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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 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 Football, shmootball. Here's what Claudia Clarke cares 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!
336 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 2013
197 people are currently reading
2,335 people want to read
About the author
Kwame Alexander
73 books3,068 followersKwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 21 books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Passaic Poetry Prize. Kwame writes for children of all ages. His other works include Surf's Up, a picture book; Booked, a middle grade novel; and He Said She Said, a YA novel.
Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his PAGE TO STAGE Writing and Publishing Program released by Scholastic. A regular speaker at colleges and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love (Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, etc.). Recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded.
Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his PAGE TO STAGE Writing and Publishing Program released by Scholastic. A regular speaker at colleges and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love (Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, etc.). Recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
December 14, 2016
All the good stuff about this book has already been said. I would like to address some of the negative comments I read.
• Yes, there are a whole lot of cliches in this book. The good girl / bad boy trope, she makes him want to be better, yada yada.
• Yes, there are some completely UNbelievable things in this book. The level of media coverage and insta-celebrity is mind boggling fake.
My thought is that these are both good things.
White America has all kinds of things. There are amazing books and movies with complex plots that make you think and feel ALL of the things, and there are fluff pieces that make you groan with how bad they are, and there is everything in between and to each side. This gives people the freedom to try and not be afraid to fail, because everything has an audience.
Black America and, by extension, the rest of non-white non-cis America, does not seem to be given that freedom. Even in our fiction we have to be perfect. We have to be above reproach. We have to always take the high road. I think that is bullshit. This book is the equivalent of an 80's teen movie, but with black people. AND THAT IS OK!! It is ok to tell kids that amazingly unrealistic things can be imagined. ESPECIALLY when the amazingly unrealistic things in question are things that SHOULD be imagined like what is in this book:
• social justice as a movement of the people
• kids making a difference
• love making us better people
• the world listening to the smallest of us
Even *I* wish the world were like that, and imagining that it can be is one step into molding the world to actually be that way.
My two cents.
• Yes, there are a whole lot of cliches in this book. The good girl / bad boy trope, she makes him want to be better, yada yada.
• Yes, there are some completely UNbelievable things in this book. The level of media coverage and insta-celebrity is mind boggling fake.
My thought is that these are both good things.
White America has all kinds of things. There are amazing books and movies with complex plots that make you think and feel ALL of the things, and there are fluff pieces that make you groan with how bad they are, and there is everything in between and to each side. This gives people the freedom to try and not be afraid to fail, because everything has an audience.
Black America and, by extension, the rest of non-white non-cis America, does not seem to be given that freedom. Even in our fiction we have to be perfect. We have to be above reproach. We have to always take the high road. I think that is bullshit. This book is the equivalent of an 80's teen movie, but with black people. AND THAT IS OK!! It is ok to tell kids that amazingly unrealistic things can be imagined. ESPECIALLY when the amazingly unrealistic things in question are things that SHOULD be imagined like what is in this book:
• social justice as a movement of the people
• kids making a difference
• love making us better people
• the world listening to the smallest of us
Even *I* wish the world were like that, and imagining that it can be is one step into molding the world to actually be that way.
My two cents.
July 29, 2018
Okay, so lemme get this straight, Claudia's (who is as bland as burnt-to-a-crisp toast btw) whole character arc is her falling for a guy.
Whoopie.
And not just any guy, but the guy who refers to himself in the third person, calls himself a "pantie-dropper" (how charming, I'm simply swooning), literally thinks to himself things along the lines of: "Imma get into her pants and then dump her" or in his own poetic words, "bong bong, my dude". And not only does he plagiarize every single love song and inspirational quote he can get his hands on, but he also takes it upon himself to slide his sleazy hands into Claudia's pants while they are dancing even though she doesn't even want to kiss him.
Dang, I love me some rape culture, y'all.
Because we all know it's totally cool to force yourself on a non-consenting person if you can tell that they secretly want you.
I don't care if Omar started becoming a little self-aware for like the last three chapters, it was still awful.
If a book is going to have a character this awful, I'm going to need him to realize more than that "The word "Playa" doesn't sound so good anymore" before we end it, please and thank you.
Whoopie.
And not just any guy, but the guy who refers to himself in the third person, calls himself a "pantie-dropper" (how charming, I'm simply swooning), literally thinks to himself things along the lines of: "Imma get into her pants and then dump her" or in his own poetic words, "bong bong, my dude". And not only does he plagiarize every single love song and inspirational quote he can get his hands on, but he also takes it upon himself to slide his sleazy hands into Claudia's pants while they are dancing even though she doesn't even want to kiss him.
