Solo
by Kwame Alexander
I LOVED The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. I first read it when I took over the Summer Reading program a few years ago. I fell in love with it and knew my students would love it. I couldn't wait for summer to get closer so I could finally introduce it to the students. I was right. The students who picked it for their summer reading devoured that book. Nothing made me more happy than seeing a group of boys who I usually had to cajole to do some reading during independent reading time ask me if they could sit in a circle and take turns reading aloud from the book because they were so excited to read it. I'm pretty sure at that moment, my heart was doing the snoopy dance.
Why did I know the kids would love it so much? First of all, it was so well written. It was, and probably still is, the only book written in verse I actually like. I'll admit it. I don't enjoy reading poetry and I don't prefer books in prose. But Kwame Alexander wrote this book with such rhythm. My students could hear the rap music in his words as they read. It also told a compelling story. All I knew going into it was that it was a "basketball book". It was so much more than that. It was about two twins, who yes are basketball stars, but they are also navigating life through middle school, finding their way, and dealing with some family problems. And it read real. My 6th grade (almost 7th grade) boys could related to the characters and it felt like it could have been someone they knew.
Okay, so why I have I spent so much of this book review talking about a different book? Because when I sat down to read Solo by Kwame Alexander, I was hoping for the same type of thing, but about music instead of basketball. In fact I was more excited because I personally love stories about music. However, this book just didn't live up to that. Maybe it's my fault comparing it to The Crossover, but I just didn't find the verse as compelling, the story as interesting, or the characters as relatable.
The author still keeps the book in verse, but it isn't as stylized as The Crossover. It also is very dialogue heavy which I felt doesn't need verse then. In fact, this book may have been better written in prose. The plot isn't bad -- a boy with a love of music, Blade, is born in a rock star family can't wait to get out if and go off to college. His drug and alcohol addicted father makes mistakes at every turn, even to the point where his girlfriend's father is so fed up and forbids the girlfriend from seeing Blade. Without spoiling too much, halfway through the novel Blade receives some information and ends up spending the other half of the novel in Africa. Originally presented to me as a love story, this is actually more of a "finding yourself" story. However, I just don't think Blade is as relatable to people as Josh and Jordan from The Crossover. Solo is probably fine when compare to itself, but unfortunately, I can't help comparing it to The Crossover, which in my heart will win every time.
