Thank you to Simon Pulse for providing me with an e-ARC of SLAY by Brittney Morris in exchange for an honest review!

It’s rare for me to hear about a book way before publication & want to read it so badly that I actually contact the publisher for an ARC, but alas, I needed SLAY & am so thankful for Simon Pulse for letting me review this book! I had a few issues with it, but they’re so extremely minor; I’d say this book definitely met my expectations.

SLAY, as can be expected, raises a lot of questions in terms of cultural appropriation, racism, etc. Kiera, our protagonist & video game developing extraordinaire, has a white best friend who constantly asks her for what’s right & what’s wrong. For example, in the early pages of SLAY, she asks Kiera if she could rock some dreadlocks or if that is deemed offensive. Kiera feels as if she’s being asked to voice her opinion for the entire black community; all because she’s one of three black students at their high school.

As readers, we also play witness to some really real things in the gaming community (& many other communities) — racism. Kiera explains that while playing another MMO, Legacy of Planets, she’s been called the n-word. These things happen in real life, y’all. I play video games & I can promise that people are actual shitbags over the mic. SLAY is extremely eye opening, in terms of what others have to deal with on a daily basis.

It’s this horrible treatment that leads her into creating her own VR, SLAY; a place for the black gaming community to feel safe. In order to play SLAY, you must receive a passcode from another SLAYer. This is when things get a little complicated in the story. After the murder of a SLAYer makes national news, the game also makes national news — which ends up bringing up the question of if the exclusivity is fair to non-black players.

This is when I’ll stop talking about the plot, because ~spoilery reasons~.

I love video games. & I believe everyone should feel comfortable kickin’ ass in their favorite games. Harassing others via mic 1) makes you look like a little bitch & 2) is just plain-out mean. Video games are meant for a ~good time~. I’m beyond happy to know that Brittney Morris wrote a book that addresses some of the problems she & other black gamers face while trying to enjoy the activity.

I enjoyed most of the characters in SLAY, such as Kiera & her co-developer, Cicada. Just with any book though, there are some bad eggs & one of those bad eggs happens to be Kiera’s boyfriend, Malcom. Holy wow, did some of his comments make me cringe. At one point, Kiera runs off with a ‘stomachache’ & he yells after her, “you bed’ not be pregnant”. Excuse you, Malcom?! What a shit thing to say. & trust me, this wasn’t the only time I wanted to toss him off a mountain.

I like to think that I’m pretty woke. However, as a white woman, I’m not the target of racist comments. So, at times, I will admit that I still find myself shocked hearing certain things fall from others’ lips. My mouth dropped open so many times while reading SLAY, especially when an apparent white supremacist arrives in SLAY painted in black face & making comments about lynching?! Holy heck. This book is so so important to everyone of all races, because y’all — even if we’re not the target of these comments, we need to recognize that people still say these awful things to others.

On top of the social commentary, SLAY tells a beautiful story of family & friendship. I love love love the friendship between Kiera & Cicada. & of course, there’s Kiera & her woke AF sister, Steph. These two relationships are so beautifully written & well-developed!

SLAY, the game in general, is really well-developed. Brittney Morris clearly put a lot thought in the world she was creating & I’m in awe with her creativity. Plus!!!! There’s a waterfall in the VR-world of SLAY called Chasing Waterfalls, like!!! A TLC reference?!!! Yes, please. There’s a lot of references & informational tidbits in the world she created; all relating to black culture & history. It’s honestly such a beautiful thing.

SLAY is hella-engaging & such a page-turner. I read it in only a couple of days; it was so hard to put the book down! Curse you, real-life responsibilities!!! Even on top of it’s heavy content, SLAY is still a fun & entertaining read.

What a thrilling read! I didn’t want to put Slay down. Kiera appears to be your average teen. She lives in the suburbs, has a boyfriend, and has that annoying younger sister. Kiera, her sister, and her boyfriend are the only African American students at Jefferson Academy. Kiera is searching for that place where she can be herself. And that’s where we learn about Kiera’s gaming. Not only does Kiera play the virtual reality game Slay, but she designed it. In her design, Kiera has created a world of culture references. This game is hugely successful and played all over the world, yet no one in Kiera’s world knows she plays. When a teen is murdered over the game, Kiera’s game begins to attract more attention. The game is labelled as racist. The fun world where she could escape becomes a manhunt for the creator.

What a fun read, way more interesting to me than books similar to it but for different ages (Wildcard, Ready Player One) and the diversity was a great inclusion. I loved the themes and the fun.

