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Preview — Solo
by Kwame Alexander

When the heart gets lost, let the music find you. 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. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel,
When the heart gets lost, let the music find you. 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. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming—like many—that Blade will become just like his father. In reality, the only thing Blade has in common with Rutherford is the music that lives inside them. But not even the songs that flow through Blade’s soul are enough when he’s faced with two unimaginable realities: the threat of losing Chapel forever, and the revelation of a long-held family secret, one that leaves him questioning everything he thought was true. All that remains is a letter and a ticket to Ghana—both of which could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.
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Published
July 25th 2017
by Blink

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Emily Wallace

I am not quite done with the book, but I am thinking it would be a good fit for 8th grade through high school. The main character has just graduated h …more I am not quite done with the book, but I am thinking it would be a good fit for 8th grade through high school. The main character has just graduated high school when the book begins. (less)

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4 years ago

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Edwina Bruisa

I didnt think so. The author discribes her as amber-sun skinned and blue eyed.

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Jun 16, 2018

Jesse (JesseTheReader)

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review of another edition

I kind of have mixed feelings on this one. I loved the writing style and the tone of the story, but I wasn't a fan of the plot or the characters. Both elements fell flat for me. I did enjoy seeing how this story wrapped up, though it did end on a rather devastating note.
I kind of have mixed feelings on this one. I loved the writing style and the tone of the story, but I wasn't a fan of the plot or the characters. Both elements fell flat for me. I did enjoy seeing how this story wrapped up, though it did end on a rather devastating note.
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authors-of-color ,
characters-of-color

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 moment that was super important for Blade, but it had such a big build up and such little time spent on it when it actually happened. And we're supposed to believe Blade found closure and that's exactly
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 moment that was super important for Blade, but it had such a big build up and such little time spent on it when it actually happened. And we're supposed to believe Blade found closure and that's exactly what he had wanted. It felt like it was too convenient and just not authentic. Blade also has a father who is a former rock star, so a lot of things happened that seemed virtually impossible for anyone else who wasn't a millionaire. He flew to Africa at the drop of a hat, they had a tour bus with showers in Africa? Again, it just felt odd and like it didn't really fit in the story. I did enjoy the exploration fo the relationship between Blade and his dad and sister, but a lot left me wanting more.
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young-adult ,
verse-novels

Nicely written, but. Blade is every bit as self-absorbed as his parents, and never quite seems to realize that, even though it sucks that his mother is dead and his father is an addict, he's also privileged in that he has enough money to have virtually unlimited options in life and, more importantly, a family who is as loving and supportive as they are damaged. There's also a bit of a believability problem when it comes to his family secret: his family is so damn rich and famous that it strains
Nicely written, but. Blade is every bit as self-absorbed as his parents, and never quite seems to realize that, even though it sucks that his mother is dead and his father is an addict, he's also privileged in that he has enough money to have virtually unlimited options in life and, more importantly, a family who is as loving and supportive as they are damaged. There's also a bit of a believability problem when it comes to his family secret: his family is so damn rich and famous that it strains credibility for his family secret to actually be secret until somebody within his family reveals it to him, which is all aside from the fact that there's no particular reason for it to have been a secret at all. (view spoiler) [The "you're actually secretly adopted" plot is about twenty years out of date. Private adoption or no, it's vanishingly unlikely for anybody to hide from their own child that he was adopted until he was 18 anymore. (hide spoiler) ]
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young-adult ,
advanced-reader-copies ,
poetry-and-verse

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. Blade has been burned by his father time after time and is still actively mourning the death of his mother years before, when he receives life-changing news that sends him on a quest across the world
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. Blade has been burned by his father time after time and is still actively mourning the death of his mother years before, when he receives life-changing news that sends him on a quest across the world. This book completely blew me away and showed me a side Kwame Alexander I haven't read before, and introduced me to the work of Mary Rand Hess. The soundtrack of this book is a who's who of classic rock and roll and stuck in my head the entire time I was reading. For teen readers, this would be a great introduction to the rock classics they may have not been introduced to yet. Required purchase for high school libraries.
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black-books ,
audiobook ,
books-read-in-2020 ,
ya-realistic-fiction

