SLAY by Brittney Morris

SLAY

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

SLAY is a powerful debut novel blending Ready Player One with The Hate U Give. It follows Kiera Johnson, a fierce teen game developer fighting a real-life troll threatening the Black Panther–inspired game she created and the safe space it offers Black gamers.

Seventeen-year-old Kiera is an honors student and math tutor at Jefferson Academy, one of the few Black students there. At home, she leads a secret life as the developer of SLAY, a multiplayer online role-playing card game where Black gamers duel as Nubian avatars. Her identity is unknown—even to her boyfriend Malcolm, who distrusts video games.

When a Kansas City teen is murdered over a dispute in SLAY, the game faces harsh media backlash, labeled as racist and violent. An anonymous troll threatens legal action, accusing Kiera of “anti-white discrimination.”

Kiera must protect her game and her identity, embracing what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world that fears Blackness. Can she save SLAY without losing herself?