Booked

“The expression ‘to nip something in the bud’ 

is an example of what, Nicholas? 

Uh, to nip it in the butt

is an example of 

how to get slapped by a girl, you reply [...]”

In Honors English class, Ms. Hardwick catches Nick daydreaming about soccer and asks him a pointed question so he’ll pay attention. Nick’s response shows how he uses humor to handle uncomfortable situations and make others laugh. Ms. Hardwick penalizes Nick with an extra assignment based on this malapropism, and Nick is irritated since he dislikes school.

“Nick, Dallas is gonna be insane, Coby texts. 

On fire like butane, you respond. 

My team’s coming through like a freight train. 

We’re taking off like a jet plane. 

Well, I’ve scored more goals than you. 

Well, I’m on the better team.”

The poems in Booked sometimes portray text messages, like these playful texts between Coby and Nick. As best friends on rival soccer teams, they regularly boast about their skills and the success of their teams. These lines also contain the poetic sound device of rhyme (insane, butane, train, and plane). The texts also use figurative language: Several similes compare soccer games with unlike things, such as a plane.

“But when she says, 

Nicky, your father and I

are separating, 

it’s like a bombshell 

drops 

right in the center 

of your heart 

and splatters

all across your life.”

Nick learns that his parents are breaking up during a family dinner. This surprising news sets off his grief and outrage, which he grapples with throughout the story. These lines create a simile between the breakup and an exploding bombshell. When read aloud, the line breaks in this stanza also emphasize words like drops and heart, which invite the reader into the intensity of Nick’s experience.

“None of my friends have to memorize a thousand words. I’m not like you, Dad. Maybe I don’t want to be extraordinary. Maybe I just want to be ordinary.”

Nick’s dad puts high expectations on his son Nick, who must memorize words from Weird and Wonderful Words in addition to doing his schoolwork. Nick often acts annoyed with his dad’s strictness; here he tells his father that he may not want to attend an elite college, as his father wants. Nick does not see himself as his father sees him, but this will change as the story progresses. 

“[...] and it’s probably not fair

that you haven’t responded, 

but hey, 

life isn’t fair. 

She, of all people, 

ought to know

that.”

Nick, devastated over his mother’s move to Kentucky, takes out his frustrations on her by refusing to respond to her texts and calls. This passage shows his resentment and grief over his parents’ separation. Nick seems to blame his mom somewhat for causing his pain. 

“Daw is the origin of your name, you continue.

It means simpleton, as in IDIOT. 

He stops laughing.”

In the poem “Stand Up,” Nick imagines that he confronts the intimidating Eggleston twins. In the daydream, he breaks down the root words of Don Eggleston’s name and makes other students laugh. This demonstrates Nick’s active imagination and his extraordinary skill with words. This fantasy contrasts sharply with the actual events in the cafeteria: Nick fails to stand up for Coby while the Egglestons beat him up.

“Lovely 

Intelligent 

Magnetic

Electric 

Red-hot

Easygoing

Nice 

Courageous

Elegant”

Distracted in Ms. Hardwick’s English class, Nick writes a poem about his crush April. This poem is an acrostic; the bold letters at the beginning of each line spell the word limerence. After Ms. Hardwick discovers Nick’s poem, his classmate Winnifred reveals that limerence describes a strong romantic attraction to someone. Nick may be mortified about this incident, but it does inspire April to pay extra attention to Nick.

“Do you have a fave book? 

Yeah, a checkbook, you say. Give me some cash. 

Good one, Nick, Coby says, laughing along with you. 

Ha! Ha! I’m talking about a book that wows you. Just

totally rips your heart out of your chest and then brutally 

stomps on it.”

This humorous exchange between Mr. MacDonald, Coby, and Nick shows Nick’s continued resistance to reading. As a librarian, The Mac encourages Nick and Coby to find books that challenge, entertain, and inspire them. The Mac describes this process in vivid detail with a metaphor about books’ effect on the heart. The Mac’s voice will continue to echo throughout the story as Nick indeed finds heart-stomping books to read.