Dang, I love me some rape culture, y'all.
Because we all know it's totally cool to force yourself on a non-consenting person if you can tell that they secretly want you.
I don't care if Omar started becoming a little self-aware for like the last three chapters, it was still awful.
If a book is going to have a character this awful, I'm going to need him to realize more than that "The word "Playa" doesn't sound so good anymore" before we end it, please and thank you.
December 4, 2017
I loved this book and the concept. The plot was nice and the dialogue was wonderful. It's the way he described and moved things was a tad confusing. I did enjoy it though and I totally recommend ‼️
April 26, 2015
I really wanted to like this book more. It was fast-paced, compelling, and interesting, but it wasn't substantial.
The fact that Omar was a more fully realized character than Claudia really frustrated me. She should have had a deeper internal life than Omar, as she lived her life purposefully, but most of her sections were about her conflicted feelings toward him. She didn't get to go much further than that, which is deeply unfortunate. The girls spend most of the book in conflict over boys. The boys get to spend time growing.
I was also really hopeful for the nonviolent protests, especially since Omar's uncle, et al., were involved in the student protests of the Civil Rights Movement, but I'll stick to steering kids toward March. One of the great disservices of hashtivism is letting kids think that exacting change from the system is easy. This book furthers the misconception that nonviolence is easy. The #silenttreatment is inspired. I'll give Alexander that. But there are no planning meetings (except as excuses to spend more time together), no training in non-violent responses to abuses, no actual manifestos (this would have been appreciated in the portions of the book where we get to read the "Panther Pride" paper). Kids need to know that creating change is difficult, and not likely to result in romance. We owe them that.
The fact that Omar was a more fully realized character than Claudia really frustrated me. She should have had a deeper internal life than Omar, as she lived her life purposefully, but most of her sections were about her conflicted feelings toward him. She didn't get to go much further than that, which is deeply unfortunate. The girls spend most of the book in conflict over boys. The boys get to spend time growing.
I was also really hopeful for the nonviolent protests, especially since Omar's uncle, et al., were involved in the student protests of the Civil Rights Movement, but I'll stick to steering kids toward March. One of the great disservices of hashtivism is letting kids think that exacting change from the system is easy. This book furthers the misconception that nonviolence is easy. The #silenttreatment is inspired. I'll give Alexander that. But there are no planning meetings (except as excuses to spend more time together), no training in non-violent responses to abuses, no actual manifestos (this would have been appreciated in the portions of the book where we get to read the "Panther Pride" paper). Kids need to know that creating change is difficult, and not likely to result in romance. We owe them that.
February 23, 2014
Everything about this book was over the top cliche, like the story and characters came out of a sausage grinder mashing together the plot of every inane YA book ever to come before it where the smart, no-nonsense valedictorian girl and the hard-on-the-outside, hidden-gooey-depths-on-the-inside football quarterback spar and clash before getting together in the end.
I can only assume that the great reviews this book received were yet another product of reviewers being unnecessarily impressed with a successful adult author writes a YA book—not realizing that YA books tend to be a much higher caliber and dumbing down a plot for teenagers is just annoying for everyone. And yes, as everyone keeps noting, the dialogue is great and fresh feeling. But please—when everything they're saying is dumb, how they're saying it doesn't matter as much.
I can only assume that the great reviews this book received were yet another product of reviewers being unnecessarily impressed with a successful adult author writes a YA book—not realizing that YA books tend to be a much higher caliber and dumbing down a plot for teenagers is just annoying for everyone. And yes, as everyone keeps noting, the dialogue is great and fresh feeling. But please—when everything they're saying is dumb, how they're saying it doesn't matter as much.
January 19, 2014
The strength of this book is in the dialogue. It zips and crackles and moves the story along.
I'm also going to say that in the aftermath of the media taking down Jameis Winston for using slang after winning the National Championship, I was pleased to see slang treated not as the dialog of the uneducated, but as dialog for the teen masses.
The story is pretty predictable, but there is a plot twist that made me gasp.
I'm also going to say that in the aftermath of the media taking down Jameis Winston for using slang after winning the National Championship, I was pleased to see slang treated not as the dialog of the uneducated, but as dialog for the teen masses.
The story is pretty predictable, but there is a plot twist that made me gasp.
