My rating: 4/5 stars

“We are the sum of moving parts and adjustable hearts.”

Solo by Kwame Alexander

On the cover of this book is a quote by John Green that says “This book is special” and honestly I couldn’t agree more. When I first started reading, I thought to myself “this is an okay-ish story” but then it got insanely better and by the end I had a massive smile on my face and was surprised by how much I ended up loving this story & certain characters.

Blade, a 17 year old African-American boy, born into fame and fortune is fed up with his lifestyle. He’s over his father who can’t seem to stay sober/out of the media for bad behaviour, he’s tired of being associated with his family’s name and reputation, he wishes he didn’t have to sneak around to see his girlfriend (since her dad disapproves of their relationship) and most of all, he misses his mom who passed away when he was younger. Blade is clearly a very angry teenager.

All that anger finally builds up to a massive argument between his dad and his sister – the words exchanged during this heated moment lead Blade on a new journey that’ll take him across the world, to Ghana, where he hopes to find whatever he’s been searching for his whole life. This is where the story truly picks up and where we start to see more depth to Blade’s character. 

A huge theme in this book is music, specifically, rock & roll – it’s a major part of Blade’s character/family history and the entire story is somewhat of an ode to fans of rock & roll. Told through poetry and infused with music, Solo is a special story about family, forgiveness, acceptance and joy.