Blade Morrison is becoming a rockstar like his father. He is embarrassed by his father's drug addiction. He has struggles including finding his girlfriend cheating. During an argument with his sister he finds out he is adopted. He finds his birth mother and is reconciled with his father. (50 words)
Analysis
Blade Morrsion loves music. He is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a rockstar. Blade absolutely hates Rutherford, his dad, and wants nothing to do with him. Rutherford’s rock career ended when he got very addicted to drugs. Early in the book he is at a low point. He asks “Who am I? I am the wretched son of a poor rich man”(18). Things look up momentarily when Blade is asked to be the salutatorian at his high school graduation. The valedictorian is unable to speak, so last minute they give Blade the honor of speaking. He decides to write a love song and sing that instead of talking. It is his time to shine. Blade is on stage when his father comes through the field. “On the biggest stage of my life, in the middle of the most important thing I’ve ever done, a woman wearing a black helmet, matching bikini, and nothing else rides a red Harley onto the football field with a man in the same outfit holding a guitar high above his head screaming I LOVE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!”(57). That man with the woman was Rutherford. Blade runs off the stage and barely comes out of his room for two days. Ruthorford tries to apologize to Blade but Blade doesn’t accept and stays very resentful towards Rutherford. Blade finds out that Rutherford is not his biological father. Blade is an even bigger pit now and just wants to run away from it all. Blade goes to Ghana in search of his biological mother. He travels around Ghana for a while moving to the place he thinks his mother is. Since there is not great cell reception in Ghana, Blade does not see his sister’s warning that Rutherford is coming. Rutherford comes into the town that Blade is in with a luxury party bus. Rutherford wants to make a documentary of the Morrison family comeback. “I think it would be good for fans to see us helping these little village people in Ghana. Imagine that, Blade. The Morrisons saving lives. We can build something or buy something.”(309) Blade thinks that this idea is terrible and doesn’t any part of it. Rutherford ends up joining Blade despite Blade telling him not to and hikes through the jungle to see Blade’s mom. The somehow reconcile in the jungle and gain respect. that is the end of the conflict.
Do/Don’t Read
Don’t read this book if you don’t like books in verse. This entire book is written in poems and I think that would be a very big turnoff to this book if poetry is not your thing. Also do not read this book if you don’t like more real world problems. This Solo’s conflict is very real world. Adoption, drugs, cheating, and a negligent father are some examples. There is no happy ending in this book. Blade and his father still have some problems by the end of the book, Chapel and Blade’s relationship is not fixed and his relationship with his sister is still rocky. You should read this book if you like more real problems. This book shows how hard some people's lives are and can be very insightful. I personally loved how it portrayed the relationships Blade had with the people around him. How easily his relationships were torn apart and how hard it was to get them back. Do read this book if you love poetry. I loved the poems in Solo. They were all so beautiful but never used crazy, grandiloquent language that some poems do. It was more of a modern style of writing poetry that I really enjoyed. Very good read, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Analysis
Blade Morrsion loves music. He is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a rockstar. Blade absolutely hates Rutherford, his dad, and wants nothing to do with him. Rutherford’s rock career ended when he got very addicted to drugs. Early in the book he is at a low point. He asks “Who am I? I am the wretched son of a poor rich man”(18). Things look up momentarily when Blade is asked to be the salutatorian at his high school graduation. The valedictorian is unable to speak, so last minute they give Blade the honor of speaking. He decides to write a love song and sing that instead of talking. It is his time to shine. Blade is on stage when his father comes through the field. “On the biggest stage of my life, in the middle of the most important thing I’ve ever done, a woman wearing a black helmet, matching bikini, and nothing else rides a red Harley onto the football field with a man in the same outfit holding a guitar high above his head screaming I LOVE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!”(57). That man with the woman was Rutherford. Blade runs off the stage and barely comes out of his room for two days. Ruthorford tries to apologize to Blade but Blade doesn’t accept and stays very resentful towards Rutherford. Blade finds out that Rutherford is not his biological father. Blade is an even bigger pit now and just wants to run away from it all. Blade goes to Ghana in search of his biological mother. He travels around Ghana for a while moving to the place he thinks his mother is. Since there is not great cell reception in Ghana, Blade does not see his sister’s warning that Rutherford is coming. Rutherford comes into the town that Blade is in with a luxury party bus. Rutherford wants to make a documentary of the Morrison family comeback. “I think it would be good for fans to see us helping these little village people in Ghana. Imagine that, Blade. The Morrisons saving lives. We can build something or buy something.”(309) Blade thinks that this idea is terrible and doesn’t any part of it. Rutherford ends up joining Blade despite Blade telling him not to and hikes through the jungle to see Blade’s mom. The somehow reconcile in the jungle and gain respect. that is the end of the conflict.
Do/Don’t Read
Don’t read this book if you don’t like books in verse. This entire book is written in poems and I think that would be a very big turnoff to this book if poetry is not your thing. Also do not read this book if you don’t like more real world problems. This Solo’s conflict is very real world. Adoption, drugs, cheating, and a negligent father are some examples. There is no happy ending in this book. Blade and his father still have some problems by the end of the book, Chapel and Blade’s relationship is not fixed and his relationship with his sister is still rocky. You should read this book if you like more real problems. This book shows how hard some people's lives are and can be very insightful. I personally loved how it portrayed the relationships Blade had with the people around him. How easily his relationships were torn apart and how hard it was to get them back. Do read this book if you love poetry. I loved the poems in Solo. They were all so beautiful but never used crazy, grandiloquent language that some poems do. It was more of a modern style of writing poetry that I really enjoyed. Very good read, and I would recommend it to anyone.