Solo

Author:   Kwame Alexander ,  Mary Rand Hess
Publisher:   HarperCollins Focus
ISBN:  

9780310761839


Pages:   464
Publication Date:   01 August 2017
Recommended Age:   From 13 to 99 years
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

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Solo


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Overview

New York Times bestseller! 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. A contemporary hero's journey, brilliantly told. -Kirkus Reviews, starred review A rhythmic, impassioned ode to family, identity, and the history of rock and roll. -Booklist, starred review Many readers will identify with Blade's struggle to find his place in a family where he feels like an outsider. -Publishers Weekly The authentic character development and tone will strike a chord with young adults. -School Library Journal

Full Product Details

Author:   Kwame Alexander ,  Mary Rand Hess
Publisher:   HarperCollins Focus
Imprint:   Blink
Dimensions:   Width: 15.00cm , Height: 3.80cm , Length: 22.10cm
Weight:   0.522kg
ISBN:  

9780310761839


ISBN 10:   0310761832
Pages:   464
Publication Date:   01 August 2017
Recommended Age:   From 13 to 99 years
Audience:   Young adult ,  Teenage / Young adult
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

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Reviews

Blade Morrison begins his story by disclosing, I am / the wretched son / of a poor / rich man. Master storytellers and poets Alexander (The Crossover, 2014) and Hess (The Day I Met the Nuts, 2009) have joined forces to pen a rhythmic, impassioned ode to family, identity, and the history of rock and roll. The only things 17-year-old Blade can count on as the wealthy but neglected son of famously erratic rock god, Rutherford Morrison, are his soulful guitar ballads and his girlfriend, Chapel. When Rutherford disappoints Blade one time too many and they end up fighting, Blade's sister reveals the family's secret in a moment of anger: Blade is adopted. Suddenly the music leaves him; when Chapel is no longer there to anchor him either, Blade sets out to meet his birth mother. A mixtape of classic rock hits guides him from Los Angeles all the way to the small village of Konko, Ghana, where a delay getting to the school where his mother works brings him unexpected fulfillment. Scattered throughout the novel-in-verse are some of Blade's original rock ballads, though every poem feels like a song, pulsing with Alexander's signature lyrical style. Blade ends up finding much more than what he expects: self-discovery, community and a deeper understanding of what family means. Stared Booklist review for SOLO by Kwama Alexander HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Alexander has a history of appealing to teens of all sorts and a Newbery to his name; don't expect this collaboration to stay on shelves long. --- Caitlin Kling Booklist


Author Information

Kwame Alexander is a poet, speaker, educator, and New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children. His other works include the novels He Said, She Said and Booked, as well as his nonfiction debut, The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life. He is the cofounder of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program. Visit him at KwameAlexander.com. Mary Rand Hess is a poet, screenwriter, editor, and author of several books, including Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wide World in Poetry and Pictures (National Geographic, 2017), which she coauthored with Deanna Nikaido and Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander.

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