Is written by New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award-winner Kwame Alexander.

In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears.

And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them.

The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a New York Times bestseller! Kirkus Reviews said Solo is, “A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.” Through the story of a young Black man searching for answers about his life, Solo empowers, engages, and encourages teenagers to move from heartache to healing, burden to blessings, depression to deliverance, and trials to triumphs.īlade never asked for a life of the rich and famous.

Swing by kwame alexander