Review by New York Times Review
KWAME ALEXANDER GIVES readers a bit of a head fake with the title of his latest novel in verse, "Booked." This is going to be a story about soccer, the title seems to say, but what Alexander has written is a book about the power of language. Though soccer does indeed play a large role in the life of Nick Hall, what sets him apart from his fellow eighth graders is his vocabulary. Here's a partial fist of the words Nick drops at one point or another: "sweven," "farrow," "onomatophobia," "logorrhea" and the Sir Mix-a-Lot-friendly "callipygous." (Look it up.) He even begrudgingly admires his dad's use of "codswallop." Nick hasn't picked these words up by accident. His dad, "a linguistics professor / with chronic verbomania," has written a dictionary of sorts called "Weird and Wonderful Words," and Nick is required to read a portion of it every day. "He calls it the pursuit of excellence. / You call it Shawshank," Nick says, adding, "The truth is / you / HATE / words." This statement of frustration, as both the reader and Nick will come to realize, is not really true. During the course of "Booked" - in soccer, the word refers to a player who has committed misconduct worthy of a yellow, or subsequently red, card - Nick discovers that language can help him charm a difficult teacher, impress the girl he likes, deal with a menacing set of bullying twins and help him express his emotions when his parents' marriage falls apart. It also provides a connection with the school librarian, Mr. MacDonald, who was a Grammy-winning hip-hop producer in a former life before disillusionment and brain surgery necessitated a career change. The Mac, as Nick calls him, becomes an important, if tangential, figure in Nick's life, dispensing sage advice along with corny wisecracks. Alexander's previous novel in verse, "The Crossover," won the 2015 Newbery Medal, and readers who enjoyed that one will find that it shares certain plot points with "Booked." Both deal with boys on the cusp of high school, obsessed with sports - it was basketball in "The Crossover" - and trying to figure out the mystery of girls. Both focus on families who emphasize the importance of academics to their children and provide them with love and support, though family strife becomes an issue too. In "The Crossover," a son is forced to deal with his father's illness. In "Booked," Nick's parents not only separate; his mom also moves to Kentucky to pursue her dream of working with horses. While this strains Nick's relationship with both parents, a few sessions with a therapist he nicknames Dr. Fraud and some humorous text messages to his mom seem eventually to return things to a kind of equilibrium. The biggest difference between the two books may be the role sports play in each. In "The Crossover," the main character, Josh, is a legitimate star on the basketball court, one of the best players his age in his city. Nick is certainly good at soccer - his team is invited to travel to the prestigious Dallas Cup youth tournament - and playing clearly means a lot to him. (When a medical emergency lands him in the hospital, he's worried mainly about when he can get back on a soccer field.) Names like Pelé and Messi get dropped in knowing fashion. Nick is no neophyte on the pitch. But it's that vocabulary that remains most impressive. AN OBVIOUS LOVE of words, and the way they flow together and create their own rhythm, makes Alexander's work somewhat irresistible. It's what powered "The Crossover," and it is at the core of "Booked." To pick up "Booked" is to find yourself turning page after page, swept along as Nick spills out his story. Nick is an enjoyable narrator. Sure, he can get moody - what kid wouldn't, considering everything going on in his life? - but he manages to keep his sense of humor. And whenever he does decide to drop one of those weird and wonderful words his dad has taught him, a helpful footnote appears with the definition, along with some joking commentary from Nick. I, for one, was happy to have him inform me that "ragabash" means "rubbish," or "something worthless." "Booked" is certainly not ragabash, and Nick is having too much fun with this stuff to make his claim about hating words believable. You might even say it's a load of codswallop. CONNOR ENNIS is The Times's deputy media editor.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 3, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Nick doesn't think he is extraordinary, but it is true that he and his best friend, Coby, are stupendous soccer players. In addition, Nick's dad has written a dictionary, which means that Nick has a vocabulary that stupefies ordinary 12-year-olds. And there's the fact that the lovely April seems to like him. Abruptly, however, Nick's life crumbles when his mom announces she is leaving home to take a job in Kentucky, and a ruptured appendix lands Nick in the hospital, keeping him from playing in a prestigious soccer tournament. It sucks. Alexander treats readers to the same blend of poetry, humor, and insight that graced his Newbery-winning The Crossover (2014), enhanced with a thrilling literary zest. Mr. Mac, the school librarian, is a former rapper who, after undergoing brain surgery, joyfully embraced his true calling peddling books to middle-school students. Book after wonderful book is suggested to smart but reading-averse Nick. It's not a small thing to incorporate big issues like bullying and divorce into eminently readable free verse that connects boys, sports, and reading. While some may find Mr. Mac's passion a bit overwhelming (while others may find it simply delightful), middle-school readers and their advocates will surely love Alexander's joyous wordplay and celebration of reading. