Where to Start Reading Brittney Morris
Since Brittney Morris writes standalone young adult novels and specific franchise tie-ins, there is no single, strictly mandated sequence to read her works. However, your best starting point depends on your personal interests:
- For Gaming and Virtual Reality Enthusiasts: Start with her breakout debut, SLAY. It perfectly showcases her ability to blend high-stakes gaming culture with real-world social commentary.
- For Fans of Speculative Fiction and Family Dramas: Start with The Cost of Knowing, a poignant and supernatural story centering on brotherhood, grief, and fate.
- For Video Game Fans: If you love the Marvel's Spider-Man universe or the narrative-driven world of Life is Strange, you can jump straight into her official tie-in novels, Wings of Fury or Heatwaves.
Brittney Morris Books in Publication Order
Reading her books in the order they were released is an excellent way to watch her development as an author, moving from virtual reality thrillers to licensed media tie-ins, scavenger hunts, and dual-timeline mysteries. Here is her complete publication history:
- SLAY (2019)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury (2020)
- The Cost of Knowing (2021)
- The Jump (2023)
- Life is Strange: Heatwaves (2024)
- This Book Might Be About Zinnia (2025)
Detailed Guide to the Standalone Novels
SLAY (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is a regular high school student by day, but by night, she is the secret developer of SLAY, a massive multiplayer online role-playing game designed as a safe space for Black gamers. When a real-world tragedy is linked to the game and an anonymous troll threatens to expose her identity, Kiera must protect the community she built. The book explores safe spaces, online harassment, and systemic racism in gaming.
The Cost of Knowing (2021)
Alex Rufus has a curse: whenever he touches an object or a person, he sees their future. When he accidentally foresees the imminent death of his younger brother, Isaiah, Alex is forced into a desperate race against time to change a future that seems set in stone. This emotionally resonant novel tackles grief, toxic masculinity, and the anxieties of growing up as a young Black man in America.
The Jump (2023)
Set in Seattle, this high-octane thriller follows Team Jericho, a group of four close friends who are the city's top scavenger-hunting team. When a major oil refinery project threatens their local community, the teens enter a dangerous city-wide contest set up by a vigilante group called The Order. They hope to win the influence and funds needed to stop the refinery, but they soon find themselves caught in a web of corporate corruption and danger. The story is told through multiple perspectives and reads like an action-packed movie.
This Book Might Be About Zinnia (2025)
This novel features a dual-timeline mystery centering on family, adoption, and identity. In 2024, eighteen-year-old Zinnia Davis is struggling with her college application essay when she stumbles upon a fantasy novel that mirrors her own adoption story. She embarks on a quest to locate her birth mother. In 2006, a teenager named Tuesday Walker uses journaling to process a major loss, but is soon forced to face dark family secrets. As the two timelines converge, readers get a deep, multi-perspective look at the complexities of the adoption system.
The Official Video Game Tie-in Novels
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury (2020)
This official novel is a direct prequel to the 2020 video game Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PlayStation. Set after the events of the 2018 Marvel's Spider-Man game, it follows Miles as he comes to terms with what it means to be Spider-Man, his father's death, and his new life in East Harlem. He must team up with Peter Parker to stop the Vulture and his high-tech accomplice, Starling, who are wreaking havoc in New York City.
Life is Strange: Heatwaves (2024)
Set after the events of the video game Life is Strange: True Colors, this official spin-off novel follows Alex Chen and Steph Gingrich on a road trip across the United States to pursue their musical ambitions. Because the game features multiple branching paths, the book's foreword explains that the novel represents just one potential future timeline for the characters, ensuring that player choices remain respected within the franchise's broader multiverse.
Anthologies and Comic Contributions
In addition to her novels, Brittney Morris has contributed to collaborative print media:
- The Black Girl Survives in This One (2024): Morris contributed the short story titled "Queeniums for Greeniums!" to this acclaimed YA horror anthology celebrating Black girls who survive to the end of the story.
- Storm: Lifedream #1 (2025): Morris joined an all-Black creative team to write a chapter in this special Marvel Comics anthology one-shot celebrating the 50th anniversary of the character Storm (Ororo Munroe). Her story is an unsettling simulation that revisits key struggles from Storm's past.
What to Know Before You Start
Brittney Morris is a narrative designer and video game writer as well as a novelist. Her experience writing for games like Subnautica: Below Zero and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 influences the cinematic pacing and interactive themes present in her novels. Her works focus heavily on Blerd (Black nerd) culture, community activism, and the power of safe spaces, making them highly relatable for modern readers.