Spoken Melanie Weiss – 196 pages
Finished copy provided by the author is exchange for an honest revie
Book Blurb:
When Roman’s life gets turned upside down, (thanks, Mom!?), he is forced to leave his pampered Hollywood lifestyle and move into his grandparents’ Midwestern home. Sleeping on a lumpy pullout sofa and starting at a new high school is the worst, but Roman’s life starts to look up when his pink-haired friend, Zuzu, and his crush, a classmate named Claire, introduce him to performance poetry through the high school’s Spoken Word Club. While his mom is flying back and forth to L.A., trying to return them to the life they had, Roman becomes part of a diverse group of characters who challenge his rather privileged view of the world. Through Spoken Word, Roman recognizes the hole in his own life he needs to fill and discovers his voice. Spoken Word leads Roman on a journey of new friendships, first love, and finding the dad he never knew.
My Review: 4 stars
Spoken was a great YA (young adult) book, especially if you want to introduce younger readers into YA. It was brief but covered a lot of ground regarding feelings, tolerance, class distinction, the meaning of home and learning to accept yourself for who you are. Geez, if we could learn how to maneuver through that at a young age, we’d be golden as we grew into adults. And that’s why books like this are special; they entertain us and teach us at the same time.
Roman, the main protagonist, was a likeable kid, almost too perfect though. He’s been dealt a rough hand as far as family is concerned, but lived like a prince for most of his young life. When his world is disrupted due to his mother’s antics, Roman must find the strength to move forward. And because he’s such a good kid, he does just that. With his new friends and some major adjustments, Roman goes on a quest to find his real father, which ends up being through Spoken Word poetry. What is Spoken Word? It’s performance poetry. It’s emotive and impassioned. Many high schools offer Spoken Word clubs as an extracurricular activity and schools compete against one another. The book’s cover art of words in a microphone was subtle yet perfect for this book. I even quoted them in my “Quotes I Liked” section below.
Roman becomes a super-star in the Spoken Word arena and lands himself the opportunity to go abroad for international competition. He knows his dad lives abroad and hopes he’ll have the opportunity to tell him that he has a son. No spoilers here folks, you’ll have to read and find out.
Overall, this book is well-written and a delightful story. Don’t be fooled by the books length, it still packs a neat and tidy punch. Great debut for this local Chicago author.
Quotes I liked:
Spoken Word taught me
nouns are bones
adjectives are fat
and verbs are muscles
meanings, I bend sheets of paper like yoga mats
when I stretched syllables
flip clichés till they are “other side of the pillow” cool.
I keep my word count to a minimum like dieticians do
calories.
Like dialect on diets
brevity only breaks a sweat for wit.
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