DAMN! I thought I loved Warcross, but this is something else, something even better. While Marie Lu wrote an epicly cool kind of a more nerdy virtual reality Hunger Games in Warcross, Slay is a rallying cry for Black culture, also wrapped up in a virtual reality game but tied up in a very real & relatable life of the teenage game designer Kiera. I felt so much beside her while she faced the racism in her school and at home, even from her boyfriend. The complexities of the cast and the insertions of chapters from peripheral characters made the book seem so well-rounded and the game itself felt as real as the friendships fostered by the global community built through play. Wonderful.