for-me-ness. Lik ...more

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Aug 25, 2019 may ➹ rated it really liked it

Shelves: pov-female, rep-bipoc, young-adult, 4-star, arc, contemporary, rep-bipoc-author, read-2019

— you can find this review and others on my blog!

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 user ...more

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

Shelves: review-copies, owned-tbr, owned-p, contemporary, ya, top-tbr-jar

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.

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Aug 30, 2019 Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell rated it liked it

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

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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. Bu ...more

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Jun 24, 2020 Jananie (thisstoryaintover) added it

Shelves: books-i-own

SO FREAKIN GOOD. can't believe i was sleeping on this book for a year!! read this via the audiobook and absolutely LOVED the narrators. this book is filled with compelling and multi-faceted characters, incredible game descriptions, and just a fast-paced plot with INCREDIBLE TWISTS. loved all of the discussions of race and the many parts of black experience that it touches on. GO READ THIS BOOK NOW BECAUSE IT'S FREAKIN AWESOME. another fave of the year hands down. ...more

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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? PLEAS ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Ms. Woc Reader rated it it was ok

Shelves: black-lead, just-okay

I was excited to read this story because the premise seemed different. It was described as Ready Player One meets The Hate You Give which after reading I find a very accurate comparison.

When I first saw the battle cards associated with the game online during promotion I was under the impression Slay was some kind of online card game. Not knowing it was this complex virtual reality world. And while a truly well thought out world it was a hard sell. Sorry but this story read too much like a conte ...more

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Jul 06, 2019 Claire ✨ rated it it was ok

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

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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:

My 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 impossi ...more

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Jun 22, 2020 Kiki rated it it was amazing

So I cried four? five? times reading this book, which might be a personal record! Great job, Slay!

In all seriousness, this is a fantastic book about the importance of community, safe spaces, and inclusivity amongst marginalised people. While I understand the criticisms some other people have of the Slay game itself - and I do agree that it's highly unrealistic for a broke teenager to have programmed a VR game of this calibre - that's not really what the story is about, is it? The Slay game isn't ...more

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May 11, 2019 Nicole 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

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Sep 15, 2019 Rigel rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, 3-stars

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 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.

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. I'm not qualified to comment on it because I am very white with (I'm 99% sure) a 100% Caucasian ancestry. So, POC friends, please let me know what you think about this underlying theme and if Brittney Morris was portraying it as a good or a bad thing.

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), 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. (However, coming from a woman in the STEM field I can tell you that characters like Kiera are invaluable... media and society seem to project this idea that the scientific community is very discriminatory towards women and POC, which funny enough isn't true... but having people who aren't part of the scientific field saying that is scaring away brilliant young minds that happen to belong to women or POC, and seeing characters like Kiera being so successful in the STEM fields will hopefully encourage them to ignore the media and see for themselves - join the scientific community!)

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? Hmmm...

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. 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).
(Now that I've had time to think about it, maybe Brittney Morris was trying to illustrate that anyone could be a "Nazi" or another similar type of extremist, regardless of race?)

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) ethnocentric in regards to the U.S. 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.
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, overall it entertained me! ...more

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Oct 01, 2019 Bookishrealm rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, books-read-in-2019, ya-realistic-fiction, 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 underst ...more

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

Shelves: blowing-shit-up, let-me-give-you-a-hug-or-a-100, read-in-2019, disaster-the-opposite-of-aster, feeling-the-aster, queer-characters, friendship-of-the-unshakable-kind, 10-10-would-recommend, kick-names-take-ass, more-like-character-regression

'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 Bla ...more

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Jul 26, 2020 Ashley Daviau rated it it was amazing

This book was absolutely impossible to put down and I loved every single page of it! Gaming is a big part of the book but by no means do you need to be a gamer to enjoy it, the last gaming system I owned was a Nintendo 64 and I still enjoyed the hell out of this book. Because it’s about SO much more than gaming. It discusses race and racism and identity a and relationships in such an important and yet accessible way. Despite the heavy topics that are covered it doesn’t feel like a heavy read, it ...more

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

Shelves: friendship-goals, physical-arcs, siblings, ownvoice, ya-contemporary, cry-worthy, read-in-2019, faves-so-far-2019

“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 p “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

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Jul 22, 2019 Michelle rated it it was amazing

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

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Jun 11, 2019 C.B added 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 co 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

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Sep 08, 2019 h o l l i s rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-voices, romance, contemporary, ya, hello-diversity, 2019-reads, arc, heroines-i-love, not-all-the-feels-but-some, a-smattering-of-lols

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

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Mar 06, 2019 Vanessa rated it liked it

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

I received an ARC of SLAY courtesy of BookCon 2019. Thank you Simon Pulse.

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: ...more

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Apr 07, 2020 Maureen rated it it was amazing

THIS. BOOK. WAS. SO. GOOD.
I loved the world. I loved the characters. I loved the story. Overall - fantastic. Video Games in books is already *chef kiss* but this took it to another level. Kiera is such an incredible MC - I could N E V E R do what she does in this book, even if it was easier in our current world than it is now. I also feel like I learned so much from this book - not that it was meant to teach me anything specifically, but we can all still learn.
PLEASE READ IT!
p.s. I also listened ...more

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

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

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

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Jan 19, 2022 ian (hiatus) nelson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: perfect-books, 2022-good-books-no-rereads

I got chills reading this book. It is the book that you wish would never end, the book that you wish would just keep on going forever. The beginning was admittedly slow, but it quickly picked up. It felt so raw, so real, so amazingly beautiful. And lastly, cause this won’t be a long review, I love Kiera and Claire’s friendship. It’s awesome.

