Booked
Alexander, K. (2016). Booked. NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Summary
Nicholas
Hall is a twelve-year-old eight grader who loves soccer. Most of his time is
spent day dreaming about girls (one in particular-April), soccer and the next
tournament.
Nick
wrestles with a lot of family drama and bullying at school. His parents are on
the verge of divorce and their expectations are extremely high. His father is a
writer and his mother works with horses. At school, he is constantly being
bullied by the Eggleston twins. This is a major problem for Nick because he
doesn’t stand up for himself.
Soccer is
Nick’s refuge. Emergency surgery derails that for a while. During his hiatus,
he strikes up an unusual friendship with the librarian, Mr. McDonald. He decides
to keep up reading and discovers he likes it and has been missing a lot. As he
recovers, Nick becomes physically, emotionally and mentally stronger. He finds
courage to go after the girl he likes, stand-up to his bullies, cope with his parent’s
eventual divorce and continue the game of soccer that he loves.
Reflection
Kwame
Alexander wrote this novel in free-verse. He masterfully depicts the challenges
young people face with their own self-worth, self-identity, adversity and
expectations. I found this book to be relevant, satisfying, breath-taking
captivating till the end. A great follow-up to Crossover!
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