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SLAY
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By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her
...more
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Hardcover, 323 pages
Published
September 24th 2019
by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
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Calliope
yes! I loved it, and I think she would too!!
Community Reviews
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Start your review of SLAY
I mean, I think it's pretty cool.
...more
Jun 14, 2020
Zoë
added it
I had no idea what this was about going in, but it. was. so. good!
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
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
Aug 25, 2019
may ➹
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
read-2019,
contemporary,
rep-bipoc-author,
important-messages,
pov-female,
rep-bipoc,
arc,
young-adult,
4-star,
pov-1st
— 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
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1614916030p2/15335689.jpg)
Nov 23, 2018
destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]
marked it as to-read
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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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
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 r
...more
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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
SLAY digs into some incredibly difficult topics, but does so with poise ...more
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 whit
...more
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
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
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
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
'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
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
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
“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 ...more
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 ...more
Jul 22, 2019
Michelle
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
bookcon-wishlist,
debuts,
2019,
diaspora,
best-book-of-the-year,
july-2019,
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
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
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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
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
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
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
*****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 ...more
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 ...more
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
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
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 ~~
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!(:
ASHHSDHDHSHHSHHS THE ENDING THOUGH...I KNEW IT!!!! ANYWAY GO READ THIS STUNNING BOOK! :D
Oh my gosh--the last 2/3 absolutely sucked me in! It was so gripping, I sped through SLAY so quickly.
This was my most anticipated read from last year, and it absolutely did not let me down. Kiera is such a cool protagonist, designing a huge video game by herself. And SLAY is such a cool concept, with its attack cards & virtual reality gameplay, themed to Black culture.
SLAY tackles a lot of serious topics, but ultimately, it was such an epic story for gamers and non-gamers alike. I love the bon ...more
This was my most anticipated read from last year, and it absolutely did not let me down. Kiera is such a cool protagonist, designing a huge video game by herself. And SLAY is such a cool concept, with its attack cards & virtual reality gameplay, themed to Black culture.
SLAY tackles a lot of serious topics, but ultimately, it was such an epic story for gamers and non-gamers alike. I love the bon ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasy Buddy Reads: YA Book Club! - SLAY by Brittney Morris [Feb 8th 2021] | 1888 | 426 | 6 hours, 45 min ago | |
| FYA Book Club of ...: January 2021 - Slay | 1 | 7 | Jan 03, 2021 10:33AM | |
| YA Buddy Readers'...: Slay by Brittney Morris - Starting September 4th 2020 | 17 | 19 | Sep 11, 2020 05:26PM | |
The Procrastinato...:
Slay (September 2020) Buddy Read Discussion ~ Lydia & Charmaine
|
3 | 19 | 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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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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“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.”
—
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“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.”
—
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