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Newbery winner and New York Times best-seller? Alexander's latest will surely have a lengthy waiting list.--Colson, Diane Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Alexander scores again with this sports-themed verse novel, a companion to his Newbery Medal-winning The Crossover. Eighth grader Nick, a devoted soccer player and fan, enjoys some friendly competition with his best friend, Coby. What Nick doesn't like is words-neither the ones in the dictionary that his linguistics professor father wrote (and is making him read) nor the ones he learns in his honors English class. But the school's quirky rapping librarian, Mr. Mac, helps Nick discover both a love of reading and a way to connect with the girl of his dreams. Alexander skillfully juggles verse styles to realistically capture Nick's humor and smarts (showcased in witty footnoted definitions of words like "cachinnate" and "mewling"), passion for soccer, and vulnerability when being bullied, having surgery, or facing his parents' troubled marriage. Emotionally resonant and with a pace like a player on a breakaway, Nick's story will have readers agreeing: "The poems/ were cool./ The best ones were/ like bombs,/ and when all the right words/ came together/ it was like an explosion./ So good, I/ didn't want it to end." Ages 10-12. Agent: Arielle Eckstut, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Eighth grade soccer star Nick Hall is doing his best to stay penalty-free in the game of life and on the field. He has two goals: eat, live, and breathe soccer and score a girlfriend. Unfortunately, his world flips upside down. Nick's parents are getting divorced, an emergency appendectomy removes him from the Dallas Cup roster, and a pair of "pit-bull mean" twins place Nick in their crosshairs. Nick's father, an author and linguistics professor with chronic verbomania, has a goal for him, too-reading regularly from his dictionary of weird and wonderful words. This frustrates Nick to the point of declaring he hates words, yet, ultimately, words help deflect the bullies' attack and get the girl. Alexander's spare text creates a rich, emotionally charged novel in verse about the pendulum moments in a young teen's life. The author's narration, from poignant pauses to a crescendo scoring kick, lifts the words off the page. -VERDICT The audio is worthy of first selection, but it fails to capture the powerful visual effect of verse on the page. Pairing the text with audio would be a sound investment for language arts classes. ["Authentic characters and amusing situations abound, making this story one that will be welcomed by readers of all levels": SLJ 3/16 review of the HMH book.]-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Eighth grader Nick Hall is quite a wordsmith, thanks largely to his father, a linguistics professor and the author of Weird and Wonderful Words, which Nick is required to read page by page: Youre the only kid / on your block / at school / in THE. ENTIRE. FREAKIN. WORLD. / who lives in a prison / of words. He calls it the pursuit of excellence. / You call it Shawshank. Nick would rather be shining on the soccer field with his best friend Coby Lee, trying to talk to April Farrow, or playing Ping-Pong with his cool mom. Nick is blindsided when his parents suddenly separate and Mom moves away, leaving him to live alone with his stern dad. Then things worsen at school, too, as he and Coby (whose dad is from Singapore and mom is from Ghana) are targeted by the racist Eggleston twins (pit-bull mean / eighth grade tyrants / with beards). Like Alexanders slam-dunk Newbery Medal winner, The Crossover (rev. 5/14), this novel in verse offers sports action combined with spot-on portrayals of middle-school life; warm, believable family and friend dynamics; and hip, down-to-earth adult secondary characters, such as The Mac, an eccentric rap-producer-turned-cool-librarian who supports Nick through his many trials. Alexander understands reluctant readers deeply, and here hands them a protagonist who is himself a smart, reading-averse kid who just wants to enjoy the words that interest him on his own terms. With accessible poetic forms and engaging formatting, Bookeds pages will be turned swiftly and enthusiastically. katrina hedeen (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class. Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick's chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccerand, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: "it's like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life." The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander's highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book's explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable. A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