Slay by Brittany Morris is a unique story. Important messages intertwined with a video game twist. A strong black female lead character who has secrets creates a game where she can be herself. A safe game for her and others worldwide until someone tries to label the game as racist after a game dispute results in a murder. An important book to include in a diverse library. Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book isn't for me, as in I'm not the intended audience for this book, and that's okay. I think there will be a ton of people that resonate with this book, especially if they are actually teens or felt this was the book missing from their childhood. Without getting into too much detail, there were too many technical issues with the practicality of the video game (there are other reviews that go much more in depth on this, scroll down to read them) and I didn't like every POV.

That being said, this is a must purchase for libraries- it's like Black Panther meets Ready Player One and will hit many audiences the right way.

This book was one I enjoyed so much as I was reading (and I couldn't stop reading!) but once I finished and thought about it as a whole, I was a it disappointed overall.

Kiera was a somewhat bland protagonist, but it was made up for because all of the side characters helped to develop her and make her more interesting to follow. I was especially intrigued by her relationship with her sister and best friends, all of whom seemed to almost be more fleshed-out characters than Kiera herself. I wish there had been more chapters from Claire's perspective, because I found myself really drawn to her storyline.

I liked the little slices of life from some of the other game players, and wish there had either been more of them, or that the character glimpses were longer or revisited. This story was so much about how each person has a different experience in life, and it would have served the story well to show that more.

The thing that captured me through the entire story was the game that Kiera had developed. The gameplay sounded so interesting and the cards based on famous black people and cultural touchstones was genius! However, the game is also what disappointed me most when I was finally out of the addicting pull of the story. looking at it from a "real world" perspective, it is just so unbelievable. There is little chance a teenager, who has other responsibilities and commitments, was able to develop such a technically advanced game, and even less believable that she was running it with only one other person who lived across the globe. While it was somewhat easy to suspend disbelief while I was in the action, once I stopped reading, this was too apparent and changed my feelings on the book as a whole. Still, I think it was an engaging read that definitely made me want to forget the real world and just accept this unbelievable plot.

SLAY by Brittney Morris is about a 17-year old black girl named Kiera Johnson, who seemingly leads an ordinary life from the outside looking in. She lives in the suburbs of Anytown, USA with her parents and younger sister, Steph. She and Steph both attend Jefferson Academy, a preparatory high school where they, along with Kiera’s boyfriend Malcolm, are the only black students.

Having previously attended a predominantly-black school, Kiera is all too familiar with code-switching and being the “black authority” to her best friend Harper and her other classmates. Aside from holding it down as her boyfriend Malcolm’s “queen,” Kiera seems to have no safe space where she can just be herself.

That is, until we find out that she is not only a gamer, but game developer of super popular virtual reality game SLAY. It’s a multiplayer universe similar to Black Panther’s Wakanda, where Kiera reigns as character “Emerald.”

Kiera has been running this game for three years, while her family, friends, and even her boyfriend are none the wiser. No one realizes Kiera even plays video games. Kiera feels safe in her virtual fantasy world until tragedy strikes, bringing her perfectly crafted virtual oasis, SLAY to the headlines of international news.

Imagining the videogame SLAY was like falling into a hybrid of Emerald City from the Wiz and the Oasis from Ready Player One. I envisioned a beautiful technicolor dream in which I could don dazzling be-jeweled gowns, sport gravity-defying afros, and perform magic with a perfectly executed Michael Jackson spin-turned Running Man dance move.

All of the cultural references excited me. I have never read any book that references pieces of Black American culture such as “McDonald’s Money,” “the nay-nay,” and “Auntie’s Potato Salad.” SLAY will always stand out in my mind and my heart for that. These are the types of stories I relate to and stories my children will be able to relate to and see themselves in as well. It paints a pretty picture and creates a virtual reality game I wish I had the opportunity to play and share with other kinfolk. It’s safe to say that I fell all the way in love with the idea of this book and the imagery it created in my mind.

Aside from the game SLAY and the safe space it created for the characters involved, I also loved the strong female characters. Not only was MC Kiera smart, she was driven, and very independent for a 17-year-old. Her younger sister Steph had a loyalty to her sister so strong, I wanted to stand up and clap each time she assured Kiera she had her back. And fellow gamer Claire was also academically gifted and fierce, letting Kiera know she had her back as well. I loved how these characters were all strong and supportive, had strong bonds, and exemplified true friendship.

While I loved so many things about SLAY, there were a few things I wish I could have seen executed more clearly. I had a hard time understanding Kiera’s connection to her boyfriend Malcolm outside of her appreciation of his being “woke.” I don’t feel like we get the chance to see her relationship with Malcolm beyond the surface level. I believe we as readers are told about their connection more than we are shown. And for this reason, I don’t feel like what happens with him (as far as the ending goes) satisfies me. I won’t give any spoilers here, but I don’t feel like the ending gave me the closure I needed.

All in all, SLAY is an experience I urge young readers and lovers of YA contemporary to pick up and enjoy as soon as you can. I think there’s a little something in there for all of us to enjoy and have meaningful discussions about.