“Calm down, Nicholas. 

NO. I’m sick of it. 

My life sucks. 

I get bullied at school.

I get bullied at home. 

I HATE MY LIFE! 

I wish I was. Sometimes, I just wish I was—

What? You wish you were what? 

Dead.”

Nick and his dad have struggled to live together in peace since Nick’s mom left. In this scene, the conflict between father and son explodes. Immediately before this event, the Eggleston twins harass Nick and steal his bicycle, and his dad greets him with scolding remarks. Feeling frustrated and powerless, Nick concludes his angry monologue with a dramatic reference to his own death.

“[...] like a siren in a storm, 

she catches you

zips past you

strips the ball

trips you (fall) 

watching her

dribble away [...]”

Hearing about Nick’s outburst, Nick’s mom has returned home to help her son feel better. She challenges him to a game of soccer, and Nick is dumbfounded to watch her beat him at his favorite sport. This passage begins with a simile comparing Nick’s mom with a loud siren. It also contains end rhyme (ball and fall).

“I just…I just think…I guess

I was mad, and if 

they don’t love each other

anymore, then

they shouldn’t be together.

“You only get one chance 

to love,   

to be loved. 

And they lost theirs.”

Nick may be annoyed to meet with a psychologist instead of playing soccer in New York, but he does reach this important conclusion during the appointment. Nick repeats Mr. MacDonald’s words from a previous scene, which he dismissed at the time but appreciates now. Nick seems to understand a little more about the complicated dynamics between adults, which shows he is coming of age.

“You wind for the kick. WHACK!

POW!—Coby’s cleat, aiming for

the ball, finds your—THWACK!—

ankle instead. The two of you fall—WHISTLE!—

sideways, to the ground. EEE-YOW!

Your ankle POPS!

Your stomach EXPLODES!

KNOCK. OUT.”

This dynamic passage dramatizes the intense face-off between Coby and Nick at their soccer game. The capitalized words emphasize moments of action as the friends struggle to gain control of the ball, and Coby accidentally causes Nick to sprain his ankle. The pain in Nick’s stomach also reaches a breaking point, and Nick passes out. The final line of this poem, with its capitalized words and use of periods, shows how Nick’s body is giving out in this climactic moment.

“ONLY your ship is sinking 

and you’ll miss all the fun. 

ONLY. Three. Weeks. 

but Dallas is in one.”

Nick’s doctor has just told him that he can play soccer again after “Only three weeks” (199). In “Only,” this word repeats again and again as Nick realizes he will miss the Dallas Cup soccer tournament during his three weeks of healing. The poem metaphorically compares Nick to a sinking ship and expresses his deep disappointment over missing the tournament. This poem also uses poetic devices like repetition—because the first and last stanzas are exactly alike—and end rhyme (fun and one).

“Rapprochement*,”“[...] Mom starts crying 

and apologizing 

for breaking up

the family 

to chase

her equine dreams. 

Then Dad starts 

telling her

it’s not her fault [...]”

In Nick’s hospital room, his parents apologize to each other for their mistakes. Nick watches, feeling as confused about their reconciliation as he felt about their separation. His hopes continue to develop as his parents get along over the coming days, and Nick assumes they are back together for good.

“I’ve been reading your dad’s dictionary, she says, smiling. 

Where’d you get that? 

Mr. Mac showed it to us at book club. A lot of cool words. 

Wow! That’s, uh, interesting. I wouldn’t say it’s cool, though.”

April reveals her interest in Nick’s dad’s Weird and Wonderful Words when she visits Nick in the hospital. Nick couldn’t be more frustrated at this book, because his dad makes him memorize it even during his recovery from his appendectomy. However, April’s positive outlook on the book, as well as her impressed reaction when Nick uses words from it, begins to change Nick’s outlook as well. 

“He’s from Vietnam, 

so the kids treat him different. 

They’re prejudiced, I guess. 

Can’t wait to find out what he does, 

‘cause right now he just does nothing.

What would you do, Nick? 

I’d probably stand up for myself.”

