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SLAY: the Black Panther-inspired novel about virtual reality, safe spaces and celebrating your identity (Black Stories Matter) Paperback – 3 Oct. 2019

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,155 ratings
Teachers' pick for school years 1–9

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'We are different ages, genders and traditions ... but tonight we all SLAY'

Black Panther meets Ready Player One. A fierce teen game developer 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, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is a college student, and one of the only black kids at Jefferson Academy. By night, she joins hundreds of thousands of black gamers who duel worldwide in the secret online role-playing card game, SLAY.

No one knows Kiera is the game developer - not even her boyfriend, Malcolm. But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, the media labels it an exclusionist, racist hub for thugs.

With threats coming from both inside and outside the game, Kiera must fight to save the safe space she's created. But can she protect SLAY without losing herself?


From the Publisher

Slay the Book

Slay the Book

Tonight we SLAY

Enter the Black Panther-inspired video game world of SLAY. This is a safe space to celebrate black excellence. To play without discrimination. To play and connect without the fear of not fitting in.

Slay the Book

'We are a diaspora'

When a teen is murdered over a dispute in SLAY, the media labels the game as violent and exclusionary. As one of the only black students in her school, Kiera desperately needs this space she has created. But can she fight to save this world where she and its global community can unapologetically be themselves?

Slay the Book

Available in Multiple Formats

SLAY is able to be enjoyed in a variety of ways, including in paperback, ebook and audio, so you can bask in the experience of reading in the way that suits you.

Slay the Book

Product description

Book Description

Black Panther meets Ready Player One. A fierce teen game developer 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.

About the Author

Brittney Morris holds a BA in Economics from Boston University. She spends her spare time reading, playing indie video games, and enjoying the Seattle rain from the comfort of her apartment. She lives with her husband Steven who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn't seen enough horror movies. Brittney is was chosen as a Novel-In-A-Day participant 2016, is a four-time NaNoWriMo winner, and an active informal mentor in #PitMad and #DVPit. She is also a 2018 Pitch Wars mentor.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder Children's Books; 1st edition (3 Oct. 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1444951726
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1444951721
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 15 years
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 2.8 x 19.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,157 ratings

About the author

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Brittney Morris
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Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY. She holds a BA in economics from Boston University because back then, she wanted to be a financial analyst. (She’s now thankful that didn’t happen). She spends her spare time reading, playing indie video games, and enjoying the rain from her house in Philadelphia. She lives with her husband Steven who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn’t played enough horror games. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @BrittneyMMorris, and online at authorbrittneymorris.com.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,157 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable and a must-read for anyone. They praise the writing quality as amazing and descriptive. The world is well-developed, and the concept is well-done. Overall, customers appreciate the imaginative representation of black culture and its dilemmas.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

7 customers mention ‘Readability’7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and recommend it. They say it's a must-read for anyone, especially gamers and women.

"...Development: The world was gorgeously developed and I really loved learning about Slay, about coding, and about the world that the story is set in,..." Read more

"This was such an exciting read. I loved how descriptive and engaging it was!" Read more

"I loved this book and how it tackles a lot of topics that are dear to me as a black woman all the more while giving space to a plot that shows a..." Read more

"Really loved this book and would highly recommend it. Smart and brilliantly written, every gamer and women should read it." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Writing quality’4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality. They find the characters well-written and relatable.

"...it just gave me more of an excuse :P I thought this book was amazingly written and I definitely recommend it to anyone!..." Read more

"This was such an exciting read. I loved how descriptive and engaging it was!" Read more

"Really loved this book and would highly recommend it. Smart and brilliantly written, every gamer and women should read it." Read more

"Brilliant- read" Read more

3 customers mention ‘Development’3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's world-building. They find the concept well-done and appreciate the imaginative representation of black culture and its dilemmas.

"...World Development: The world was gorgeously developed and I really loved learning about Slay, about coding, and about the world that the story is..." Read more

"It’s a wonderful imaginative representation that being black is not a monolith...." Read more

