Member Reviews

Some books take a few chapters before you’re really on board with them, and some only take a few pages. I was very few pages into SLAY before I realised I was almost certainly going to love every minute of it and be sad when it was over (spoiler: I did and I was).

The book opens with Kiera desperate to race home in time to attend a battle between two esteemed characters in the game she has created, SLAY. By the time she’s succeeded in this goal we’ve already met her (awesome) sister Steph, her best friend Harper (who’s white and wants to know if it’s ok for her to wear dreadlocks), and her boyfriend Malcolm (the one person she feels she can be herself with). Oh, and of course Cicada, her second-in-command in the game and all round beautiful and delightful person.

Honestly, I loved all the characters in SLAY. Some authors just have that talent for drawing characters who are interesting, complex and engaging. The kind of people you always want to know more about. This is a talent Brittney Morris has in spades. I loved Kiera, of course, who wouldn’t? She’s fun and clever and imaginative and thoughtful. I particularly enjoyed her in the SLAY game. She has so much self-confidence; knows exactly what she’s doing and knows her own value in that world. I loved it!

The rest of the characters are wonderful too, even the ones we see very little of, like Dr John Abbott and his adorable nephews, or Annette Coleman, the lawyer. The ones who are closer to Kiera are even better, of course. Steph is magnificent from beginning to end; Cicada/Claire may be the sweetest person in the entire world, and Malcolm may be painful to read about but he is certainly a compelling character.

Aside from the characters, the story itself is seriously gripping. Kiera has created an amazing safe space for black people all around the world, but a boy is murdered because of a dispute over in-game currency, and all her hard work is jeopardised when the media pick it up and start accusing the game of being racist against white people (that’s not a thing, btw) and a breeding ground for thugs and criminals. Plus a white supremacist has managed to get in and is threatening a lawsuit. The way that 17-year-old Kiera processed and dealt with all this had me glued to my kindle. And the ending was perfection and I loved it!

I also have to mention all the lovely representation in the book. We have queer people, including Jaylen, who’s trans, and they/them pronouns used for a couple of different characters. I also loved the bit where Kiera notices that someone is using a Pride mask she created for Pride month and is happy that it meant something to someone. There’s even a mention of being able to make the game more accessible for disabled people towards the end; hurrah! I’m not, of course, going to comment on the black representation in the book – that’s not something for a white woman to do! But I do have to mention how lovely and positive this book was about online communities. For so many people the internet is a lifesaver; it’s where they can find people like them, and it was so nice to see that represented as well.

Basically, I loved SLAY. The characters, the plot, the story, the representation, the writing… everything came together to create an absolutely delightful reading experience. Also the cover is beautiful. Recommended if you enjoy books about gaming, grappling with ideas, or awesome characters.

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This was a gripping and powerful book, and such an important ownvoices read. It was so refreshing to read from Kiera's point of view as a black girl who games and codes. She is a kickass character and the book raised and addressed so many big and important issues. This felt to me like THUG x Warcross and I am here for that combo!

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