Kwame Alexander's novel-in-verse, Booked, is a beautifully written feast of language told from the point of view of eighth-grader Nick Hall.
Nick is an underachieving, brilliant soccer player whose father forces him to spend time every day memorizing the dictionary.
The result is a novel rich in footnotes for words such as "Cachinnate" and "Twain." It's like a Fancy Nancy book for the 10- to 12-year-old set.
Nick's unusual dictionary-reading provides a backdrop to the more typical questions of an average 12 year old: what to say to a school crush, how to deal with a couple of bullies and why families sometimes must change.
The novel features a cast of wonderful characters including a rap producer turned school librarian and Nick's playful mother, who routinely bests him in one-on-one soccer.
Alexander is a Newberry medal-winning author and so the depth of what he accomplishes in Booked with so few words shouldn't be a surprise. But it is. The novel is so easy to read that it would be simple to miss how powerful it is. Don't miss it.
Booked and Alexander's other novel-in-verse, The Crossover, are available in the junior collection of the Prince George Public Library.
Amy Dhanjal is the communications coordinator at the Prince George Public Library.
