Slay by Brittney Morris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wish I could read this book for the first time again and again and again.

Brittney keeps the plot moving along quickly, and we're taken on such a fun, adventurous journey, yet she still covers many important topics, from white privilege to police brutality.

When we look at Peggy McIntosh’s paper published in Peace and Freedom (1989) on White Privilege, she lists around 26 examples of white privilege that she gets afforded to her. Number 15 is, “I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.”

In this book, we see a glaring example right in the opening chapter when Kiera’s best friend, Harper, asks Kiera: “Am I allowed to get dreadlocks?”

Kiera narrates, “How am I supposed to tell her yes without giving the disclaimer that I can’t speak for all Black people and that she could ask any of us this question and get a different answer every time?”

I’m not Black myself, but I am what people call a “BIPOC” in the US. I really related to some of Kiera’s thoughts, especially when she says, “ I’m sick and tired of being the only Black girl among all white people. ” Oh, Kiera. My inner 7-year-old really feels this, growing up as the only Brown girl in a mostly white school and neighbourhood.

Moreover, we get a lot of insight into, I suspect, some of Brittney’s own experiences growing up in America, as she mentions in her acknowledgements: “In creating Kiera, I was forced to reconcile my experiences as a Black girl, now a woman, with what the world tells me Blackness is. Everyone has an opinion about how we as Black people should act and which of our accomplishments deserve respect.”

It’s uplifting to read her concluding thoughts on this: “SLAY taught me that the magic of Blackness is what we make it, that we define our future, and that we as a people deserve all the greatness our ancestors imagined for us.”

Finally, I truly enjoyed so many of the friendships between the characters and can safely say the Bechdel test was passed with flying colours. Kiera has a rich support network of beautiful friendships. I appreciate the different perspectives coming from Steph, “royalty of the most feminist high school sorority in the country”, Harper, Kiera’s white best friend and “Cicada,” Kiera’s business partner.

People have compared this book to Ready Player One, The Hate U Give, as well as Black Panther. I understand the comparisons but also believe the book is its own unique entity. I definitely was educated and entertained thoroughly while reading this book and highly recommend it to everyone.

4.75 stars, rounded up to 5… oh whatever, let’s just call it 5 stars.