Author: Kwame Alexander
Year Published: 2019
Genre: YA fiction (verse)
Pages: 448
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location (my 2019 Google Reading map): USA
FTC Disclosure: I bought this book with my own money
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): For the last three years best friends Noah and Walt have been searching for cool.... Walt is confident that his is their year to gain athletic fame and woo the girls of their dreams--despite the fact that they were just cut from the high school baseball team yet again, and Noah's crush since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. Not to mention Walt's plan relies on the advice of his fast food-employed cousin and a steady diet of jazz music. While Walk works on his swing and listens ot a podcast on love, Noah settle sin for another year of the status quo... until he stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each page contains the words he's always wanted to say to Sam, and he finds himself secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his private artwork becomes public, Noah is forced to decide: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and make his voice heard?
At the same time, numerous American flags are being left around town. While some think it's a harmless prank and others see it as a form of peaceful protest, Noah can't shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realizes.
As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really true when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.
Review: Kwame Alexander is so good. I enjoyed his previous novels Solo, Crossover, and He Said, She Said and was really looking forward to ending my spring break reading with another of his novels. I am so glad that I read this book.
Alexander is just so good at verse and making it cut to the point, bringing up emotions (both positive and negative), and telling a story. The rhythm of his words lull you in to the story and make you feel like you're being pulled along a stream. Boy that sounds lame, but I can't figure out how else to describe it.
I so wanted Walt and Noah to succeed in life, wherever it took them. I wanted Sam to be true to herself. I liked the inclusion of music, baseball, friendship, crushes, and family. I don't really want to say anything else because I don't want to give anything away.
Challenges for which this counts:
FTC Disclosure: I bought this book with my own money
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): For the last three years best friends Noah and Walt have been searching for cool.... Walt is confident that his is their year to gain athletic fame and woo the girls of their dreams--despite the fact that they were just cut from the high school baseball team yet again, and Noah's crush since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. Not to mention Walt's plan relies on the advice of his fast food-employed cousin and a steady diet of jazz music. While Walk works on his swing and listens ot a podcast on love, Noah settle sin for another year of the status quo... until he stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each page contains the words he's always wanted to say to Sam, and he finds himself secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his private artwork becomes public, Noah is forced to decide: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and make his voice heard?
At the same time, numerous American flags are being left around town. While some think it's a harmless prank and others see it as a form of peaceful protest, Noah can't shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realizes.
As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really true when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.
Alexander is just so good at verse and making it cut to the point, bringing up emotions (both positive and negative), and telling a story. The rhythm of his words lull you in to the story and make you feel like you're being pulled along a stream. Boy that sounds lame, but I can't figure out how else to describe it.
I so wanted Walt and Noah to succeed in life, wherever it took them. I wanted Sam to be true to herself. I liked the inclusion of music, baseball, friendship, crushes, and family. I don't really want to say anything else because I don't want to give anything away.
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