February 1, 2015
Omar (T-Diddy) has everything going for him – he’s good looking and a star football player with a promise of a full ride to UMiami. Claudia is a studious young woman with her mind on doing something worthwhile with her life, and football and a boyfriend are the last things on her mind. T-Diddy bets he friends that he can get Claudia in bed.
Through a series of first person chapters interspersed with Facebook status updates, text messages, and articles from the high school newspaper, we see Omar try everything he can to impress Claudia including getting involved in a protest she has organized. The story is pretty predictable, the slang reflects how many teens talk, and the inevitable climax (no pun intended) is logical. Should appeal to some teens that like teen romance, but will likely be less appealing to teens looking for more substance. OK, entertaining, a quick read, but not earthshattering.
Through a series of first person chapters interspersed with Facebook status updates, text messages, and articles from the high school newspaper, we see Omar try everything he can to impress Claudia including getting involved in a protest she has organized. The story is pretty predictable, the slang reflects how many teens talk, and the inevitable climax (no pun intended) is logical. Should appeal to some teens that like teen romance, but will likely be less appealing to teens looking for more substance. OK, entertaining, a quick read, but not earthshattering.
April 10, 2014
Like some other adult female white readers, I found Omar's behavior offensive at first, but his football star bluster was totally believable, and I enjoyed the voice.
As one who has a connection to South Carolina, I appreciated Alexander's sly condemnation of the governor's true life attack on the arts, and of his dream of galvanizing students to action. If nothing else, perhaps this book will inspire a few readers to fight for band and the books in their libraries and their favorite teachers.
I also enjoyed the shout-outs to well-known Low Country Carolinians like Pat Conroy, artist Jonathan Green, Country Western star Darius Rucker, and poet laureate Marjory Wentworth (who is referred to as the "pretty poety lady"). Oh, and I love it that there is a scene in the Blue Bicycle Book Store.
Overall, I found this mix of hip hop prose, Facebook posts, Tweets, blog posts, and poetry very entertaining. Believe that.
As one who has a connection to South Carolina, I appreciated Alexander's sly condemnation of the governor's true life attack on the arts, and of his dream of galvanizing students to action. If nothing else, perhaps this book will inspire a few readers to fight for band and the books in their libraries and their favorite teachers.
I also enjoyed the shout-outs to well-known Low Country Carolinians like Pat Conroy, artist Jonathan Green, Country Western star Darius Rucker, and poet laureate Marjory Wentworth (who is referred to as the "pretty poety lady"). Oh, and I love it that there is a scene in the Blue Bicycle Book Store.
Overall, I found this mix of hip hop prose, Facebook posts, Tweets, blog posts, and poetry very entertaining. Believe that.
January 31, 2018
"He Said She Said" talks about a school-loving, headstrong girl, Claudia Clarke and girl-crazy, 'Mr Football', Omar Smalls and how their two different worlds collide in trying to save the arts programs at their school in Charleston from both of their perspectives. The two, both with different motives, work together to fight for justice at their school letting the administration know that they have a voice. This book kept me reading because it never gave you what was expected. there were so many surprises that you had to keep on going. I would recommend this book to high school teens, even the ones who don't like reading, because it is so relatable to teens in this generation. Definitely a good read!
June 15, 2018
keep trying
March 25, 2017
3.5 stars
March 27, 2014
I was excited to see this book on a list of YA romances in a column in THE HORN BOOK, as I'm always on the look-out for romances with African-American characters. The book's social justice storyline (the protagonists work on a campaign to protest their school's budget cuts) made it even more appealing, and I turned right to it when a copy came in from the library.
But I have decidedly mixed feelings after reading it. On the one hand, the story stemmed from a writing workshop Alexander led with 30 teens in Charleston, SC, an experience which gives his narrative a real sense of linguistic and behavioral authenticity. What many of us readers outside this culture would call slang, but might better be thought of as the language of southern city African-American teens, can make for difficult reading at times, but provides a rich verbal experience.
This same sense of authenticity, though, is also what makes me cringe, at least as far as these teen boys' attitudes and behaviors towards girls and women go. The book's male protagonist, Omar, or, as he calls himself, "T-Diddy," shows us his attitude immediately:
For real, though, I must be off my game, 'cause we started talking right before Thanksgiving break, and it doesn't usually take me a whole month to bong bong! I even had to buy her a Christmas gift. Those sterling silver bangles cost me forty-eight dollars. She better be worth it, especially since she's number twenty. Real talk, since I moved down here from Brooklyn, I've smashed nineteen girls—one from the college. It's not even like the girls down south are easier than up north, it's just the perks of being the star quarterback on the state championship football team. Not to mention, T-Diddy looks goooooooood. (2-3).