PLEASE READ THIS

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Sep 28, 2019 Bethany rated it it was amazing

Shelves: black-authors

*****2020 Reread: This is just as good as the first time! Definitely recommend. *****

Slay is "...a double entendre, meaning both 'to greatly impress' and 'to annihilate'." and this debut YA by Brittney Morris does indeed slay! This is a book about Black culture, identity politics, toxic masculinity, microagressions, racism and sexism in gaming, the importance of safe spaces, and the complexities of being Black in a majority white environment. It is deeply rooted in Black cultural touchstones and *****2020 Reread: This is just as good as the first time! Definitely recommend. *****

Slay is "...a double entendre, meaning both 'to greatly impress' and 'to annihilate'." and this debut YA by Brittney Morris does indeed slay! This is a book about Black culture, identity politics, toxic masculinity, microagressions, racism and sexism in gaming, the importance of safe spaces, and the complexities of being Black in a majority white environment. It is deeply rooted in Black cultural touchstones and icons, but it something that everyone should read for a variety of reasons. I will talk about the book more below, but I recommend you check out these own voices reviews as well:

- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (this includes a very valid criticism of the twist in the book, though for me it's still a 5 star read)

- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The book follows 17-year-old Kiera Johnson, one of four Black students at her high school, and the secret developer of the virtual reality MMORPG (massively multi-player online role playing game for those non-gamers) know as Slay. After experiencing a great deal of racism as a Black gamer, Kera decided to create a game that celebrated Blackness and was a safe space for other Black gamers. But when a player of Slay is murdered over an in-game conflict, news programs questions whether this game that excludes white people is dangerous, racist, and illegal.

The description of Slay is really cool. It has an immersive world and involves card-based duels with very creative powers based on pieces of Black culture. The plot is well-paced and interesting, with vignettes from the perspective of players in different cities and parts of the world which I really liked as a way of demonstrating the diversity of the Black experience in diaspora.

Thematically, this book is incredibly rich and nuanced, grappling with different aspects of racism and microagression, toxic masculinity, and the experience of white friends expecting you to explain and be representative of all Black people. This also looks at the problems associated with ideas of social uplift and rigid ideas about what Black excellence should look like. For teenagers, I think this is a book where some people will feel very seen, and others will be introduced to very important concepts.

There have been some criticisms of the handling of Keira's boyfriend Malcolm, who really embodies toxic Black masculinity. On the one hand, I think those are important themes to explore, especially for teenagers who might not see the dangers of controlling behavior that is supposedly "loving." On the other hand, I do think it would be better if there were another prominent character who demonstrated a non-toxic version of Black masculinity. Concerns over this reinforcing ideas of Black men as "dangerous" are valid ones, though I think the intention here is a good one.

Overall, I thought this was a very strong debut and one I would very much recommend widely. ...more

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Jun 15, 2020 Jill rated it really liked it

The audiobook was fantastic! I loved the multiple narrators and it added even more depth to an already great story. This book kept me up well past my bedtime because I was so invested. I personally am not really a gamer type so I wasn’t sure if I would like this but I was so surprised how much I loved it and all the gaming aspects ~~

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Jul 18, 2020 Troy_Reads rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: everyone

ASHHSDHDHSHHSHHS THE ENDING THOUGH...I KNEW IT!!!! ANYWAY GO READ THIS STUNNING BOOK! :D

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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

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Oct 28, 2019 kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poc-rep, contemporary, audiobook, 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. ...more

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Nov 26, 2019 Drew's ambitious reading rated it really liked it

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

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Livingston Parish...: Something in BeTWEEN- SLAY	2	6	Oct 05, 2021 02:52PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Slay by Brittney Morris - Restarting May 6th 2021	31	37	May 22, 2021 08:01PM
FYA Book Club of ...: January 2021 - Slay	1	7	Jan 03, 2021 10:33AM
The Procrastinato...: Slay (September 2020) Buddy Read Discussion ~ Lydia & Charmaine	3	20	Sep 02, 2020 08:07AM
OUR LIVE SHOW STARTS IN 30 MINUTES!!! Go to Troy's Channel and discuss Slay by Brittney Morris with us!	1	3	Aug 02, 2020 01:27PM

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About Brittney Morris

Brittney Morris

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Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY, THE COST OF KNOWING, and MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES - WINGS OF FURY. She holds a BA in economics from Boston University and has written for video games including The Lost Legends of Redwall, and Subnautica: Below Zero. She spends her spare time reading, playing indie video games, and enjoying the rain from her home in Philadelphia. She lives with her ...more

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Quotes from Slay

“I want you to imagine for a minute,” she begins. “I know it’s going to be hard for both of you, but just imagine—that literally nothing was made for you. Your parents were denied a house because of their skin color, your grandparents were sprayed with fire hoses and ripped apart by dogs in the streets, your great-grandparents were housemaids and mammies and barely paid entertainers, and your great-great-grandparents were slaves. Every movie in your life is majority Black, all the characters in your favorite books have been cast darker in the movie adaptation for no reason, and every mistake you make is because of your skin color and because of “your background” and because of the music you listen to. You are the only white kids at a school of five hundred Blacks, and every Black person at that school asks you to weigh in on what it’s like to be white, or what white people think about this or that. It’s not fun.” — 11 likes

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