He Said, She Said

Sparks will fly in this hip-hop-hot teen novel that mixes social protest and star-crossed romance, from Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning author Kwame Alexander! He Said, She Said is perfect for fans of Walter Dean Myers and Rachel Vail alike.

He says: Omar "T-Diddy" Smalls has got it made—a full football ride to UMiami, hero-worship status at school, and pick of any girl at West Charleston High. She says: Football, shmootball. Here's what Claudia Clarke cares about: Harvard, the poor, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the staggering teen pregnancy rate, investigative journalism . . . the list goes on. She does not have a minute to waste on Mr. T-Diddy Smalls and his harem of bimbos.

He Said, She Said is a fun and fresh novel from Kwame Alexander that throws these two high school seniors together when they unexpectedly end up leading the biggest social protest this side of the Mississippi—with a lot of help from Facebook and Twitter. The stakes are high, the romance is hot, and when these worlds collide, watch out!

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He Said, She Said

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He Said, She Said

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He Said, She Said

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062118967
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/19/2013
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	211,281
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Kwame Alexander has written seventeen books, owned several publishing companies, written for television (TLC's Hip Hop Harry), recorded a CD, performed around the world, produced jazz and book festivals, hosted a weekly radio show, worked for the U.S. government, and taught in a high school. Recently Kwame was a visiting writer in Brazil and Africa. He resides in the Washington, DC, area, where he is the founding director of Book-in-a-Day (BID), a program that teaches and empowers teenagers to write and publish their own books. The idea for He Said, She Said came during a writing workshop he conducted with thirty smart, funny, feisty, insecure, and ambitious young people in Charleston, South Carolina—which, by the way, is his favorite place on earth (behind Bahia, Accra, and Tuscany, of course).

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Editorial Reviews

10/14/2013
As the title suggests, Alexander’s (Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band) first book for teens jumps between the narratives of two teens who don’t see eye to eye: star quarterback Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls and Harvard-bound student activist Claudia Clarke. Omar is getting plenty of action, on and off the field, and he bets his friends that he can sleep with Claudia within a month (“Trust me, cuz, it’ll never happen,” says one of his friends. “She’s Oprah. You’re Flavor Flav”). Omar is shot down time and again, but he sees an opening when the school board cuts arts funding, aligning himself with Claudia’s mission to overturn the board’s decision. Claudia sees right through him (“Yeah, I’ll just string Mr. Football along until the protest gets some legs. Then I’ll cut him loose like the stray dawg that he is”), but the teens end up surprising each other as they mobilize a protest. Facebook posts, email exchanges, and articles in the school newspaper provide additional forums for classmates’ verbal sparring. A fiery and funny romance with an undercurrent of social justice and awareness. Ages 14–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Alexander’s hip-hop narration...is positively lyrical. A story contemporary students will really relate to and enjoy.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Claudia and Omar, with their entertaining and distinctive narrative voices, are a couple worth rooting for in this lighthearted, socially conscious romance.

Horn Book Magazine

Omar Smalls, also known as T-Diddy, is “The Man” at West Charleston High. A transplant from Brooklyn, the star quarterback knows he can get any girl he wants. Any girl except one—Harvard-bound Claudia Clarke, the socially minded editor of the school newspaper who “only dates college dudes with GPAs of four-oh or higher.” When T-Diddy’s friends bet he cannot add Claudia to his list of conquests, T-Diddy gets his game on. Seeking an opportunity to get in with Claudia, he organizes a protest to return funding for the arts back to West Charleston. And while his tactic for winning Claudia seems to be working, somewhere along the way the protest becomes something more than just a way to a girl’s heart. Turns out, he has a talent for motivating and uniting the student population and might be able to encourage some change. Alexander’s prose dances with the rhythm of hip-hop and the exuberance of youth. Alternating between Omar and Claudia’s first-person accounts, social media status updates, and excerpts from the school’s newspaper, readers get a wide perspective on the story. Though there’s some definite chemistry between the two main characters, the theme of developing relationships over satisfying lust is strongly played out, without ever feeling didactic or heavy-handed. This fresh voice in contemporary realistic teen fiction will find broad appeal to diverse audiences. Reviewer: Heather Christensen; Ages 15 up.

Children's Literature - Heather Christensen

2013-09-01
A star high school quarterback bets he can get the attention of a girl who claims not to be interested by leading a protest for a cause she champions. Omar "T-Diddy" Smalls has the swagger that comes with his exalted status. The fact that he has moved to Charleston, S.C., from Brooklyn adds to his aura, and he attracts the attention of every desirable girl at school--except for Claudia Clarke, who calls him "immature, shallow [and a] fraud." Omar never runs away from a challenge, and he bets his friends that Claudia will become his next conquest. Socially conscious, Claudia is more interested in protesting budget cuts that will wipe out the arts, the library and other school activities--excluding sports--than in Omar. Omar uses his considerable charisma and stories from his activist uncle to lead a successful protest and bring the impending cuts much-needed attention. Through working together, Omar develops genuine feelings for Claudia, and she finds herself drawn to him. Told in alternating chapters by each of the main characters, this lively romance has humor and heart. The use of social media anchors the story in today's culture, while the banter between Omar and Claudia is clever and sounds just right for two smart, college-bound teens. Urban-fiction readers will enjoy this, but it will also appeal to any teen reader seeking a romantic read with lots of fun. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

12/01/2013
Gr 10 Up—West Charleston High is the kingdom that Omar "T-Diddy" Smalls has won through his victorious battles on the gridiron as QB, including the state-championship game that helped seal his scholarship offer from the University of Miami. He has also won a great many female hearts and amassed quite a record of "bong-bong," loving and leaving about 20 young women to earn the label of "playa" that keeps Harvard-bound Claudia from even considering any kind of relationship with him, let alone a romantic one. All that starts to change when Omar decides to spearhead a school protest, suggested by Claudia, on massive cuts to arts programs like band and drama. Yes, he's making it up as he goes along, but he uses his near-celebrity status for a cause that matters and that's dear to the heart of a smart girl who looks like Beyoncé—one who won't have anything to do with him even after he has made a bet with his friends that he can bed her or at least bring them her panties. Both teens find change in love and purpose. Full of street slang and dialect as well as pages of Facebook posts and text conversations, this novel told in both Omar's and Claudia's voices will most likely appeal to reluctant readers who like plenty of innuendo and some graphic scenes in their urban teen "dramedy-romances."—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

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