Music, art, poetry, baseball, love, and war make this YA novel in verse unique. Noah has been in love with one of his best friends for a while, and he is inspired to start creating found art love poems for her after finding some love letters from the 60s. His other best friend Walt, aka Swing, is obsessed with getting back on their school baseball team, and he teaches Noah to appreciate jazz and to be more bold.

Beautifully written love story between teenagers, poetry, art, music, and sports, all connected perfectly through the relevant social issues of our time. Emotion-packed, gut-wrenching, ugly crying, grab-a-box-of-tissue kind of book!

Kwame Alexander is a fabulous writer whose prose are intelligent and engaging. Walt (AKA Swing) and Noah are lovelorn high school boys who are passionate about many things, including baseball, jazz, art, and ladies. While neither boy is great at baseball, they strive to be their best selves. I liked that they didn’t feel an obligation to fit in to stereotypical high school roles. 

The story follows their ups and downs with relationships and how they each find outlets for their exuberant passion. My hang-up was that I wanted more depth in the social justice storyline and with Walt’s brother who returned from war with PTSD. Instead there was a ton of focus on Noah’s unrequited love, which made the ending feel abrupt. Overall, this is quintessential Kwame writing, I just feel like his middle grade books have more focus than his YA titles co-written with Hess.

Swing is another hit from Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess. Sports, jazz, young love, traveling parents, friendship, and teen angst all work together in this stunning novel in verse to pack an incredible final emotional wallop. Teens will find the topics in this book both timeless and timely. Don't miss this one!

All the things I love in a YA: coming of age, unrequited love, unconditional friendship, tension within existing social structures, and hope for young people in this crazy world.  That it is written in verse packs a punch that lingers long after the last page turns.  These characters stay with you;  their words of wisdom, words to love by; their journey becomes your journey; their hope, your hope. BAM!

This book is beautiful, shocking, sad, and important. Teachers of reluctant middle and big school readers will find that students who don’t like to read will love and connect with this book. The language is lovely and the characters compelling.

Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a wonderful book written in verse about Walt and Noah; high school juniors trying to fit in.  They are not chosen for the baseball team three times. Walt becomes determined to succeed making the team in senior year.  Noah is preoccupied with his long time crush.  The book is emotional and easy reading.  Taking chances, being the best you can be, and living life to the fullest is the theme with art and jazz as the backdrop.

Home run! Out of the park! This book has all things. All the  feelings. All my admiration. All the character love. (I l💕'd these characters more than any other. Awed. I fell in love with their humor, life struggles and their love of language. This book will be an automatic must read for my students. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to read and share about it!

Thanks to Netgalley for the sneak peek. Look for yet another homerun by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess on October 2, 2018.

Written in the voice of jazz: riffing in the emotional parts, slowly melancholic during the dramatic parts, the strength of Kwame Alexander’s writing never.disappoints. Ever.

Somehow, Alexander weaves a tale of unrequited love, the bond of a best friend who painstakingly strives at a sport that is painful to watch play, and jazz. Always the mythical music of jazz.

This is a story of how the ravages of war leave indelible marks on souls-surely on those who witnessed its atrocities day in and day out, but also of the loved ones at home left to pick up the pieces of soldiers’ hearts and minds once they return.

It’s the story of unrequited AND requited love, how we are more alike than we are different despite our outward appearances, and about police brutality.

Look for the nod to “Casey at the Bat,” the found poetry and love of art and music sprinkled throughout, and for a plucky grandma too busy living life to check in on her grandson.

The ending? Well, that broke my heart.

But what do you expect from a book largely dedicated to jazz?

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

It's junior year and best friends, Noah and Walt are navigating their way to cool the best way they know how. But they have some trouble along the way because, well for one, neither one of them made the baseball team and that's a big deal for someone who loves to play the game, but this setback is simply "a setup for a comeback." You see, Walt is about that HUGLIFE. He fully embraces YES and wants Noah to do the same. No more shying away from their childhood friend, Sam. It's time to tell her how he really feels. Speak to her though? Face-to-face? Nope. Inspired by some old love letters he finds in a purse he bought his mom from the thrift store, he begins to write his own; pouring his heart out on the pages infused with his art, anonymously signed, X.  Sam loves the mystery of it all but does she have room in her heart for Noah?

All the while, flags keep popping up throughout town in the most random places and no one knows who's doing it or why. And while seeing a lone American flag shouldn't be cause for alarm, the community doesn't exactly know how to interpret the sudden appearance of these flags. Is it an act of a patriot or of one with ill intent? At the very least, seeing them has people considering what the flag represents.

From the very beginning, until the end, Swing is baseball. Swing is jazz. Swing is family, love, friendship, and American flags. Swing is dreams longed for. It is daring to live life to the fullest against all odds. It is another novel in verse brought to us by the dynamic duo, Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess who also gave us Solo in 2017.  

I enjoyed Swing a great deal and especially loved Walt and his appreciation for jazz music. He was an avid listener and had a wealth of knowledge about so many musicians, including how they died. Noting that a good number of them actually passed away on a Friday, which was interesting. He had such a hopeful outlook on life and believed that anything was possible.  I think this is why he was my favorite character. Because when faced with a NO, he instead chose YES. 