3.75 stars

Thank you so much to Simon Pulse and Netgalley for the ARC of Slay by Brittney Morris. I can’t wait to share more about this read on my blog and other social media channels once we get closer to the date of publication.

I just finished “SLAY” and… wow. Just wow. I requested an ARC of the book because it was about online gaming, and that is something many of my students are into. But I was in no way prepared for the awesomeness that is “SLAY”! At this point, I feel like I need to acknowledge, I am 98% sure that I am NOT the target demographic for this book. I’m a 40-year-old, White, non-gamer. The fact that I’m female may be the only thing that matches up with the focus of the book. But, that aside, I’m not a teen; I’m not Black; and I haven’t played a game – video, online, or otherwise – since the original Mario Bros. So, I really went into this book reading it from the eyes of my students – what would THEY say about it, like about it, connect to in it. And before I knew it, I. Was. Hooked.

And honestly, I can’t even tell you what exactly hooked me. I think it was a combination of a lot of things. The plot was fast-paced and full of tension. The main character, Kiera, was complex and relatable, and really likable. The premise was SO unique – an MMORPG by Black people for Black people, a community where Blacks can game without racism, that is blamed for causing a murder and accused of being racist itself. There is NO other YA book out there like this! Not to mention, this book deals with so many important, relevant topics: identity, empowerment, online gaming discrimination, race, culture, relationships, racism… the list goes on. Then, there’s the way that the story focuses on Kiera but has periodic chapters from other characters’ points of view that all eventually weave together. SO COOL! Finally, the game of "SLAY" itself was awesome! The descriptions of the worlds and characters within the video game itself were so vivid, descriptive, and interesting; the battles kept you on the edge of your seat; and the cards and their powers were creative and humorous! I wish the game were real because I would absolutely watch the battles! So, it wasn’t really any one thing about “SLAY” that caused me to fall in love; it was the inter-relationship of all of its parts that made it “un-put-down-able” from page 1.

My ONLY complaint about the book has to do with the way the situation with Malcolm is resolved. I don’t want to write any spoilers, so I’ll just say that it felt like something quite big and dramatic happened and then… *crickets.* The story went on and eventually concluded and… nothing ever came of the big, dramatic thing.

But, overall this is an amazing, interesting, unique story. I can truly say that I learned so much, thought so much, (now have so many questions), and enjoyed this book. So. Much. I can’t wait to share it with students!

Imagine a universe with only Black people in it, a celebration of Blackness full of in-jokes and superpowers. That's what protagonist Kiera coded into a magical dueling game. It's a happy place, until someone gets killed for their in-game riches.

Oops. I finished the YA novel more than a week ago and failed to bookmark any favorite passages (or the bookmarking function failed me), so I'm not sure what else to say about it. Morris's friendship and family games are strong, and the boy, though sexy af, is on the side. Kiera's white friends disappoint her, but bless them do their best. The white friends don't feel like they're in the novel to be relatable to white people.

Kiera is strong, smart, vulnerable, and a heroine I'd love to see more of.

I devoured this book in a single sitting because it is just that good. Morris has combined elements in her book that will engage and delight YA readers- gaming, finding community, standing up for yourself. These universal themes are enhanced by Morris’ unique perspective. While SLAY will appeal to all YA readers, it will be especially meaningful and important to black YA readers who will more closely identify with the issues presented in the story. Overall, this is a fast-paced, fascinating, and important read. Highly recommended.

Slay was a more challenging read for me because of the amount of time spent in the gaming world. I am not a gamer and those sections of the book dragged for me as I was not engaged. The other portions of the story had nice character development and a strong female lead. If you are a gamer, you will probably truly enjoy this book.

SLAY
By: Brittney Morris
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
Read via NetGalley

Did you know that girls game?

Did you know that girls can write games?

Kiera is a 17-year-old honors student, at a largely white school. She just got into Spellman College. She has it all planned out. Her boyfriend, Malcolm, will go to Morehouse. They will both go to college in Atlanta and marry eventually with children.

But every night, Kiera is a Nubian Queen, named Emerald, on the Afro-centric, invitation-only, video game SLAY. Kiera’s family and boyfriend don’t know about her other life. And, Emerald happens to be the creator of the game. She battles in the multiplayer online game and chats with the other person who helps with the game, Cicada.

When a young man is killed in the real world for his play in the SLAY world, the news starts labeling the game as racist and violent. Then Emerald acquires an anonymous game-playing troll. Can she protect the game, where she can be herself, without giving away who she is?

This book may be my number one purchase for my library this year. The combination of dealing with video games (like Ready Player One) and handling being Black in America (like The Hate U Give) is a winning combination.

