Slay

Slay

By:  Brittney Morris

Book Quote:

"I'm proud of what I've created.  I'm proud to know that I've given my people a space where we can be ourselves without limitations, regardless of shade or financial ability.  Nobody has to worry about real-life problems here....And if experiencing that here in my game, just for a moment makes even one SLAYer rethink their role in the world as a Black person, if it gives them the power to face whatever they have to in the real world, that's enough to make all of this worth it." (Morris, p. 204)

Library Cat Rating:  😻  😻  😻  😻 

Review:
      Kiera Johnson is a girl with a lot going on, even if you can only see the surface where she is a senior honors student and math tutor at the predominately white Jefferson High.  What most people in her life don't know is that Kiera is also the creator of a the online-role playing game SLAY.  SLAY is an online phenomenon and sanctuary for hundreds of thousands Black gamers as it celebrates and honors Blackness in a world that doesn't always appreciate Black culture and often times disparages it.  When a young boy is killed in real life over a dispute in SLAY, Kiera finds it difficult to keep the gaming world separate from her everyday life as disputes over the game explode in the media.  As pressure mounts from the outside world for the creator of SLAY to come forward, Kiera is also having to listen to the diverse and at times negative thoughts of her boyfriend, best friend, and sister.  As controversy and racism seem to infiltrate the safe haven Kiera has created, she will have to stand-up for herself and her way of life both in real life and the virtual world.  

    VERDICT this is one of the best Young Adult books I've read lately.  I loved seeing a female main character that is a gamer and person of color.  Kiera is an authentic and relatable narrator that I am guessing tweens and teens of all genders and backgrounds will be able to relate to.  Additionally, I think Morris does an awesome job of creating a multitude of characters that help shed light on difficult topics such as race, feminism, and other social constructs.  

Awards:  

N/A (YET!)

Citation:

Morris, Brittney.  (2019).  Slay.  New York, NY:  Simon Pulse.  

Annotation:

Kiera Johnson is a senior honors student and math tutor at Jefferson Academy where she also happens to be one of four Black students.  As an escape from her predominately white world, Kiera has created the online-role playing game SLAY.  When a young Black man is killed in real life over an online SLAY dispute, the world comes under attack and the world begins hunting for the creator as it seeks answers.  

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