This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I don’t even know how to describe it other than it being awesome and fun, and really diverse and important. I’m so happy that it was chosen for the Indigo Teen Staff Pick of The Month!

Also, the cover is GORGEOUS.

I want to start off my saying this is one of my favorite 2019 reads!

Slay is a mix between Ready player one and The hate u give! I have been raving about it to all my friends and anyone who will listen.

Keira is tired of not being herself, of being asked questions as if shes supposed to answer for her whole race or any other coloured race. So she builds SLAY. A VR world just for her poc. A place they can be together, be themselves and share black history on the form of bad ass card battle game. But the thing is no one knows she is the creator of this wildly popular game. Not her family, friends or her black boyfriend who takes things a little over the top with black vs white views.

But when a young boy is murdered over game currency she questions herself and everything she build. She now has people calling the game racist, white hate and a gang. And someone is threatening to sue her and take down Slay.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Brittaney Morris for allowing me to read Slay early and go one this amazing adventure. This is a book I will continue to talk about to other and re read on the future.

If I can give anybody reading this review right now ONE piece of advice, it would be this: READ SLAY. LIKE, ASAP. PLEASE.

I first heard SLAY pitched as THE HATE U GIVE x BLACK PANTHER x READY PLAYER ONE, and... yeah, that's a pretty great description! It's innovative, it's brilliantly written, it's SO relevant, and more than anything, it's IMPACTFUL.

I powered through SLAY. Read it in two nights. The plot is sharp and the characters are so dynamic and well-developed (Kiera, the MC, is PHENOMENAL, she's strong, bold and brilliant; I LOVE Claire; and can Steph, Kiera's sister, be my best friend please?? The cast of this story was INCREDIBLE)!

Plus, the video-game element that Morris included was SO well-done; like wow, SLAY was so well-thought out, the cards were brilliant, the details were captured, and the scenes in the VR game were so fun and engaging!

And, as aforementioned, it's RELEVANT and EMPOWERING. THE HATE U GIVE is famous for bringing social justice issues to light; SLAY does the same. Similar to THUG, some of its themes are about being strong, about speaking up, and about being unapologetically YOU, peppered with vital messages about acceptance and individuality. Everybody needs to hear these, learn these. And yes, everybody needs to read this book.

Can I rate it 6/5 stars? :)

This debut novel from an American author. It is set mostly in the Seattle area and in video game virtual reality. We meet Kiera, a black high school senior who has developed a online game, in collaboration with another young woman, that has become very popular. No one knows she even plays the game and she aims to keep her identity as the developer a secret. The game is called Slay and it was designed to be a world where other black people can feel totally comfortable. Play involves duels using cards that celebrate the black experience. When someone is killed because of the game, Kiera's life changes as the publicity around the game grows. This is a good recommendation for fans of Angie Thomas and is okay for the younger teen. I enjoyed this one and as a older white woman I finished it with an increased awareness of the lives others lead.

The story is well written but I do have one minor issue that for me made this story not believable is the fact that 2 young people (one is 17 and one is 19 ) who don't have money have the money to make such a big online game like that. I mean how can they even afford to build a game like that. And really how the heck can 2 people handle a community with so many members?

The story is good though and I found the book well written other than the minor issue I have with it. I did enjoy it.

SLAY is book that takes on important issues that is happening in today's modern society - racism, the political climate, culture appropriation, and more. We follow Kiera Johnson, who is a secret video game developer of an online video game "SLAY" where the players are black and how it is a safe space to be wholly who you are. Kiera hides SLAY from all her friends and family, but when a teen is murdered over SLAY, it brings a whole new layer of stress and self-doubt to her world.

I have to the way the author tackled the hard topics was well-handled and eye-opening. I enjoyed Kiera has our main character - she is a strong and vibrant person who doesn't back down for what she believes is right. The unraveling of the story plot was different because SLAY is a VR game and I am not a gamer myself! So, it was an engaging read about video games as well. I enjoyed how the resolution of the entire murder case, the video game community, and the resulting relationships ended up in the book. I don't usually read these types of books but SLAY was one of the best ones I have read!

