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

Decent read, great universe.

SPOILERS: While admittedly I am not the target demographic for this book, I still found it enjoyable. The universe created by the author beggs for expansion and the main character is prime for growth. Would love to see more books developing the main cast.

A few plot holes that took me out of the base story.
*The protagonist is a Senior in HS who had time to program an entire VR in 3 years in her spare time without anyone noticing? I have a CS degree...no way...nope not possible.
*Out of 500K users, the antagonist just happens to be one of the primary characters?
*The main character's wager at the end was extremely selfish, risking the entire game and all the good it was doing to prove a point?

Just to end on a positive note, the underlying story is awesome, an oasis for subculture that celebrates the uniqueness and beauty of life. Definately worth the read.

Totally Engrossing!!

I'm in love with this book and I'm not even a gamer! It's like... Ready Player One meets The Hate U Give and I'm here for every bit of it! The game description is captivating and the author even had me thinking of new cards for Slay as I was watching Power last night lol Can't wait to see what else she has in store! Oh and all the narrators were brilliant in my opinion!

We SLAY!

It's a phenomenal journey into the middle of a reality many of us Black people wish we knew. My son plays Roblox and MineCraft and I WISH he had a game like this--the storyline is also TIGHT! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Can't wait for more by Brittney Morris!

LOVED this story! Morris's book is a rally to embrace the difference/diversity found within the Black community.

LOVE

I’m not a gamer but the way this was described makes me want this as an actual game ! The audio really brought it to life. I loved the Black references and even the plot twist through me !! Great book, definitely a re-read!

Off-putting

Could not stick with this. Characters too shallow and contrived that don’t invite reader in. Overrated.

Everything!!!!

I absolutely LOVED this book!! The twists and turns that it took you on were amazing!! Perfect way to start my 2019.

Good Book-Black Excellence

This book was really great! The story started off kinda slow, but there were many descriptive & insightful parts. I plan to re-listen to it.

Black Girl Magic

An amazing story about a game designer. A story that is culturally diverse (all black culture American and African), while incorporating entrepreneurship.
A must read for women’s month for all ages.

Loved this book soooo much!!!!

This is just one of those books that you cannot put into words because there are not enough words to describe it. It's wonderful, unique, heartwarming and so much more. It's the kind of book that you have to read for yourself to understand and grasp it's aspects fully.