I loved Noah's artistic creativity and that he used it to give voice to his feelings for Sam. I think that it is also pretty awesome that they each were frequent customers of Dairy Queen. Of course, this makes me happy because I am a fan of a good DQ ice cream sundae. Lastly, the fact that they shopped at a thrift store was pretty cool. My 14-year-old daughter is suddenly into thrift store shopping and I think it is owed in part to the back to school clothing hauls she's been watching on Youtube. Someone or multiple someones has made it trendy to shop the Salvation Army and Goodwill. A Youtuber (according to my daughter) even filmed right at the Salvation Army we've frequented all summer. Now let this suggestion have come from me...I digress, mostly because this "new" trend has helped my no-check teacher summer life out a great deal.

Anything Kwame Alexander writes (since I read The Crossover) is an instant add to my shopping cart. Swing even more so, because he and Mary Rand Hess did such a great job with Solo that I knew I would enjoy this one too.

Kwame Alexander hits it out of the ballpark again! I have not read a book of his that I haven't loved and this one does not disappoint. Add this book to your pre-order list today. 

This time around the background is baseball, but the story is really about friendships, first love, family struggles, and perseverance through difficult times. I can't wait to get the paperback and share this with students over and over again.

This book took its time setting up the story and then ended more abruptly than I expected. In between those two things, I fell in love with Noah, Sam, and especially Swing. I can see how Swing might be interpreted as a pushy or overbearing character, but I found him to be funny and charming, drawing Noah out of his shell and helping him thrive. I enjoyed the sophisticated twist on the unsupervised party storyline, and liked that these teenagers were more interesting (and interested in the world of art and music) than you might get from many other portrayals. Give this to your quiet, dreamy kids and to your passionate activists because it speaks to both groups.

Wow.
Eloquent.
Relevant.
Unadulterated. 
Real.
Breathtaking.
A•Must•Read.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this first. It will be with me for quite some time.

No strikeouts here!  Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess have created another incredible novel.  Written in verse, Swing is about two high school boys, Walt and Noah, and their quest to “find cool”.  Walt is obsessed with baseball and jazz music, and has an interesting knack for remembering how famous people died.  Noah is a realist and content with the way his life is, even though he is tortured with seeing his childhood crush with another boy.  Normal teenage boys with normal teenage lives make way for new issues and bigger problems.  They soon find out that the world doesn’t revolve around them and are forced to mature faster than they are ready for.  The dynamic between these best friends are full of laughter, sarcasm, and honesty.  Swing is thoughtfully written and it will speak to both teenage and adult readers alike.  You will not want to put this book down!

This may be my favorite Kwame Alexander book so far. It is certainly his most powerful.  Kwame and co-author, Mary Rand Hess, tackle important topics that will give readers a lot to talk about. 

Swing is about the friendship of two teen boys, Noah and Walt as they navigate first love and struggle to find their place and voice in the world. 

I don't know how these authors can do so much in a book with few words. Nothing is lacking, not storyline, not character development, and certainly not emotion. This book is really vital for reluctant teens (not just reluctant readers).  It is such a powerful lesson in perservance and grit, in identity and meaning. Teens that need reminding to do more than maintain the status quo , both personally and globally.   In fact, adults need to be reminded of this as well. I will be purchasing the book and the audio for my library. I think hearing it outload will be even more influential.

Swing hits it out of the ball park! This story of three teenagers, Noah, Walt, and Sam, is a grand slam! If you're looking for excitement, Swing has it. Music? Swing has it! Romance? Swing has it! Baseball? Well.... Walt tries his best. I became more involved in the lives of these characters than I thought I would, and I made sure to take my time with the book as I didn't want the tale to end. Told in verse, Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess is a gem and is sure to be treasured by young adult readers. I had to sit for a day after I finished it just to process everything, and I realized the story is just perfect for our world. Noah's naivete made the climax of the story even more gripping, and I thought it was brilliant to tell this story from Noah's perspective. 

Excellent book! Beautiful story!

Another home run for this duo.  Swing captivates the raw emotion that is your first love, your best friend, your family.  This novel is a true rollercoaster full of twists and turns, and one big huge drop at the end that leaves you holding your breath - BAM.  Everyone will find something relatable and something to love about this book.

Omgoodness!! I loved every page, moment, ride with Walt “Swing” and Noah! I love how Mary and Kwame intertwine music, poetry, love, and life lessons into a spellbinding journey with these characters. This book will touch many! I hope everyone that reads it will walk away with a lesson learned and have eyes opened to injustices that continue to plague our world.  I love that students, teachers, and parents will get to be a part of such a wonderful book. The story will keep you captivated until the very end.  LOVE IT!!

Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess have done it again! A beautiful, musically-inspired novel-in-verse that deals with unrequited loves, family trauma, and throws in a dash of historical trivia. "Swing" comments on the current state of the Union through the eyes of two young men living right in the thick of it - Noah and Walt. 

I loved how the music and black-out poetry was woven in to illustrate the story. Walt / Swing models for us all what it means to "Hug Life."

I absolutely loved Sing! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.  The language is a work of art.  It is definitely worth a few reads and it will linger with me for awhile. I am anxious to share it with other teachers and students.