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    Booked
    Booked
    Booked
    Audiobook2 hours

    Booked

    Written by Kwame Alexander

    Narrated by Kwame Alexander

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Like lightning
    you strike
    fast and free
    legs zoom
    down field
    eyes fixed
    on the checkered ball
    on the goal
    ten yards to go
    can’t nobody stop you
    can’t nobody cop you …

    Nobody can stop Nick Hall—he’s a star on the soccer team, cruising in school and getting ready to ask out the girl of his dreams. But then a bombshell announcement shatters his world.

    Follow Nick’s next moves in this electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by Kwame Alexander that bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion, of a World Cup match!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 5, 2016
    ISBN9781501919046
    Author

    Kwame Alexander

    Kwame Alexander is a poet, an educator, and the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty-five books, including his Newbery Medal–winning middle grade novel The Crossover. Some of his other works include Booked, which was longlisted for the National Book Award; The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life; Swing; the picture books How to Read a Book and How to Write a Poem (coauthored with Deanna Nikaido), both illustrated by Melissa Sweet; and The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. He is a regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, currently serving as their poet ambassador. He lives in Virginia with his family. Visit his website at kwamealexander.com. 

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    Reviews for Booked

    4/5

    166 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I was still in the afterglow of loving Brown Girl Dreaming and hoping lightning would strike twice in the form of two terrific middle-grade books written in free verse. While Booked isn’t lightning, it is good.Twelve-year-old Nick Hall’s life revolves around playing soccer; hanging with his best friend Coby; getting to know a girl named April; resisting his linguistics-professor dad’s urging that he read more; and reeling from his mom’s decision to go back to work training horses ... in far-away Kentucky.It does not takea math geniusto understand thatwhen you subtracta motherfrom the equationwhat remainsis negative.It’s fairly realistic in content and very playful in structure, both the free-verse aspect (which takes just two pages to become comfortable with) and that some of the narrative work is done via changes in fonts. It veers close to feeling “teach-y” with its footnotes that define fun, odd words (Nick’s resistance to his dad’s influence is futile!), and yet doesn't feel teach-y at all as it actually guides readers in learning how to read -- to navigate unattributed dialogue, to jump without transitions from scene to scene. The fast-paced vignettes and copious white-space on the page make it appealing to reluctant readers. And its mention of numerous other real middle-grade/YA books (many of them also free verse) is a terrific what-to-read-next list.(Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)
    • 4/5
      Like the soccer aspect, and some of the word nerd parts. It felt like a love letter to libraries and vocabulary — cool, but sometimes felt a bit forced to me. Still, I think kids who love poetry will enjoy it.
    • 5/5
      You love

      this book
      not just because it's fun
      to read free verse

      Or to write
      in the second person

      Instead, you smile
      AT the witty banter
      AT the word play
      AT the nuance in brevity
      AT the cadence in verse

      You think this is just
      the sort of book
      that might get
      reluctant readers to,

      get this,want to read more!
    • 4/5
      Less about the sport than Crossover was, but heavy on the real life emotions and experiences of junior high - perfect in other words. I really enjoyed this very much and was engaged with the characters and their lives. From the super cool, ex-rapper librarian (who reminded me of a good friend), to the parents coming to grips with the changes in their relationship and in their own dreams, even to the bullies who jumped off each page they appeared on... there was serious truth happening here.
    • 4/5
      Booked by Kwame Alexander is a great book for struggling readers. The book is written in verse and leaves white space on the page. The language is friendly. The plot is relatable. Nick struggles with his relationship with his parents. He also is a struggling reader, but he develops a relationship with the school librarian. Recommended for middle and high school.
    • 3/5
      This is the second book I have read by Alexander. I don't like the writing style, personally. To me it's choppy.
    • 4/5
      This is a middle grade novel (written in verse, but this is not obvious when listening), about a 12 year old soccer kid, his family, dealing with bullies and very young love. An award winning author
    • 5/5
      This book is about a kid who likes soccer and it's made in poems.
    • 5/5
      I just love books told in verse and this one certainly didn't disappoint. This book had everything a librarian loves - books, a library, a book club , a COOL librarian, a love of words..... But it also throws in just enough sports, teen romance, teen angst, and family dynamics to make it appeal to a young reader.
    • 4/5
      Bought and read this one after I read the Crossover book. Very similar format except this one is about soccer and the personal tragedy is not the father's death. If you liked Crossover, I think you'll like Booked equally well.
    • 3/5
      Like "Crossover," the protagonist of "Booked" comes across vividly and likably as your typical middle school boy, with a sports passion, a crush on a girl, and an aversion to reading. But there is trouble on the home front with his parents and a health issue sidelines him from his favorite sport. Kwame Alexander makes poetry cool.
    • 4/5
      tween fiction, novels in verse, soccer, family separation
    • 4/5
      Nick Hall feels like his life is falling a part a little. His parents suddenly announce they are separating and his mom moves to Kentucky for work. He's getting bullied at school. He does have a couple things going he seems to be making progress with his crush, his best friend Coby always has his back, and it's soccer season. Nick's dad loves words and has written a weird word dictionary, Nick has an impressive vocabulary to boot. Footnotes with definitions are peppered throughout the text. There is a little pandering to librarians with the cool rappin' school librarian in the story who helps connect Nick to book club and books. A quick, engaging read.
    • 4/5
      I love Alexander's voice and the way he plays with words and their physicality in his writing. This is a good read.