Let me be clear: I am so happy there are more and more stories coming out that are written by people of colour and centre around their own experiences. Further to that, I enjoy reading diverse books because they give me the opportunity to better understand, learn about, and appreciate the struggles, implications and differences that those not in my sphere or even country deal with. The Hate U Give is a favourite because it did just that: provoking discussion, thought and understanding on what is going on in the US with police brutality and the disadvantages facing black people.

This held me at arms length the entire time. This story was not written for me and I get that, but it also made it very clear that it wasn't. To an almost insulting degree. It was wholly inaccessible and came across as more racist than something to shed light on racism in video gaming. The main character did not help that much, and I should not be agreeing with the god-awful white people that are portrayed in here. I don't think that was the author's intention so something went very wrong in execution. Again, not written for me, and these are not thoughts I feel comfortable sharing on public platforms like Goodreads.

While I like and appreciate the idea of the game the execution felt childish and implausible. The duelling was kind of silly with weapons like barbecue sauce and Mac and cheese. Not to mention the names of places and things had no eloquence to them and made it feel more middle grade/children's book.

The "villain" was ridiculous in my opinion. I did not like any part of his character and was this close to being disappointed with how the main character dealt with it.

So powerful. I love Kiera and Cicada. I love that the Black culture references within Slay are international and not just American (e.g. Fufu - look it up). I love that the game is played by such a broad diversity of people from around the world (e.g. Cicada is French). I love how the author gives some of these players a chapter of their own to really show the incredibly varied impacts this game had on their lives (e.g. a trans teen still in the closet, a man in Hong Kong constantly being asked for selfies, the children of a political commentator).

I also love that within Kiera's family and friends, the author shows a broad range of experiences with Black culture, from Kiera's super political sister, to Kiera's boyfriend with his super rigid views on being the "right" kind of Black person, to Kiera's well-meaning but at-times cringey best friend (who asks Kiera if she's allowed as a white person to get dreadlocks), to the best friend's definitely cringey and feeling-woke-but-really-racist brother (who straight up harasses Kiera for her opinion on the dreadlocks question).

The book tackles some heavy issues (e.g. a boy is killed over the game, Kiera and her sister Steph have a conversation about police brutality), but the overall feel is one of hope and joy. Partly that's because Kiera, Cicada and Steph are just incredibly kickass young women. And partly because each scene that takes us into the world of the game Slay is a straight-up celebration of Black culture. There's an almost overwhelming joy in how the players approach the game, and in how they inhabit the space that Slay provides, that this feeling positively spills over from the page. So when a troll infiltrates the game and threatens everything Kiera and Cicada have worked so hard to built, I found myself furious at the possibility, and cheering with all my heart for the troll to be vanquished. No spoilers, but there's a scene when players from around the world all shared a bit of their reality within the virtual world of the game, and it just pulled hard at my heartstrings.

There's a section where Kiera reflects on how all the references to Black experiences within the game Slay (e.g. a card called "McDonald's money") won't mean as much to non-Black people. They may learn the abilities / powers of each game card, but the nuance and significance of what the cards represent will be over their heads. I get that. And all I can say is, this book was incredibly powerful to me, an Asian-Canadian woman.

I can only imagine how much more this book will resonate with Black readers, and especially teen girls who can see themselves in Kiera's shoes.

Read it.

+

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great! I love reading stories that feature video games, especially stories with girl gamers. This was a complex story, and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.
I particularly liked the occasional chapters told from different characters' perspectives, e.g. a Slay gamer that Kiera encounters in-game. It rounded out the book's world for me, and let me see how important Slay was to some of the people who played it.

