{"id":30853,"date":"2016-07-27T16:34:06","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T20:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=30853"},"modified":"2016-07-27T16:34:06","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T20:34:06","slug":"review-of-booked-by-kwame-alexander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=30853","title":{"rendered":"Review of Booked, by Kwame Alexander"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"booked_large\"<\/a>Booked<\/em><\/p>\n

by Kwame Alexander<\/p>\n

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2016. 314 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

A sports novel in verse is pretty much the last sort of book I\u2019d pick up on my own. But this one is nominated for Capitol Choices, and I did love Newbery-winning The Crossover<\/a><\/em>, so I picked up this book last night and ended up reading it in one sitting. I\u2019d forgotten just how good Kwame Alexander\u2019s poetry is.<\/p>\n

The story revolves around Nick Hall, a kid who loves soccer. His Dad is a professor of linguistics and he requires Nick to read from his dictionary called Weird and Wonderful Words<\/em>. Nick hates this task \u2013 but his writing \u2013 the poems in this book \u2013 is peppered with weird and wonderful words, defined in the footnotes. The words include things like limerence, sweven, cachinnate,<\/em> and logorrhea<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Nick\u2019s got some conflict going on. His best friend\u2019s on an opposing soccer team. There\u2019s a girl he likes. Issues with teachers. He wants to compete in the Dallas Cup, but first his parents, then his own health gets in the way. But the big overarching problem is conflict between his parents.<\/p>\n

The story is good, and compelling (I didn\u2019t, after all, put it down until I\u2019d finished.), but what makes the book truly wonderful is Kwame Alexander\u2019s poetry.<\/p>\n

He varies the formats so beautifully. There are poems that rhyme. There are acrostic poems. There are poems in two voices. There are long poems and short poems. There are poems made by blacking out all but a few words on the pages of a book. There are poems in two voices to show conversations.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a short one:<\/p>\n

Problemo<\/strong>
\nThe girls
\nlet down
\ntheir ponytails,
\nhigh-five
\ntheir coach,
\nthen walk over
\nto shake
\nour sweaty palms
\nafter beating us
\nfive to three.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s another:<\/p>\n

Thought<\/strong><\/p>\n

It does not take
\na math genius
\nto understand that
\nwhen you subtract
\na mother
\nfrom the equation
\nwhat remains
\nis negative.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of my favorites rhymes, but gives away what happens, so I won\u2019t include that one.<\/p>\n

And I must confess \u2013 all the white space of a verse novel did make it easier to keep going until I finished. I\u2019m sure it will act on kids the same way, too. A verse novel and a sports novel is a great combination. It\u2019s also a novel about words and about issues important to eighth-graders. A win all around.<\/p>\n

hmhco.com <\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/booked.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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