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 tell you right now. This book was really good. I had a hard time relating to Blade at times, but I think the story's focus on family, love, grief, and forgiveness was great. Blade spends a long time tr
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 tell you right now. This book was really good. I had a hard time relating to Blade at times, but I think the story's focus on family, love, grief, and forgiveness was great. Blade spends a long time trying to deal with an absent father who has an addiction. You can see how that affects his relationships with his family as well as with his girlfriend Chapel. Honestly, the first half on the novel was slow and it took a little bit of time to get used to the character development, but by the time Blade makes his trip to Ghana I was fully committed. A conversation/theme that lingers in this book is substance abuse and forgiveness. Alexander poses the conversation of whether substance abuse is just reckless behavior or whether its an actual illness. Blade finds himself attempting to figure out the answers to this question as he navigates the relationship with his father. I will say that a lot of "annoying" characteristics that individuals may find with Blade have a lot to do with trauma and pain inflicted on him from having a parent that deals with substance abuse. He doesn't process it as well as his siblings and he often comes across as negative, but it is understandable. And he does grow as a character by the time he takes his trip to Ghana. I also know that it was difficult for him to continue to rely on his passion for music when the man he had such a difficult time with was a musician. I wasn't really invested or interested in his relationship with Chapel. It didn't feel real and it was clear from the beginning that Blade was more interested in Chapel than Chapel was in Blade. The plot for the most part was a decent pace. I think that Kwame did want to take some time to set the scene for the relationship between characters, but as I have stated before this all picks up by time that Blade makes it to Ghana. It's there that Blade is able to deal with a lot of issues and baggage he wasn't able to unload at home. I would definitely recommend listening to this on audio. It includes original music that was written by Kwame. And the music included isn't just snippets, it's full length tracks. I'm excited to check out more of Kwame Alexander's works.
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Shelves:
emotionally-intense ,
poetry ,
physically-owned-books ,
unexpectedly-good ,
young-adult ,
contemporary ,
reality-bites ,
literary

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 since Blade ’s life story is a good narrative poetry with a good dose of tragedy and sprinkles of comedy and a little romance all combined. Being the son of the famous rockstar-gone-wild, Rutherford , Blad
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 since Blade ’s life story is a good narrative poetry with a good dose of tragedy and sprinkles of comedy and a little romance all combined. Being the son of the famous rockstar-gone-wild, Rutherford , Blade seems always the butt of joke especially on social media. Every milestone, every special moment of his life, he can rely on his dad to ruin it making him hate his life so much and his family name to the point of wishing to disown his family and this is where the saying be careful what you wish for comes in because the plot took a completely unexpected turn bringing our main character to Ghana, South Africa and that’s where the story became even more interesting. Overall, it was a touching, riveting story of a young man’s quest for his identity. It is a little tragic but also very hopeful and inspiring. A lot of the poetic entries are gems really and the bonus content is something I am more than grateful to the authors for, for letting me as the reader take a peek at how they brewed and concocted their magic producing this novel.
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Mar 31, 2018

Jodi Meadows

rated it
it was amazing

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review of another edition

I absolutely loved this book. It was so beautiful and moving, and I'm really happy I listened to the audio. Not only is Kwame an excellent writer, he's an amazing reader as well. I really fell into this story. There was so much passion and emotion behind the words: the way music heals, the force of family, and the magic of finding oneself. I can't wait to recommend this book to everyone.
I absolutely loved this book. It was so beautiful and moving, and I'm really happy I listened to the audio. Not only is Kwame an excellent writer, he's an amazing reader as well. I really fell into this story. There was so much passion and emotion behind the words: the way music heals, the force of family, and the magic of finding oneself. I can't wait to recommend this book to everyone.
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Aug 04, 2017

Kim Clifton

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I think what gets me in Kwame Alexander's books is how relatable the characters are, even if their lives and interests are completely different from mine. This book, however, had characters who were so outlandish I found it hard to even want to care about them. I understand that the book is about Blade's self-discovery, but does he really need to travel halfway across the world to realize he's got a good thing at home? His sister calls him out on "first world problems" almost immediately, and th
I think what gets me in Kwame Alexander's books is how relatable the characters are, even if their lives and interests are completely different from mine. This book, however, had characters who were so outlandish I found it hard to even want to care about them. I understand that the book is about Blade's self-discovery, but does he really need to travel halfway across the world to realize he's got a good thing at home? His sister calls him out on "first world problems" almost immediately, and things don't sink in until he's in Ghana. Oh, honey. One more criticism: Everyone talks about how brilliant Blade's songs are, but the samples we get are pretty bland. Alexander knows how to write poetry, and there are some beautiful sections in Solo, but none of them show up as lyrics. It's kind of a let down, actually. The audiobook tries to make up for it by turning Blade's lyrics into actual songs (with guitar and everything), but they get repetitive real fast.
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Shelves:
realistic-fiction ,
bipoc-aapi-author ,
2019-reading-challenge ,
young-adult ,
poetry

#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 writing style and very much enjoyed this book. Blade is the son of a rockstar/drug addict who just wants to play his own music and find his own path. When a shocking family secret is revealed, Blade sets o
#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 writing style and very much enjoyed this book. Blade is the son of a rockstar/drug addict who just wants to play his own music and find his own path. When a shocking family secret is revealed, Blade sets off on a journey of self Discovery and growth. I don't want to reveal too much, but I really did enjoy Blade's journey. I struggled some with the side characters and plot decisions that Alexander made, but it was a really great story of healing, growth and finding yourself.
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Shelves:
audiobook ,
hoopla ,
ya ,
read2018

I read this book for part of a YA reading challenge for the month of September. I had heard good things about Kwame Alexander and how he makes poetry accessible to younger readers, and writes appealing male characters. For me, the book was a bit too convenient between the privilege of the main character to the over the top badness of his father and the strange events that unfold, that really can unfold because of the considerable wealth. The songs at the end, well... I didn't think they were ver
I read this book for part of a YA reading challenge for the month of September. I had heard good thin
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