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Writer's pictureMrs. Jennifer Krueger

“Swing” by Kwame Alexander

Listen to the First Chapter:



From the Book Jacket:

For the last three years, best friends Noah and Walt have been searching for cool...


Walt is confident that this is their year to gain athletic fame and woo the girls of their dreams -- despite the fact they were just cut from the high school baseball team yet again, and Noah's crush since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. Not to mention Walt's plan relies on the advice of his fast food-employed cousin and a steady diet of jazz music. While Walt works on his swing and listens to a podcast on love, Noah settles in for another year of the status quo ... until he stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each page contains the words he's always wanted to say to Sam, and he finds himself secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his private artwork becomes public, Noah is forced to decide: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and make his voice heard?


At the same time, numerous American flags are being left around town. While some think it's a harmless prank and others see it as a form of peaceful protest, Noah can't shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realized.


As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really true when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice and fate.


Reviews:

Seventeen-year-old Noah struggles with the feelings he has for Sam, a childhood friend, and is encouraged to express himself by an ebullient buddy.


Noah and his friend Walt Disney Jones, aka Swing, are linked by a love of baseball. Swing is also obsessed with jazz and tries to make Noah a devotee as well. Along with their various personal dramas—Swing’s new stepfather, the romantic advice Noah is receiving—someone has been planting American flags around town, leaving folks to speculate who and why. At a thrift store, Noah purchases a travel bag as a birthday gift for his mother and inside he finds long-hidden love letters. They encourage him to put his feelings on paper, but Swing forces his hand by anonymously giving his writing to Sam, causing a rift between them. Then, out of nowhere, everything changes, and the innocence of their lives is shattered as their friendship troubles are put into perspective by something far more serious. The free verse tells a story as complex as the classic jazz music woven throughout. Noah is the narrator, but it is Swing, with his humor, irresistible charm, and optimism, who steals the spotlight. All the secondary characters are distinctive and add texture to the narrative. Swing is African-American, while Noah is white. Despite the easy flow of verse, there is a density to this story with its multiple elements.


Lively, moving, and heartfelt.

-- Kirkus Reviews


High school junior Noah has an unrequited crush on his friend Samantha, and when he discovers a handful of love letters from the 1960s, he is inspired to create mixed-media poetry that expresses his feelings. Noah had never planned to share the work with Sam, but then his well-meaning best friend, Walt (aka Swing), sends one of the poems to her anonymously. Meanwhile, someone is peppering the town with American flags, causing tension in the community as residents speculate about the meaning of the gesture. Things come to a head when Sam’s ex-boyfriend becomes a suspect in the flag mystery, and Sam is convinced that the accusation is racially motivated. Alexander and Hess (co-authors of Solo) embrace the malleability of free verse, heightening emotions with shifting styles and rhythms, and though Swing’s voice steals the show, the bantering friendship he and Noah share also shines. Interspersed throughout, the discovered letters and Noah’s art poetry highlight the power of physical artifacts to inspire action and provide a tie to flags’ symbolic meaning: “The one thing it should mean for everyone is freedom. Mind, body, and soul. Red, white, and blue. America the beautiful. The greatest love story yet to be.” -- Publishers Weekly

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