Slay

By: Brittney Morris

Narrated by: Kiersey Clemons, Michael Boatman, Alexandra Grey, Dominic Hoffman, Sisi Aisha Johnson

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

“A book that knocks you off your feet while dropping the kind of knowledge that’ll keep you down for the count. Prepare to BE slain.” (Nic Stone, New York Times best-selling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out)

Ready Player One meets The Hate U Give in this dynamite debut novel that follows a fierce teen game developer as she 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, 17-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 boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the black man”.

But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the Slay world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and Slay is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination”.

Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically black in a world intimidated by blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

©2019 Brittney Morris (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Great concept, great story

Loved the concept of the game SLAY. I wish it was real. Definitely a YA read but a good one! There's a few pieces of character's stories that I had questions about in the end but overall I'm glad I listened to it.

Wonderful Book

I was not sure what to think of the book when I first started listening. The narrator was amazing, so I kept listening and I am glad I did. I loved the twist and the ending. I think it is a very empowering and thought provoking story.

Amazing book

This was so freaking good. Had me in my feelings and everything and is definitely something that people of all ages could listen too!!

Engaging story full of twists and turns

I loved listening to this book. It really made me think deeply about our existence and experiences on this planet especially when it comes to our skin color.

Vr world come to life & took this girl for a ride!

This was a different kind of read for me. I enjoyed it and totally recommend for a high school young lady. Well done!

Slay Queen, Slay!

This book is an example of supporting and strengthening our young black future creators. We need to uplift them and support their thinking because as you will learn from this book, they are our future.

just the best of fresh air I needed

It's hard times in the United States right now and it's ready to feel hopeless about racial equity. I'm grateful for an uplifting voice in this arena.

Good Story!

I really enjoyed the story. I was reading/listening from a teacher point of view and I think my minority students would LOVE this book. I think a fair number of my female students would love this book as well. I was sort of miffed by all the references to casual sex, but it tackled issues in a way that I thought was unforced and genuine. I think my students could get a lot out of this book.

fantastic read for the gamer

Shares the brilliance of a young people and the ability to overcome in todays pitfalls

Make this a movie!

One of my favorite YA books yet! I loved it so much. Connecting with Black teens in STEM is pretty awesome. I can imagine the virtual reality game and would love to see where Kira goes next!