Name: Booked
ISBN: 9780544570986

Kwame Alexander

In this middle grade novel-in-verseby the Newbery Medal-winning and Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winningauthor of"The Crossover, "a""twelve-year-old, soccer-loving boy namedNick, absolutely hates books. In Kwame Alexander's latest poetictour de force, it'sbooks versus soccer balls ina match-upyou won't want to miss! "

Booked

Bergen Anders Nelson Eickhoff

Even when everyone else in our life is unreliable, we can always rely on words. Alexander's lyricism is powerful and endlessly inventive as he conveys a stunningly accurate portrayal of the role of words in the struggles of adolescence. What sets this apart from other coming-of-age novels, aside from the wit and poetry, is the care that is given to each character. They are not mere symbolic vessels for bildungsroman angst; we witness them live, breath, and grapple with language just like our protagonist. Hidden within the crafty stanzas are excellent commentaries on race, intellectualism, and family. But "Booked" ever forgets its essence as an explorative story that reminds us of the heroism and heartbreak that occur when we first learn to truly speak.

If nothing else convinces you, try this.
This is a book about sports. I don't particularly like sports.
I loved this book.
You will love it too.

Amanda Kordeliski

Jeni Enjaian

This book blew me away! I could not put this book down and ended up reading the entire book in less than an hour. The poetic nature of the text enabled the quick read but also opened up the possibility for deep study of individual chapters or poems. The entire narrative felt completely believable, real life characters, engaging characters, realistic plot line and so much more. I highly recommend this book.