Booked by Kwame Alexander

Digraj | Manalapan High School, Grade 9

Rating: ****

Booked by Kwame Alexander is a heartwarming story written in verse that follows Nick, a middle school soccer player, and his life through his parent’s divorce and the dynamics of middle school. If you’re a soccer fan or not, Kwame Alexander shifts the tempo of the novel incredibly as at one point the story could be regarding the rapid pace of a soccer game and at other points it could be the slow realization that your family is falling apart. Nick struggles with school but his father insists that he improves his vocabulary and makes him read a dictionary which proves to be an interesting dynamic in the novel. Moreover, Nick also struggles with middle school romance as he struggles to earn the girl of his dreams while fighting off bullies.

I would definitely recommend this novel as it being in verse provides a nonconventional way to read a book and enjoy it. This novel will give extra to soccer fans and athletes as they are able to connect with the vivid descriptions of games and practices making it extremely relatable to the lives of athletes in general. If you are looking for a heartwarming novel filled with up and downs through the perspective of an athlete, this novel is perfect.