Seems the right time for some Footie

Alexander, K. (2016) Booked.  New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin

Nick Hall is great soccer player with a reluctantly awesome vocabulary.   Though his real love is soccer, a love that his best friend Coby shares, his dad is constantly trying to force him to like words as well.  Nick’s father wrote a dictionary of uncommon words, from which he gives Nick homework on a daily basis.    Both Nick and Coby’s teams get invited to play at an international tournament in Dallas, and they couldn’t be more excited.  Another target of Nick’s affection is April, a girl in his class.  He’s a bit afraid to talk to her though.  She’s part of a book club at the school library, and the librarian, Mr. Mac, wants Nick to join as well.  Nick is pretty convinced that books are no fun, and declines the invitation.  They say when it rains it pours, and a storm builds for Nick.  A twin team of bullies show up at school, making it hard for him to make a move on April.  They then steal his bike.  At the same time, his parent’s decide to separate and his mom moves out of state.  His parent’s force him to see a therapist and Nick feels like he’s drowning.  To top it all off, Nick’s appendix ruptures during a big soccer match against Coby’s team (in which he also sprains an ankle) and he’s laid up at the hospital.  This means he has to miss the big Dallas tournament.  The cloud’s silver lining begins to shine while in the hospital.  April shows up and convinces him to read the book.  He finds he can’t stop reading, and even joins the book club.  His mom sets up a date with April riding horses and it goes very well.  In the end, he even faces down his bullies and gets his bike back, along with his pride.

I really enjoy Kwame Alexander’s style of writing.  Previously I’ve read The Crossover and it had a similar feel to this book.  Telling a story in verse adds an extra element in its telling, really helping set the mood.  I also enjoyed reading a story from a boy’s perspective. I feel like so many YA books are from a girl’s view, and it’s not as easy for me to relate to those characters.  When I read this book, I have that “I’ve been there” feeling.  My favorite parts in this book though were those that involved the librarian Mr. Mac. I loved his style and exuberant excitement when it came to reading.  I cracked up whenever I hear about his clothing, like his shirt that said “Similes are like Metaphors”.  I’ll recommend this book and author to almost anyone, but especially for middle schoolers.

I read this book because I am required to read a book by Kwame Alexander.