In this dual-narrator love story, the object of T-Diddy's lust is Claudia Clarke, a Harvard-bound daughter of missionaries who has no time or interest in a playa like T-Diddy. As she tells him after she finds out he made a bet with his friends that he could get her into the sack within a month, " 'It really doesn't matter. You're a guy. And guys are apes.' I'm probably too hard on him, but it is what it is. Guys only want one thing: to get inside our minds, so they can get between our legs." (66). Most of the other girls are content with the exchange of sex for social capital, of being associated with the famous T-Diddy, but Claudia has her sights set higher than the social world of her Charleston school.
Gradually, of course, T-Diddy and Claudia come to know each other, like each other, and even become emotionally and sexually intimate with each other, all while joining together to inspire their schoolmates to protest budget cuts that endanger the school's art programs. But along the way, Claudia has to put up with a TON of pretty offensive talk, from T-Diddy's friends, from other girls in the school, and especially from T-Diddy. It literally made my heart ache to see how often the girls had to hear that they were just objects for the boys' pleasure, how little worth they had in themselves. I really wasn't sure how to read the outcome of Claudia and T-Diddy's romance, nor the book's very last scene—are we supposed to read it Claudia's turning the tables on female objectification? Or her ultimate capitulation to it??
So, much to admire, much to lament. Well worth the read, though. A good book to think with.
But I have decidedly mixed feelings after reading it. On the one hand, the story stemmed from a writing workshop Alexander led with 30 teens in Charleston, SC, an experience which gives his narrative a real sense of linguistic and behavioral authenticity. What many of us readers outside this culture would call slang, but might better be thought of as the language of southern city African-American teens, can make for difficult reading at times, but provides a rich verbal experience.
This same sense of authenticity, though, is also what makes me cringe, at least as far as these teen boys' attitudes and behaviors towards girls and women go. The book's male protagonist, Omar, or, as he calls himself, "T-Diddy," shows us his attitude immediately:
For real, though, I must be off my game, 'cause we started talking right before Thanksgiving break, and it doesn't usually take me a whole month to bong bong! I even had to buy her a Christmas gift. Those sterling silver bangles cost me forty-eight dollars. She better be worth it, especially since she's number twenty. Real talk, since I moved down here from Brooklyn, I've smashed nineteen girls—one from the college. It's not even like the girls down south are easier than up north, it's just the perks of being the star quarterback on the state championship football team. Not to mention, T-Diddy looks goooooooood. (2-3).
In this dual-narrator love story, the object of T-Diddy's lust is Claudia Clarke, a Harvard-bound daughter of missionaries who has no time or interest in a playa like T-Diddy. As she tells him after she finds out he made a bet with his friends that he could get her into the sack within a month, " 'It really doesn't matter. You're a guy. And guys are apes.' I'm probably too hard on him, but it is what it is. Guys only want one thing: to get inside our minds, so they can get between our legs." (66). Most of the other girls are content with the exchange of sex for social capital, of being associated with the famous T-Diddy, but Claudia has her sights set higher than the social world of her Charleston school.
Gradually, of course, T-Diddy and Claudia come to know each other, like each other, and even become emotionally and sexually intimate with each other, all while joining together to inspire their schoolmates to protest budget cuts that endanger the school's art programs. But along the way, Claudia has to put up with a TON of pretty offensive talk, from T-Diddy's friends, from other girls in the school, and especially from T-Diddy. It literally made my heart ache to see how often the girls had to hear that they were just objects for the boys' pleasure, how little worth they had in themselves. I really wasn't sure how to read the outcome of Claudia and T-Diddy's romance, nor the book's very last scene—are we supposed to read it Claudia's turning the tables on female objectification? Or her ultimate capitulation to it??
So, much to admire, much to lament. Well worth the read, though. A good book to think with.
April 16, 2014
I have yet to read a “hip hop” novel because the genre doesn’t appeal to me, but I thought I’d check out “He Said, She Said” because I know of Kwame Alexander’s work with school kids and admire his Book-in-a-Day program. I know he is a talented poet and children’s author, so I was looking forward to reading his first young adult novel. Unfortunately, Alexander’s novel didn’t sway me into reading more “hip hop” novels.
