Solo

Ooooof, I LOVE Kwame Alexander and his previous books but this was a big miss for me. The characters managed to be both unlikeable but also flat, the story was boring, the rock songs weren't rock songs and aren't something a 17 year old would choose, and the audio songs were just plain bad and didn't match to the characters at all. Not something I would recommend.

Picked this one for the library summer reading challenge task, “a book about music.” I'm not a big music person so this one didn't strike my fancy at first, but I do love a book in verse. While the writing was beautiful, I found the plot and characterization a bit frustrating.

Sweet audio book with music to boot! I enjoyed Blade's journey to find himself, confront his demons, and take challenges. If you have a young man who doesn't really like to read, this book may keep his attention. Thanks Audio SYNC for this free book back in 2018.

Short Thoughts on Solo by Kwame Alexander - this is a short novel told entirely in verse, but probably best in audio because it also uses and is about music. Blade starts self centered and 17. Interested in his girlfriend and music but not a lot else. He resented his father, an alcoholic and drug addicted aging rock star. He loves his sister, but also resents her as well. And then his world is rocked and he has to come to terms with a new understanding.

This is a coming of age novel that is mostly about becoming mature. I like the theory of coming of age novels, but many of them annoy me because I am so annoyed with the immature protagonists. Blade at the start is immature. He is still immature at the end, but he has matured and you can see a trajectory for his life that leads him toward more maturity.

I really like books about music and this is both a book about music and an audiobook that uses original music to tell the story. I want to read this in print at some point, but I am glad that I started with the audiobook.

My slightly longer thought are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/solo/