When Mr. MacDonald visits Nick’s hotel room, they discuss the book Nick is reading: All the Broken Pieces. Nick identifies with the main character, who is bullied and responds passively. Although Nick says he would resist the bullies, he has not stood up for himself during his run-ins with the Eggleston twins throughout the story. He wants to have courage, but he struggles to use it in conflict with those he fears.

“I have just completed Out of the Dust, you answer, reading from your notes. 

Sweet! What did you think? 

It was stellar, and I was quite moved by its contemplation of the human spirit.

Why are you talking like that, Nick? 

Like what?”

Nervous to talk to his crush, Nick reads from a prepared script while on the phone with April. She notices his robotic delivery, to Nick’s surprise. Nick had no interest in reading until he found out April enjoyed it. He reads the novel Out of the Dust to become closer to her but also enjoys the book on its own merit.

“Based on the evidence that’s been presented, I rule in favor 

of the defendant. The date shall commence tomorrow. 

WOOHOO! Mom yells. 

That’s not fair, you say. 

The judge has decided, Mom counters. 

Let’s hug it out, Dad says [...]”

Nick’s parents play judge and lawyer in an impromptu meeting that shows them getting along after months of conflict. With mock seriousness, Nick’s mom and dad discuss the date Nick’s mom arranged between her son and April the following day. Nick acts nervous and resistant, but his parents convince him to follow through on the date. This event supports Nick’s conclusion that his parents are back together and satisfies his desire for a return to normalcy.

“Nicholas, your mother and I are just, uh, uncompossible. 

It’s IN, incompossible,* not UN. Look it up, you say, and 

start getting up from the table.”

Nick’s parents reveal that, contrary to what he thought, they will get a divorce rather than stay together. Outraged, Nick corrects his dad’s use of the word incompossible, which means “incapable of coexisting, of being together” (267), according to the poem’s footnote. This shows Nick’s intelligence and continued grudge against his dad, as well as his grief over this shocking news.

“Yeah, Nicholas, tell me about that word limerence, the one 

that my daughter has written on every notebook, plastered 

all over her door, and which she now wants to tattoo on the 

back of her neck. Tell. Me. About. That. Word. 

DAAAAAAAAD, STOP IT!”

As April’s father drives Coby and Nick home in his squad car, he confronts Nick about the word limerence from Nick’s acrostic poem. April’s dad reveals that April has fixated on this word, showing that she is just as infatuated with Nick as he is with her. The tables also turn in this moment: Whereas Nick has acted embarrassed in each interaction with April throughout the story, now April’s dad embarrasses her in front of Nick.

“Bullies don’t like to fight, son. They like to win. Being

afraid is normal. The only fight you really have to win is

the one against the fear.”

Throughout Booked, Nick has struggled to face his fears—especially his fears of fighting bullies. His dad shares a piece of advice from Nick’s granddad, saying that it’s more important to face one’s fears than it is to know the perfect moves during a fight. In this conversation, Nick and his dad finally find common ground and develop more compassion for each other as they talk about their experiences with bullying. Nick also uses this advice when he confronts the Eggleston twins in a later scene.

“Rhyme Schemer’s a dope title, Mr. Mac. 

Is this your autobiography? 

It’s not, but you’re gonna dig it. 

The question is will it rip my heart out 

and stomp on it?”

Earlier in the story, Nick refused to read a picture book about Pelé that The Mac gave him. Now, having learned to love reading, Nick is excited to read Rhyme Schemer, a book Mr. MacDonald gives Nick before he moves away. At the end of this passage, Nick references The Mac’s earlier metaphor about the power of books upon the human heart, which he now knows firsthand.

“There’s a first time

for everything, you think,

and a black eye

or a bruised rib

can’t hurt any more

than appendicitis.”

Whereas Nick used to be afraid of and avoid the Eggleston twins, now he prepares to confront them at a pool party. Recent health issues with his appendix have also made him less afraid of physical pain. Rather than fantasizing about standing up to the twins, as he did earlier in the story, he follows through and faces his fear.