When I teach creative writing with my students, I encourage them to “show, not tell” by adding dialogue to their short stories. Usually, in a creative work, the use of dialogue adds to the story, moves the plot forward, reveals character, etc. In Alexander’s novel, the overuse of a dialogue backfires and instead leads to more telling, rather than showing. Because Alexander relied heavily on dialogue to tell his story, I never got a sense of setting, of the physical world Omar and Claudia live in. For example, they protest that their school is run down, but there is not a single description of the school. In what way was the school run down? Were the walls filled with graffiti? Were all the toilets broken? Were there broken desks everywhere? Dialogue in a story is helpful, but all the senses need to be engaged for a reader to really lose themselves in a story and Alexander does not make use of all the senses.
I’m big into writers creating well-rounded characters, flawed characters, characters that make us root for them. Again, unfortunately for Alexander, the male main character, Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls, is extremely unlikeable. The reader is supposed to not like him in the beginning so that we can see his growth, but the change truly comes a little to late. I think Alexander tried to have the reader like Omar earlier, but he would always ruin a moment of Omar’s growth by some gross sexist comment towards Claudia and “getting in her panties”. I understand teenage boys can be that foul, but even in his quiet moments, Omar’s thoughts were the same. It got really annoying after a while. I also felt that Claudia could have been written better instead of written as “the hard to get girl who eventually crumbles to the bad boy’s charm”. It’s such a bad trope and not very true to life. At times it felt as if the feelings Claudia began to have for Omar came out from no where and not from a genuine place. In fact, both Omar and Claudia didn’t feel very genuine at all. They were one dimensional characters that were often there to occasionally shout platitudes towards fighting the man, and to create a very unconvincing love story.
He Said, She Said is a good premise - two unlikely people finding love while finding a purpose - but in execution, the story is lacking. I feel that Alexander could have relied less on the use of dialogue (literally pages at a time) and spent more time constructing the story. He Said She Said could have used a few more rounds of revision in order to make this a truly engrossing novel.
Originally posted on Rich in Color at http://richincolor.com/2013/12/book-r...
When I teach creative writing with my students, I encourage them to “show, not tell” by adding dialogue to their short stories. Usually, in a creative work, the use of dialogue adds to the story, moves the plot forward, reveals character, etc. In Alexander’s novel, the overuse of a dialogue backfires and instead leads to more telling, rather than showing. Because Alexander relied heavily on dialogue to tell his story, I never got a sense of setting, of the physical world Omar and Claudia live in. For example, they protest that their school is run down, but there is not a single description of the school. In what way was the school run down? Were the walls filled with graffiti? Were all the toilets broken? Were there broken desks everywhere? Dialogue in a story is helpful, but all the senses need to be engaged for a reader to really lose themselves in a story and Alexander does not make use of all the senses.
I’m big into writers creating well-rounded characters, flawed characters, characters that make us root for them. Again, unfortunately for Alexander, the male main character, Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls, is extremely unlikeable. The reader is supposed to not like him in the beginning so that we can see his growth, but the change truly comes a little to late. I think Alexander tried to have the reader like Omar earlier, but he would always ruin a moment of Omar’s growth by some gross sexist comment towards Claudia and “getting in her panties”. I understand teenage boys can be that foul, but even in his quiet moments, Omar’s thoughts were the same. It got really annoying after a while. I also felt that Claudia could have been written better instead of written as “the hard to get girl who eventually crumbles to the bad boy’s charm”. It’s such a bad trope and not very true to life. At times it felt as if the feelings Claudia began to have for Omar came out from no where and not from a genuine place. In fact, both Omar and Claudia didn’t feel very genuine at all. They were one dimensional characters that were often there to occasionally shout platitudes towards fighting the man, and to create a very unconvincing love story.
He Said, She Said is a good premise - two unlikely people finding love while finding a purpose - but in execution, the story is lacking. I feel that Alexander could have relied less on the use of dialogue (literally pages at a time) and spent more time constructing the story. He Said She Said could have used a few more rounds of revision in order to make this a truly engrossing novel.
Originally posted on Rich in Color at http://richincolor.com/2013/12/book-r...
February 15, 2016
Okay...I have to be honest. When I started this, I didn't think there was ANY way I was going to like it. Omar "TDiddy" Smalls is SO unlikable--he sleeps with girls and then dumps them, thinks football is everything, and TALKS ABOUT HIMSELF IN THE THIRD PERSON. How could ANY girl--let alone Harvard-bound Claudia--be interested in him? (Okay...apparently he's hot. But COME ON.)
