Solo by Kwame Alexander

Solo

Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · July 23, 2019

A Young Adult pick for readers exploring Solo.

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Who it’s for
A lean, lyrical read for following Alexander’s work and sampling his range.
Genres
Novels in Verse for Teens, Music Stories for Teens, African American YA
Published
HarperCollins, July 23, 2019

About this book

Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a New York Times bestseller! Kirkus Reviews said Solo is, “A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.” Through the story of a young Black man searching for answers about his life, Solo empowers, engages, and encourages teenagers to move from heartache to healing, burden to blessings, depression to deliverance, and trials to triumphs. Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous.

Continue reading

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. Solo: - Is written by New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award-winner Kwame Alexander - Showcases Kwame’s signature intricacy, intimacy, and poetic style, by exploring what it means to finally go home - An #OwnVoices novel that features a BIPOC protagonist on a search for his roots and identity - Received great reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus. If you enjoy Solo, check out Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.

Lyrical Pulse

A lean, lyrical read for following Alexander’s work and sampling his range.

Come here for

  • Kwame Alexander’s rhythmic voice
  • Poetry-forward YA with music in the mix

Expect

  • A sustained narrative read
  • Romance threaded through the verse

Where it sits

Novels in Verse for Teens71%
Music Stories for Teens52%
African American YA43%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Books About Libraries
  • Coming of Age
  • Diverse YA Fiction
  • YA Adoption Stories
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • YA Stories About Parents
  • YA Stories About Girls & Women
  • Literary YA
  • Novels in Verse for Teens
Authors
Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
July 23, 2019
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
YA Books About Libraries