Swing

Noah is in love with Sam. Not just in love—swimming in love, flying in love, drowning in love, basking in love—but can’t bring himself to tell her. His best friend, Walt (you can call him “Swing”), is bombastic, enthusiastic, energetic, and every day pushes Noah to declare his love. (Swing also gushes about jazz, baseball, a podcast called WOOHOO WOMEN, his crush, and his “HUG LIFE” tattoo.)

Swing, by Kwame Alexander, is written in beautiful verse, with each of Noah’s raw, vulnerable emotions pulsing through each brief line, and Swing’s “HUG LIFE” attitude roaring through each page like a flame chasing kerosene. Things are copacetic until they’re not. With Origins of An Urban Crisis, Sugure shows how easy it is to dismantle black communities and deny them their individuality and dignity; with Swing, Alexander gently, kindly reminds everyone that black boys and girls are vivacious, complicated, full of dreams, and deeply loved.