Booked

Nick Hall plays football - soccer - and he is good. So is his best mate, Coby. It's a shame they are on different teams and will have to face each other in the cup match but they still hang out. And there is April - April he is definitely going to ask for a date. Reading does not feature much. But then his life falls apart . Why has his mother left?

Once again Kwame Alexander convincingly enters the mind and the world of the fourteen year old. Nick is the narrator, using blank verse, he comments on each situation, relaying his thoughts and reactions. The result is a lively monologue interspersed with the words of the other members of the cast - his friends, parents and teachers - neatly differentiated by font. This liveliness is enhanced by the variety of rhythms and presentation Alexander employs to create his verse narrative. Nick is a refreshingly normal boy with a refreshingly normal background. Alexander's skill is to ensure the reader will turn the pages and follow Nick as he negotiates football, friends, family, bullies - and books.