Slay

Published in 2019, Brittney Morris’s Slay is a young adult realistic fiction novel. Kiera Johnson is a 17-year-old high school senior and one of the few Black students at her school. Outside of school, Kiera leads a secret life as the developer of SLAY, an online multiplayer game specifically for Black gamers. When a dispute in the game leads to a player’s murder, SLAY is thrust into the media spotlight, and Kiera must navigate the consequences while defending her creation against accusations of exclusivity and racism. Morris tells the story from multiple characters’ first-person perspectives, including Kiera and other characters who play SLAY. The novel offers a nuanced look at the complexities and challenges faced by Black teenagers in America through its exploration of the themes of identity, culture, and racism. Its honors include the Amelia Bloomer Book Award and the Westchester Fiction Award.

Citations in this study guide refer to the ebook edition released by Simon and Schuster in 2019.

Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of racism, homicide, and the death of a parent. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

By day, 17-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student at the affluent and mostly white Jefferson Academy.