Booked

The first several poems introduce the reader to the story and characters in Booked and the form of the verse novel. Author Kwame Alexander tells the story of Nick, a soccer-obsessed 13-year-old in his final months of 8th grade, through a long series of short poems. These poems describe characters, develop plot, and create mood just like a more traditional novel written in prose (prose is non-poetry, organized into sentences and paragraphs). However, these poems—like all poetry—create unique rhythms and dynamic visuals for the reader. These ever-changing poems also engage the reader with their variety, playfulness, musicality, and their portrayal of Nick’s inner life. 

In Booked, no two poems are exactly alike. Most are free verse (that’s poetry with no particular rhythm, rhyme scheme, line lengths, etc. Free verse contrasts poems in form, like a sonnet or haiku). The poems also use the pronoun “you,” as if the poetic speaker is talking to the reader. However, this second-person point of view actually conveys Nick’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. For example, the first poem, “Gameplay,” features letters that are printed in bold and with capital letters, seemingly at random. However, in stringing these letters together, they spell Nick’s primary interest: SOCCER. 

The poem “Why couldn’t your dad” also establishes one of Nick’s key conflicts: his resistance against his dad. This poem features the first of many footnotes in this book. In these footnotes, Nick defines an advanced term for the reader and provides humorous commentary. Here, he mentions that his dad’s dictionary also uses footnotes. Furthermore, in a simile, Nick compares using footnotes in a dictionary to “ordering a glass of chocolate milk, then asking for chocolate syrup on the side. Seriously, who does that? SMH!” (4). This shows Nick’s sense of humor and his intelligence and talent with language, which he likely inherited from his verbomaniac dad.  

This section includes playful capitalized words in various-sized fonts, a blurring effect on the word “blurs” (15), text messages, and a rap. These poems show that Nick’s world is colorful, animated, and musical, even when he doesn’t realize it. His sense of humor and way with words also make Ms. Hardwick laugh when he hands her his malapropism assignment, which is a poetic form called erasure. An erasure is a poem that takes away words from an existing piece until a new message emerges from the words that remain. Nick’s message mocks the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but it also fulfills Ms. Hardwick’s request for finding malapropisms in the book. Although Nick claims to detest reading, this assignment shows his skill when he (reluctantly) studies books. 

In addition to introducing the reader to Nick, these poems also introduce the other characters in his life through several expository poems. The reader learns about both of Nick’s parents, his best friend Coby, his crush April, his English teacher, and the rapping librarian Mr. MacDonald (or The Mac). With just a few lines, the writer establishes the dynamic between two characters. For example, Coby and Nick’s competitive natures and longtime friendship come through in “Blackjack on the Way to School”: “With two sevens showing, you / say, Hit me! Coby curses / when you get a third. BLACKJACK!” (10). This poem employs Alexander’s method of writing dialogue: There are no double quotation marks around the characters’ dialogue in Booked. When anyone other than Nick speaks, their dialogue is printed in italics.