Seventeen-year-old Noah never gets things his way. He and his best
friend Walt got cut from the high school baseball team for the third
time. Sam, Noah's love interest, who Noah has loved since third grade
doesn't seem to notice the way he feels about her. However, he is afraid
he could never get past the "best friend" zone. Noah just wants to
take it easy for his last year but, Walt has big plans for their senior
year.
Walt introduces Noah to a few sources to glean
information on wooing Sam. He is hesitant to but, when he finds a stack
of old love letters, he decides to follow his heart and tell Sam. He
uses inspiration from the letters and Jazz to craft anonymous love letters in an attempt to win her heart.
Oh,
where did I do begin? I was never a fan of poetry but, I can't believe
how enjoyable I found the novel. It was a beautiful treat from the
beginning to the end. I must say, I didn't expect the novel to end the
way it did. I can't wait to read more books by the author.
**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**
Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess
Publisher: BLINK
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Genres: Young Adult Fiction -- Poetry, Realistic Fiction, Sports
SYNOPSIS:
Things usually do not go as planned for seventeen-year-old Noah. He and his best friend Walt (aka Swing) have been cut from the high school baseball team for the third year in a row, and it looks like Noah’s love interest since third grade, Sam, will never take it past the “best friend” zone. Noah would love to retire his bat and accept the status quo, but Walt has big plans for them both, which include making the best baseball comeback ever, getting the girl, and finally finding cool.
To go from lovelorn to ladies’ men, Walt introduces Noah to a relationship guru—his Dairy Queen-employed cousin, Floyd—and the always informative Woohoo Woman Podcast. Noah is reluctant, but decides fate may be intervening when he discovers more than just his mom’s birthday gift at the thrift shop. Inside the vintage Keepall is a gold mine of love letters from the 1960s. Walt is sure these letters and the podcasts are just what Noah needs to communicate his true feelings to Sam. To Noah, the letters are more: an initiation to the curious rhythms of love and jazz, as well as a way for him and Walt to embrace their own kind of cool. While Walt is hitting balls out of the park and catching the eye of the baseball coach, Noah composes anonymous love letters to Sam in an attempt to write his way into her heart. But as things are looking up for Noah and Walt, a chain of events alters everything Noah knows to be true about love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.
In Swing, bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo) present a free-verse poetic story that will speak to anyone who’s struggled to find their voice and take a swing at life.
BOOK LINKS:
Amazon – https://amzn.to/31yNtc0
AUTHOR INFO:
Kwame Alexander:
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 21 books, including THE CROSSOVER, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Passaic Poetry Prize. Kwame writes for children of all ages. His other works include SURF'S UP, a picture book; BOOKED, a middle grade novel; and He Said She Said, a YA novel.
Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his PAGE TO STAGE Writing and Publishing Program released by Scholastic. A regular speaker at colleges and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love (Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, etc.). Recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded.
Links:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/kwamealexander
Mary Rand Hess:
Mary Rand Hess is a poet, screenwriter, mixed-media artist, and New York Times bestselling author of notable and award-winning books such as Solo and Swing(Blink YA), coauthored with Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander, Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures (National Geographic Children’s Books), also coauthored with Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido, Little Larry Goes to School (National Geographic Children’s Books), written with renowned photographer and filmmaker, Gerry Ellis, and the forthcoming picture book, The One and Only Wolfgang: From Pet Rescue to One Big Happy Family, coauthored with Steve Greig of @wolfgang2242 Instagram fame. She is currently at work on a few novels in verse, picture books, and screenplays.
Links:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/maryrandhess?lang=en
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/maryrandhess/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/maryrandtharringtonhess
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