Recommended: Grades 7 & Up

Thanks to Simon Pulse and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

High school senior Kiera is the anonymous creator and moderator of a VR MMO card dueling game for Black people around the world, with cards themed after the people and cultures of the African diaspora. The game remained popular but under-the-radar until an incident suddenly thrusts it into the spotlight. She faces accusations that the game is racist for not inviting white players; must navigate teen problems (boyfriends, code-switching at a predominantly-white high school, sibling conflict, and applying to college); all while not shaking the feeling that she's responsible for what happened.

I loved Kiera and her sister! The book is told mostly in Kiera's voice, with chapters from her co-moderator as well as from gamers around the world-- some of these subplots get a bit too far afield from the main plot, but are interesting nonetheless. It would have been easy for this book to be considered a knock-off of "Eliza and Her Monsters", "Warcross", and "Ready Player One"; and though fans of those books will love "Slay", it puts a fresh spin on a lot of those themes and is definitely worth reading on its own.

A moving book in the vein of Angie Thomas's The Hate You Give and Here to Stay by Sara Farizan, exploring safe spaces, sexism, and the right to game while black. Kiera is the creator of a video game world celebrating black excellence in all its forms. There, she rules as Emerald. In the real world she still has to deal with regular problems like her white friends expecting her to be a mouthpiece for all black people and her sister's issues with her boyfriend. But when real-world violence brings the digital world of SLAY into the media limelight, the safe space she's created for herself and others comes under attack. Some unexpected enemies--and allies--eventually force her to rethink some of what she thought she knew. But one thing remains certain: the game she developed isn't the problem, and she isn't going to apologize for giving people a safe place to be themselves.

2.5 stars I grabbed this one because I like to make sure I read a variety of books, include ones about diversity. This had a black teen struggling with identity, and that seemed perfect, especially as I am a white adult female who teaches teens. What I was not expecting was how much gaming was involved. I had to kind of slug through those parts. As for the black teen struggling with diversity: I just didn’t feel the love for that part of it. The overall story and her game and her boyfriend have the right idea, but it got where it didn’t feel realistic to me (what they’re hiding, the maintenance and type of gaming/getting into the game in general). I would have liked to have seen her college and identify dilemma be a more solid part of the book than the gaming. Some people who are into gaming may enjoy it more, but it was not for me. She also seems very naive for a senior in HS who is looking at Ivy League schools.
The ending was decent if a little unrealistic. The book does hit the idea of teens trying to embrace themselves in a school where they are seen as oddities (ie the few black kids there). I enjoyed that aspect. The book was a little slow for me as well.
FYI it does contain a good bit of profanity, racial slur comments, and talk of sexual situations.

(Thanks to NetGalley, which kindly provided an ARC of Brittney Morris’ debut novel.)

Hailed by Entertainment Weekly as the “YA debut we’re most excited for this year,” Brittney Morris’ much-anticipated debut novel, Slay, lives up to its hype. Told via multiple narrative perspectives, primarily that of strong, compelling female protagonist Kiera Johnson, Slay provides an engaging read exploring the complexities of racism, sexism, politicized rhetoric, toxic relationships, straddling cultures, and the hardships of being a person of color in a white world.

On the outside, Kiera seems to have everything going for her, though she secretly suffers the pressure of high expectations from society, family, and friends. One of two African-American girls at Jefferson Academy, the high-achieving senior has bright future prospects, loving, supportive parents, and close relationships with her brilliantly precocious younger sister, Steph, dear friends, and a handsome, intellectual boyfriend who’s already contemplating their future together. Yet, Kiera has a hidden, secret identity which provides a creative outlet and release from her daily cares. An inveterate online gamer frustrated by the sexism and racism of conventional role-playing games, at night, Kiera transforms into her alter ego: Queen Emerald, Nubian goddess and the innovative developer of SLAY, an imaginative MMORPG, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Her team of artistic and coding collaborators has designed a virtual world which celebrates the beauty, quirkiness, intellectual contributions, and rich diversity of the African diaspora; players’ duel cards and superpowers reference historical and contemporary elements of black culture. Though gamers represent varying countries, ages, and diverse walks of life, they are united in their shared African heritage. SLAY’s players must be black; any newcomers must receive a special passcode from existing players to gain admission. The game’s title, SLAY, a double-entendre, both references the intense fantasy duels at the heart of the game, as well as its contemporary pop culture definition: to impress via outstanding performance or excellence. SLAY’s very design reflects Kiera’s desire to create a safe, empowering, Wakanda-like haven to affirm black identity. The game’s existence is thrown into jeopardy, however, when a tragic incident, as well as allegations of reverse racism, threaten to permanently terminate the game, wrongfully maligning Kiera in the process. Like Angie Thomas’ The Hate You Give, Slay too addresses the issues of silence vs. speaking out, discovering and asserting one’s true self and integrity, and what true emancipation, self-actualization, and success means. Highly recommended! Slay slays!