Seventeen-year-old Noah is in love with his best friend Sam, ever since she saved him from a pounding in third grade. But Sam likes Noah as a friend, and nothing more. His mind filled with poetry, Noah keeps trying to convince himself to speak to Sam and confess his love for her. His friend Walt, who calls himself Swing, keeps pushing for Noah to finally step up and take a chance that his love for Sam might be reciprocated. And Walt knows just how to get the girl: Noah needs to talk to his cousin, who bills himself a relationship guru. The cousin's advice? Listen to the Woohoo Woman podcast, and learn what women like!
The boys have tried out for the school's baseball team for three years in a row, and each time they haven't made the cut. Swing swears that he will play on the team, despite the fact that he is not really good. Noah doesn't really care, and wouldn't mind to stop trying for it. For his mother's birthday, Noah scours the thrift store and finds a keepall, a type of bag that can be used to keep papers. Inside are dozens of love letters, each a spark of inspiration for Noah, who begins writing anonymous poems to Sam.
As Noah navigates the choppy waters of unrequited love, he also learns about jazz, and discovers that to be cool does not mean following the crowd. Risking his friendship with Sam, Noah decides to take a swing, hoping for a home run ....
Written in the free verse style, Swing will not leave the reader indifferent. The characters are realistic, and their relationships are complicated and representative of a turbulent period in one's life. Fans of poetry will appreciate this story with a bittersweet ending.
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