"A very beautiful first step into black culture and its dilemmas..." Read more

Super good!
5 out of 5 stars
Super good!
“If black gamers want their own space online away from the eyes of the majority, let them have it. Y’all have Mummy and Legacy of Planets. Do you need to have everything?”I adored Slay. It was important and moving, I just couldn't put it down. The author was inspired to write it after watching Black Panther, so I thought it was smart to pick it up just after I watched the movie. I was not disappointed.Keira secretly developed Slay, an online gaming community where black people duel from all over the world. But when someone is shot because of the game, it's all over the news…and Kiera doesn't know what to do.This book was so important on many levels. As a white person, I know this book wasn't written for me. There might have been a few cultural references that I didn't understand. I still loved it so much, of course, and my race didn't affect my personal opinion of the book. I just wanted to give that little disclaimer. As a white person, this book actually taught me some things and I think it could teach others even more.The plot was so engaging, entertaining and impossible to put down - literally, I stayed up until to 2 am to read Slay. It was so immersive and interesting. It was definitely character-driven, but was exciting none the less!I really loved the characters, especially Kiera and her younger sister Steph. They felt like such real people with their struggles and insecurities. Kiera's voice felt real and easy to relate to, I loved reading her thoughts and opinions. I really enjoyed the dynamic between these two sisters, it was absolutely beautiful to watch their relationship grow. The side characters, especially Claire aka Cicada, were awesome. I loved to see their lives and views occasionally dotted throughout the book, and from Kiera's perspective too.Slay, the game was so interesting! I don't actually game, but a lot of my friends do and it was fun to see quite a few scenes inside the game and how the rules worked.I think a lot of gaming based books and even gaming, in general, are often very male-dominated so I loved seeing the feminist aspects of this book because, when do I not?Slay was such an amazing, important book that I'd definitely recommend everyone picks up. It discusses race, identity, relationships and more in such an important way at the same time as being impossibly fun to read. What a gem of a book.
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2020
    I really love Slay, I read it as part of a book club that I am in but I really wanted to read it before that it just gave me more of an excuse :P I thought this book was amazingly written and I definitely recommend it to anyone!

    Spoilers below!
    [
    Introduction:
    Slay is written by Brittany Morris. It is a book that styles itself as being a mix of ready player one meets the hate u give, although I feel like this book is still much more than that. It dives into racism in all forms and for me, this definitely makes it a must-read. I will be coming at this as both as an eye-opening experience in regards to racism and as a reader who enjoys playing video games.

    Character Development: Really awesome, I loved the way Kiera grew throughout the story and I loved learning about Claire and Steph! Their relationships with each other were really well written and felt very real to me. I think my two issues was that Malcolm really never grew or learned throughout the book and I also wished we had a bit more of an insight into Wyatt to see how much he grew, I feel like this book focused more on the girl's development instead of it being more balanced which I would have preferred. 4/5

    World Development: The world was gorgeously developed and I really loved learning about Slay, about coding, and about the world that the story is set in, regarding France and America. The way that Brittany wrote the world of slay tells me that she has played (and maybe coded?) video games as it was amazing! I loved learning about Black culture as I am trying to educate myself more so it was nice learning about it through this story. I loved the fact that we got representation for trans too 5/5

    Pacing: I feel like the pacing of the book was a bit slow at the start but it quickly even out and became consistent throughout. I did feel like it went a bit too fast towards the end though and I wish it has slowed down a bit. 4/5

    Language: There were a few things I struggled to understand, mostly due to the references to coding for example. There were times when some of the racist comments I got uncomfortable reading it but I understood its purpose to educate people and its important. Due to some of the language, I struggled to understand (maybe more of an explanation is needed just to make things clearer?) I give it 4/5

    Plot Development: Loved it! I thought it was a really fun read and the concept was really well done in this book. 5/5

    In conclusion:
    I believe that slay is a must-read for anyone not just for the education but also because it’s a really fun read that is really enjoyable. I am really looking forward to reading more from Brittany Morris!
    Score: 22/25
    =88%
    = 5 stars!
    (hide spoiler)]
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 December 2022
    This was such an exciting read. I loved how descriptive and engaging it was!
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2020
    Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
    A young adult novel. If you must categorise it, then let's call it a virtual reality thriller.

    It is complete and self contained in one volume, and not part of any series or trilogy. It runs for three hundred and eighteen pages, and seventeen chapters.

    This does contain some strong language, and some racist ones as well, so I would say best reading age is fifteen and up.

    Main character, who narrates nearly all of it, and does so in the first person present tense, is Kiera Johnson. Seventeen years old, one of the few black students at her academy. In her spare time, she runs a virtual reality game called Slay, where people can meet and duel online. Only black people are allowed to be members of this site.

    Nobody, not even her boyfriend, a rather intense young man, knows she does this. But then when one player is murdered in the real world in a dispute involving online matters, a media frenzy follows. The game is labelled racist violent and exclusive.

    How does Kiera cope with the resulting situation? She has a fight on her hands to keep control of her world. Both real and otherwise...

    As with all good young adult stuff, this is written in a very readable manner from the off. And it does make Kiera an easy character to like and relate to. Certain characters will talk about the kind of things that get Daily Mail readers worked up easily. But then this is all from one singular perspective. If that's not your perspective, then you need to be open minded and give it a chance, because to see what it's like from this other one is interesting and thought provoking.

    The plot doesn't really kick in at all till nearly page 85, and I was getting a bit impatient for it get going by then. But it's fine once it does. This is a really good read from then on. Regardlesss of if you're sixteen or older, because it does cover some interesting topics. And as all good fiction that does such should do, it doesn't preach or offer answers, it makes you think about them. It also reminds you of the dangers of taking some things too far and too seriously, as one character does that very much.

    The viewpoint occasionally shifts in some chapters to characters elsewhere in the world, who are caught up periphally in the whole thing. With most of those they aren't entirely important plot wise, but some are quite interesting, and I would have liked to see more of what they then go on to do, but you don't get back to them at all. But that's only a minor complaint.

    Another thing this does very well is introduce a mystery, and the resulting developments and solution to that are really good. I didn't see the answer coming at all.

