Solo, Kwame Alexander
Solo, Kwame Alexander
3 Rating(s)
List: $18.99 | Sale: $13.29
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Solo

Author: Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess

Narrator: Kwame Alexander with Randy Preston

Unabridged: 4 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 08/01/2017


Synopsis

Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a New York Times bestseller! Kirkus Reviews said Solo is, “A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.” Through the story of a young Black man searching for answers about his life, Solo empowers, engages, and encourages teenagers to move from heartache to healing, burden to blessings, depression to deliverance, and trials to triumphs. And the audio is narrated by Kwame Alexander himself, featuring original music that ties to the book.Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father.In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.Solo:Is written by New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award-winner Kwame AlexanderShowcases Kwame’s signature intricacy, intimacy, and poetic style, by exploring what it means to finally go homeAn #OwnVoices novel that features a BIPOC protagonist on a search for his roots and identityReceived great reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and KirkusIf you enjoy Solo, check out Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess. 

About 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. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jessica on July 30, 2021

TW substance abuse, loss of a loved one. This one was definitely an interesting read that went in a direction I was not expecting. I'm not sure I enjoyed how the second half of this book went. I felt like there was so much unfinished and I'm left wanting so many answers. We were leading towards a mo......more

Goodreads review by Bookishrealm on June 10, 2020

This review is late HAHA. I definitely finished this two days ago. TW: substance abuse, some parent neglect I am so ashamed to say that this is the first time that I've ever read Kwame Alexander. I see his works a lot at my job and he's come highly recommended, but I've never read his books. Let me t......more

Goodreads review by Katy O. on August 06, 2017

Thank you to the #kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own. SOLO is a rip-through-the-pages, can't-put-it-down poetic YA masterpiece. Told in text messages, song lyrics and conversations in verse, it tells the story of an alcoholic and addict rock star's son.......more

Goodreads review by Aj the Ravenous Reader on March 12, 2020

This was so unexpected. I still maintain my stand against novels written in verse that mainly, I am not a fan. But like this recent novel I’ve read, One by Sarah Crossan, Solo worked quite well. In fact it probably worked better for the entire theme of the story to be written in verse especially sin......more

Goodreads review by My_Strange_Reading on June 03, 2019

#mystrangereading has made it's annual switch for the summer season. I will be posting reviews here but also back on my Bookstagram ❤️📚🤗 #strangesummerreading No. 1 is Solo by Kwame Alexander ☀️☀️☀️This book--as all of Alexander's--is written completely in verse. I have come to really enjoy his writi......more