Thank you to the publisher, Simon Pulse, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kiera Johnson is a high school student who has secretly developed an online game called Slay to create a safe space for black gamers in a community that is not all that inclusive for them, a game specifically for black people. But when a tragedy occurs over a dispute in the game, and a player is murdered, news of the game is made public, and Slay is labelled as a racist and violent game by the media, despite never having played the game themselves. What’s worse, if her identity as the developer of the game is revealed, she even might face a lawsuit.

Slay is more of a character driven book rather than plot driven, which is not a bad thing, per se, but I really would have liked to know more about the other parts of the story, particularly the game itself (because honestly, the first thing I thought of when I read the blurb for this book was Warcross). More attention to other aspects of the story would have also helped the pacing a great deal, which felt significantly slower in some parts.

The main thing I found annoying about this book was the multiple POVs sprinkled in without any warning. Often it took atleast a page or more before the sudden switch in perspective made sense, not to mention that that one chapter is all we get to hear from that character in the entire book. It was a nice touch though, that these POVs were from Black gamers who play Slay all around the world.

My reaction to this book was, in some ways, very similar to The Hate U Give, in the sense that neither book was really written for me, but I enjoyed reading them all the same. While many of the references relating to black culture and history in Slay were unfamiliar to me, I still understood and appreciated the messages it is trying to convey.

Slay is a powerful read, and one that makes you think. It gets into a wide range of topics apart embracing your identity, such as online bullying and racism, but despite its heavy content, this is an engaging read. Slay is definitely not the usual type of book on my reading list, but I am very glad that I decided to step out of my comfort zone with this one and I would say this is a must read for this year. Highly recommended!

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 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.

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...

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 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.
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.

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 Black” ways. Except now SLAY has made international news thanks to a grisly murder associated with the game, and it seems like everyone is baying for the blood of SLAY’s mysterious creator, Emerald/Kiera.

In many ways, this basic premise is nothing new, and many a good story has started from a secret that must be kept at all costs. I like that Kiera is actually good at keeping her secret—so often in these stories, it seems like the protagonist tells an ever-increasing number of close friends, swearing them to secrecy, until there’s basically a small village who know her identity. For most of the book, Kiera’s identity is totally unknown, even to SLAY’s sole other employee, Cicada, who lives somewhere in Europe. There are layers to Kiera’s concerns about being outed as well. Beyond the obvious negative attention from media and players that it might bring, Kiera reflects on how her family and friends will variously react to the revelation.

Related to this is one of my favourite things about SLAY: its diverse portrayals of Black women and Black feminism. If one of Morris’ goals is to help move beyond the stereotypes of Black women so often seen on screen and page, she succeeds. Kiera, her sister Steph, and her mother are all feminists but in different ways. Kiera sees SLAY as a vehicle for empowerment and exploration of Black identity, yet she fears that Steph, whose feminism is at a stage where everything is about terminology and figuring out the “right” way to express ideas, would condemn SLAY. Their mother wants the best for their daughters and therefore is wary of things like AAVE and how they act and dress: she wants them to be successful Black women, but her idea of success is different from theirs. The dynamic among these women reminds me of Lynn, Jennifer, and Anissa in Black Lightning: three related women, all of whom are strong and smart and feminist, yet who regularly disagree about what they should do or how they should read a situation. I love these portrayals.

Orbiting these characters are several white ones, particularly Harper and Wyatt, who act as foils for Morris’ explication of the exhausting experience of being minority Black in a school. I liked that Harper acquires some depth over the course of the book; she goes from being Kiera’s best friend who happens to ask awkward white girl questions to someone who takes the time to learn and finally educate herself instead of asking Kiera to do it for her.

Then, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Cicada, Kiera’s partner in the game. We learn a little more about Cicade throughout the course of the book and even get a few chapters that follow her POV, which was as surprising as it was lovely. She’s a little older than Kiera, and the racism that she experiences is different as a result of her location and how she navigates the world. Morris’ choice to present Cicada’s POV and the POV of a few other Black people whose lives intersect with SLAY is interesting, although it seems under-utilized. I was never quite sure when the next non-Kiera chapter would show up, and aside from Cicada we never return to those characters.

