In her debut young adult novel, Slay, Brittney Morris tackles the difficulties of code-switching and community building through the experiences of 17-year-old black American Kiera Johnson.
Kiera exists in two worlds. In the real world, she is one of only two black girls at a predominantly white high school and is thus vigilant about policing her hair, body, language and tone to avoid being coded as a stereotype. Inside SLAY, the game she's created, the beauty and nuance of the African diaspora is on full display and Kiera is the "Nubian goddess" Emerald. Black-identified players from all over the globe create avatars with skin shades from "Zendaya to Lupita" and rock "dashikis, Mursi lip plates" and "Marley twists" as they reign over diverse regions like the Desert, Tundra and Swamp (a nod to the presence of black people everywhere). Players compete in duels using inspired cards with cultural references from across different experiences, like "Michael Jackson's glove" or the Gabby Douglas card, which enhances the gymnastic abilities of a player. But, when a teen is murdered over coin in the game, Kiera's secret life as the creator of SLAY is exposed. As her real and virtual worlds collide, Kiera's plans for college, love and SLAY are upended.
While late in the novel, some explorations of gender dynamics feel underdeveloped and out of place, Slay grants readers perspective into experiences of black people from all over the world as they gather, connect and grieve deeply, showcasing their power--even with time and space separating them--to respond with compassion to any trial. --Breanna J. McDaniel, freelance reviewer