Hi all!

Today I am back for Day #3 of the Black Resilience Booksta Challenge. I explained all the rules in my first post here. I’m hoping this will inspire other readers to read, review and amplify more black voices. Feel free to join me! You can refer to the template below.

I chose SLAY by Brittney Morris for Day #3, because she is a black female author that released an epic debut novel. I was so impressed. It’s also relatively new.

This story has been likened to Ready Player One but after reading it, I felt it was in a league of its own. You can’t really compare it to anything else. It follows Kiera, a teenager trying to balance school, friends, her boyfriend and a virtual reality, online card playing game, that she developed herself, under the name: SLAY. This game – full of black culture – is purely for black gamers, as a retreat for those that struggle to feel comfortable in a white world. The only other person who knows she is the creator (Emerald) lives in Paris, under the alias: Cicada. When a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, the game receives mainstream media attention. All of a sudden, it’s labeled racist, exclusionist and violent. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.” Kiera has to do whatever possible to protect this safe-haven she’s created and remain unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness.

The pacing in this novel was perfection. I was absolutely hooked from start to finish. It presented a fantastic argument on how reverse racism cannot exist in a world where white people have never known oppression for the colour of their skin. Repeat after me: white people cannot be victims of racism, as they have never been oppressed for the colour of their skin. It educated me on black culture in such a fun, interesting way, through the different cards and game features. As a fellow gamer, I was there for all the nerdy goodness. The online battles were so descriptive and exciting.

The one thing I wasn’t able to get on board with (also a common critique on Goodreads) was the unrealistic concept. I found it hard to believe that an honours student has a boyfriend, friends, a job as a tutor and a virtual reality game, secret from everyone. It takes a massive team to create a game, let alone a worldwide famous VR one. I struggled to accept that Keira and one other person built it from scratch; managing to keep it going in between classes and a social life. I had to dock a star for that one.

Apart from that, this book is a massive winner. I want everybody to read it, as it shares so many important messages about race, oppression and fighting for equality.

If you are interested in getting a copy, you can order it here.

Thank you so much for reading, I will see you all soon for Day #4!

Peace & Love xoxo