SLAY: A Review

Hi friends!

Today I have another review for my #BlackLivesMatter reading! I have been dedicating my time to reading more books by authors of color, featuring characters of color so that I can better educate myself and be a proper ally. 

And this book that I just finished? It was SO SO cool. A debut novel that should seriously be talked about more and is highly underrated!

And that is.... SLAY by Brittney Morris. 

This book follows our main character, Keira, who is a senior in a predominatly White high school, where her and her sister Steph are two of the four Black people in the entire school. One of the other Black people is Keira's boyfriend Malcolm who is an advocate for Black Excellence and being righted for all the wrongs that Black individuals have faced over the years. By day, Keira is a regular student, trying to graduate and go to the best college. By night, she is the creator and developer of an MMORPG game called Slay, that inspires Black Excellence and Black Culture. Almost all of the players are of color and it is a world where they can escape racism and racial slurs that are hurled against them in their every day lives. But when a troll gets into Keira's game and threatens to sue her for being discriminatory against White people, she begins to second guess everything. Oh, and can't forget that an innocent Black teen was killed over a dispute involving her game. 

I am going to start by saying that I am not the intended audience for this book. This book was written for individuals of color and is unapologetically Black. I still enjoyed it and learned a lot from it, especially about Black Culture. I feel like this book is so inspiring for teens of color and shows them that they can truly be whoever and whatever they want to be and that their skin color should never stop them from having those opportunities that I, myself as a White female, would have. 

The characters were inspiring. I loved how Keira was able to stay calm and explain to her best friend Harper, who is White, how it is offense to ask Keira for her opinion on things in the Black Culture and assume that Keira is speaking for all blacks. You see Keira explain to Harper why she feels this way and the appropriate way to ask and to help her best friend better understand her life and her challenges.

I absolutely ADORED the SLAY community that Keira built and how there were chapters in the book that focused on some characters who play the game and how it has changed their life and affected them. I also enjoyed learning about Claire, Keira's right-hand woman in the developing aspect of SLAY and how she is across the country and they share a bond. It was interesting to read from her POV in some of the chapters and I loved their friendship.

Malcolm was...terrible. He was controlling, manipulative, ignorant, and emotionally & psychologically abusive. It was hard reading about how he would treat Keira. 

I really, really, really enjoyed this story. I thought it was fun, empowering, and educational. I thought the plot was original and creative, and there really has not been any books written like this one and it should be talked about!

Trigger Warnings: Racism, abusive relationships, & death 

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Cast as Characters:

Keira: Lexi Underwood

Claire: Letitia Wright

Malcolm: Trevor Jackson

Harper: Evanna Lynch