    A good, thought provoking, interesting and ultimately enjoyable read. So I'm glad I read it.
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2021
    It’s a wonderful imaginative representation that being black is not a monolith. That as a community we have a varied background that is defined by geographical location, wealth, class etc. I wish something like SLAY existed in real life.
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2021
    I loved this book and how it tackles a lot of topics that are dear to me as a black woman all the more while giving space to a plot that shows a young black woman achieve her dreams in a world full of obstacles.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Serwaa
    5.0 out of 5 stars It’s a very great book awesome please buy this
    Reviewed in Canada on 30 July 2022
    I liked everything about it
    Customer image
    Serwaa
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    It’s a very great book awesome please buy this

    Reviewed in Canada on 30 July 2022
    I liked everything about it
    Images in this review
    Customer image
  • Jerold Landa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on 9 June 2022
    I really enjoyed Slay. Slay follows seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson who is an honor student and enjoys gaming. She created her own VR game called Slay and it's a place for Black gamers to come together and have a place where they can come and not have to worry about racism. Nobody knows that she is the developer of the game. She has a boyfriend named Malcolm who believes that video games are a distraction for the black man. Everything is going well, until a black teen is murdered over a dispute and that's when Kiera's world turns upside down.

    *******SPOILERS BELOW**********

    Kiera was a good character, and I loved the fact that she created her on VR game. I felt instead of trying to hide that she was the creator, she should've told everyone. That is something to be proud of. Malcolm was a buster. Like, dude it's good to be for your people, but he did too much, and she should've been dropped dude. I think Kiera should've told her parents about the situation with the death of Jamal because it would've saved her from a lot of worrying. I wish this game existed for real because it sounded fun to play.

    This is my second book by Brittney Morris, and I love her writing style. I can't wait to read more.
  • maria
    5.0 out of 5 stars Muito bom
    Reviewed in Spain on 20 May 2021
    Amei este livro é a edição é muito bonita e grande
  • Katharina
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of my new favourites!
    Reviewed in Germany on 13 July 2020
    I don't know how to properly write a review for this, because SLAY was just so so good! I didn't really knew what to expect going into this book and tbh, I'm not that much into video games, so I wasn't sure it would be a story for me. But the reviews here on Goodreads were so positive I needed to give this book a try. And I loved it.

    The story itself is quite simple. Kiera creates a video game just for Black people and when one of the players gets killed she feels kind of guilty and struggles with the situation that suddenly everyone knows her game and has an opinion on it. And because it's a game just for Black people there's obviously a lot discussion about racism going on. In fact, I think I've never read a YA book that talks so plainly about racism, which was something I really enjoyed. (To be fair, I also haven't read The Hate U Give yet.) ”Slay” covers a lot of topics and gives insight into a lot of stuff Black people face every day, not just from white people, but also how differently they deal with the racism they experience.

    What I really liked was that we didn't just got to Kiera’s POV but also some chapters from other players. It was so enjoyable to see how much Slay means to different players and why it means so much to them. I was tearing up here or there when it was described how important it was to them to have this place online where they can be just themselves because that's a concept everyone can in one way or another relate to, I guess.
    I also absolutely loved the relationship between Kiera and her sister Steph. They were fighting sometimes but when they needed each other they were there to support one another. The same thing with her friend Harper, who sometimes was asking really ignorant questions but in the end was willing to learn and grow. And lastly Claire, who was also such a good friend to Kiera. I kinda wish we had more chapters from her perspective as well.

    As far as the gaming aspects go I have no idea how realistic or not they were, but it sure was a lot of fun to read about Slay and how the game works. The only thing that I thought was maybe a bit unrealistic was Kiera starting to create the game when she was fourteen years old. I don't really know anything about game developing but it sounds a bit unrealistic to me that a fourteen-year-old can manage to host a game that big, time and money-wise.

    Minor SPOILER

    And lastly, my only point of criticism would be, that it was in my opinion too big of a coincidence who the bad guy was in the end, that it was someone Kiera knew, who lived in the same city as her. Slay is a game a lot of people play all over the world and the one person who wants to troll her is of all things that person? Really? But character development-wise the decision to make the bad guy someone Kiera knows made total sense and I did like the ending. So it's just a minor criticism. It was still just a little bit too convenient for my liking.
  • Sissi
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good choice
    Reviewed in France on 6 February 2020
    Kiera has built an online game only for black gamers, when her secret is revealed, she has to face unwanted attention and unexpected consequences.

    Wow.

    What an entertaining trip into blackness and greatness !

    I was not completely sold on the plot at first, I don't know anything about video games and from the reviews I've read, it seemed a bit too manichean for my tastes. But I'm happy to say I was wrong. Gaming is a big part of the story, but it's mainly about what it means to be black nowadays; there is also an interesting mystery. Plus I completely see myself in one of the characters, I loved how the author took the time to acknowledge all of the black diversity while underlining the common heritage and burden for those being part of the diaspora.

    I don't agree with everything but I loved the book. I just can't get a song out of my head now... "cause I slay, I slay, I slay..."