SLAY
SLAY by Brittney Morris, published by Simon and Schuster on September 24, 2019, is a reprint edition featuring 336 pages in English. This novel follows seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson, an honors student and a rare Black presence at her school, who secretly develops a multiplayer online role-playing game called SLAY. The game serves as a safe space for Black gamers, but when a tragic incident linked to SLAY draws negative media attention, Kiera faces the challenge of defending her creation against accusations of racism and exclusion.
Readers will find a narrative that explores themes of prejudice, self-esteem, and the complexities of identity within the context of gaming culture. As Kiera navigates her dual life, she grapples with the implications of her game and the societal pressures surrounding her. The story delves into the intersection of race and technology, highlighting the importance of community and self-reliance in the face of adversity. Through Kiera’s journey, the book addresses significant social themes relevant to young adult fiction, making it a thought-provoking read.
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A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019!
“Gripping and timely.” —People
“The YA debut we’re most excited for this year.” —Entertainment Weekly
“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 bestselling 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, seventeen-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?
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