Finally, let’s talk a little about Kiera’s relationship with her boyfriend, Malcolm. I’m pretty ambivalent about this one’s characterization. On one hand, Morris tries to lay the groundwork throughout the book: his ever-so-slightly controlling tendencies, his overbearing attitude, his hyper-masculine demeanour, and of course, the way that Kiera makes excuses to us about how one day he will open his eyes and actually see the light of feminism. Mmhmm. The signs of an abusive, or at least proto-abusive, relationship are already there, plain to see. Nevertheless, in some ways Malcolm is more of a caricature. We’re told that he’s like this because of his choices of reading material, that it has somehow radicalized him. Um … okay? But you don’t choose these things in a vacuum. Who has Malcolm been talking to who got him into these texts, and who has curated his journey? Moreover, for a guy who supposedly eschews video games because of their detrimental effects on Black people’s chances to succeed in the world, he seems awfully good at video games and hacking in general.

And then there’s the eleventh hour heel turn reveal, which I don’t want to spoil, but the fallout from that feels rushed. Indeed, the whole denouement of SLAY is rushed. I stayed up late on a weeknight to finish reading this book, because I hit a point where I realized I could not put it down. That’s a big deal. Now, I’m not saying Morris disappointed me—I do like the ending, and I think the climax itself is so skilfully executed that I genuinely doubted the outcome for a few pages—but there’s an awfully big build up beyond that, as the other shoe drops, only for the echo from that shoe to dissipate too quickly.

I want to distinguish between my disappointment over the ending’s pacing (which I felt) versus disappointment over the happy ending (which I did not feel). I suspect that many people are going to read SLAY and think it unrealistic. How can a single 17-year-old girl code a whole VR game from scratch in her bedroom? How can she afford to maintain the game and its servers, and keep her identity secret, for so long? How can SLAY be both an underground phenomenon and this huge game at the same time? How is it that Kiera is just so lucky, towards the end, regarding the various things that go her way?

Honestly I don’t have answers and I don’t really care. I’ll suspend my disbelief regarding the complexities of video game programming and the number of coincidences that line up for Kiera, because I see what Morris is getting at with this book. As she makes abundantly clear in her author’s note, her target audience is not white dudes like me: it’s young Black women who are going through life questioning their Blackness and figuring out their identity. She’s writing for them, which is laudable. Sometimes, you just need a win. SLAY provides that without providing false hope; it is anti-racist but does not pretend that racism is not a huge factor in Black peoples’ lives. As far as a plotting and characterization go, it’s not a great novel all the time, no. That’s why I’m not giving it 5 stars. Yet even with its flaws, as a story SLAY still manages to entertain, to educate (in my experience), and hopefully (for Black people) to empower, although that last one isn’t my verdict to render.

At the end of the day, though, if we can have half a million books about teenage white boys being Chosen Ones, we can have a handful of books about teenage Black girls being uber-developers. I know which trope I’d rather read more of.

Creative Commons BY-NC License

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me mainly intrigued due to the fact it was about a game developer. I instantly knew it would be a book I would love to read. When the synopsis also stated that it involved a murdered player of the game, that hooked me even deeper. I love learning about gaming as well as what motivates people. This book has so many of my trigger words when it comes to what I like in a novel.

I loved our main character Kiera she was very down to earth. With that said she did have some issues that I think could've been addressed a bit better in the novel. Let's start with the things I liked: First and foremost she was a badass game developer still in highschool. Her game Slay had thousands of people who were playing it worldwide. I love when authors make some teenagers out to be really smart, or really good at something that they take pride in. It showcases how every single person is different, or into different things. I loved the fact that Kiera could see the good in almost everybody, she isn't oblivious to the fact that they may have some bad moments. She just believed that the good shone through more times than not. My main gripes with her were that she didn't see her boyfriend for who he truly was, meanwhile, at the beginning of the book I realized what an ass he was. Kiera didn't take responsibility for the fact she developed this game either. She had to be forced out of hiding to take the credit. This bothered me because it seemed the only reason she hid from the world after the murder was she didn't want everyone to blame her.

One of my favourite things about this novel was the fact that we got to see different variations of what racism could mean. We have a person who claims to be the exact opposite but turns out to be the very things he hates. We have a character who is racist without realizing it or intending it to be that way. Then we have Kiera who is racist in a way that even she has to question herself whether she is racist or not. I love how we got to see the differences and that there is more than one kind of racism, my only issue with this was that it didn't get talked about. Sure it was pointed out how each person came across as racist but then it was never truly dealt with. This should've been something that had a solution to the problem.

All in all, I loved this book, I was hooked instantly to the characters and the story. This is definitely a book I would recommend to friends and family. This is also one I think should be made into a tv series or movie. Britteny Morris is absolutely brilliant and I cannot wait to read more from her in the future.


4/5 Stars

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 at 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 have a lot of feelings about this book and most of them are how there are things I found super problematic in it.

My main issue is with Malcolm. His character is so over the top that it doesn’t even seem like he’s a real person. He has one layer and it is all not something I think would be found in a 17 year old boy. He is (and I don’t use this word lightly) abusive to Kiera. Verbal abuse is abuse and the way he treated her in the whole book raised so many red flags. The fact that this YA book is glorifying this relationship by showing Kiera thinking that it was love is wrong. This is not what should be taught to young people.

My other issue was with how flat all the characters were. No one, not even Kiera, had much depth to them. I like seeing character progression throughout a book but I didn’t feel that with any of them.

Overall, I enjoyed the pacing and the story enough. There was just too much that kept pulling me out of the story because it was not realistic or too far fetched.

I strongly believe in promoting books with characters of diverse backgrounds. When I heard Slay was inspired by Black Panther, and the in-story game was loosely based on the movie, I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped.

The explanation of Kiera’s MMORPG was hugely lacking. As someone who has experience coding, this made it difficult for me to be fully invested in the story. The idea of a high school student developing and moderating a server with 500,000 members on their own is hugely unrealistic. Even servers with under 500 members usually have ten or more moderators. Additionally, the book was filled with outdated memes and references. These nods to internet culture read stale and will likely confuse readers who purchase this book in the future.

I loved the premise of this story, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. Regardless, I plan to read future novels by Brittney Morris. I love the message behind this debut novel and look forward to watching her grow as an author.

I absolutely loved this! It was great to see how the online game was built and the main character was so strong and amazing! I did see the final plot twist coming, but it was still fun.

As a white woman, I initially didn't think this book was for me. I felt confused and left out at the fact that I had to look up aspects of black culture that I'd never heard of before. Then I realised it's not only a book for people of colour to feel connected to their culture, but it IS also a book for me to have a sliver of understanding about how these people feel everyday.

This story follows Kiera, the developer of the VR video game SLAY, and how she deals with the aftermath of a real life murder plaguing her virtual sanctuary. This fantastic debut had amazing writing and took so many turns I didn't expect. I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone, regardless of skin colour or age. It's way too topical to miss out on. Can't wait for more from Brittany Morris.

This was a really engaging YA read. It brought the world of black gamers to the forefront, and letting the reader know some of the issues they deal with in terms of the racism they encounter online.
The story also dealt with issues around black identity; what it means to be black in a predominantly white space, how does one project 'blackness', and when is one 'black enough'. All of these issues are melded together seamlessly.
I enjoyed the world building when it came to the game, and I was able to picture the set up in my mind with no issues.
I was a little disappointed in how some parts of the major conflict were resolved, but barring that issue, I really enjoyed this story.

Slay was fun and also important. The book covered many sub-topics surrounding the current socio-racial tensions in North America. Slay is far from what I normally read, but I still enjoyed it. I also think that, because of the themes the book covers, it is an important book for young readers to know about. I'd like to see more group discussions about books like these and the the themes they introduce.