But...as I guess he's supposed to...HE GREW ONE ME. He's a boy--a typical, teenage boy with bad qualities hiding some pretty good ones. Claudia's caution at first is noble, and she's not the typical swooning YA romance girl. Their activism to improve their school brings them together and allows different aspects of their personalities to come out.
I also like that this is full of African-American characters with a variety of personalities: athletes, band members, studious kids, bullies, etc. If you're not a fan of dialect, this one probably isn't for you--it's full of urban slang (especially in the dialogue) and code-switching (Claudia often uses more "standard" grammar at school but switches to a more informal dialect with her friends). There are also some hard-hitting issues addressed, though they aren't the focus of the story: teen pregnancy, abortion, and violence.
My students will like the urban flavor, relatable language, and use of Facebook posts as part of the narrative.
But...as I guess he's supposed to...HE GREW ONE ME. He's a boy--a typical, teenage boy with bad qualities hiding some pretty good ones. Claudia's caution at first is noble, and she's not the typical swooning YA romance girl. Their activism to improve their school brings them together and allows different aspects of their personalities to come out.
I also like that this is full of African-American characters with a variety of personalities: athletes, band members, studious kids, bullies, etc. If you're not a fan of dialect, this one probably isn't for you--it's full of urban slang (especially in the dialogue) and code-switching (Claudia often uses more "standard" grammar at school but switches to a more informal dialect with her friends). There are also some hard-hitting issues addressed, though they aren't the focus of the story: teen pregnancy, abortion, and violence.
My students will like the urban flavor, relatable language, and use of Facebook posts as part of the narrative.
December 9, 2016
This book was an amazing book. This book had a great way of showing politics and teenage life from the POV from 2 teens. T-Diddy is a football stud who only cares about getting the most females he can. Claudia is basically a boring person of sorts since she doesn't do nothing. These 2 are completely opposite of each other which makes the pov more interesting for the reader. The way they switch from characters each chapter is a great use of technique for this story which show what is going on for most of the story when the characters face an problem the other doesn't know about. This book is recommended for anybody over the age of 16 and up. This book makes a lot of references to social media and people of this age knows a lot about social media by then. If you are looking for a good book about peaceful protest and some more in between, I recommend this.
April 4, 2017
Omar "T-Diddy" is the high school football all star at his school, and an all around ladies' man, known for his reputation and number of girls he's been with. Claudia is an editor of the school newspaper, with missionary parents, who tends to shy away from the limelight. When Omar sets his eyes on being with Claudia, their worlds start to intertwine and they start to have an impact on each other's lives. All of this is taking place during a student protest at school, they are being silent for longer periods of time each day to show their anger about budget cuts and teacher layoffs. (Omar started the protest as a way to impress Claudia.)
I'm a sucker for alternating narrators, and this did not disappoint, with Omar and Claudia alternating each chapter. I also enjoyed the different formats that Alexander included, like Facebook posts and texts. I shelved this as high school (and did not include it on my middle school shelf) because of a somewhat illicit scene that is not expressly detailed, but the reader will know what happened.
I'm a sucker for alternating narrators, and this did not disappoint, with Omar and Claudia alternating each chapter. I also enjoyed the different formats that Alexander included, like Facebook posts and texts. I shelved this as high school (and did not include it on my middle school shelf) because of a somewhat illicit scene that is not expressly detailed, but the reader will know what happened.
August 21, 2019
I only recently heard of this book by Kwame Alexander. I was really surprised because I expected it to be in verse like his other books that I read but it wasn't. I liked that it alternates perspective between a boy and a girl. The boy who is the star athlete, the player, Mr. Popular, etc. And the girl who is very smart (Harvard bound), reserved yet well-rounded. Two unlikely to be together who do connect and change each other for the better.
November 13, 2017
I thought this book was a really fun light read for when transitioning between two heavier books. The overall plot of the book is nice and predictable but the theme and topics covered are very much current to moderen times.
September 9, 2020
This is a great book on social justice and the changes that teens can bring about in their communities and beyond. It is sweet and playful, but at once serious and important. I recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction with a bit of romance on the side.
May 17, 2023
This book definitively has a The Hate U Give vibe, just a different topic! Highly recommend!!!
October 15, 2023
I didn’t like a single thing about this book. I’m sorry Kwame.
April 2, 2017
This book is an entertaining and romantic book that shows kids who are making their dream come true but you always beware of love because it can come at any time very unexpected. To make sure that person is worth staying with or they are just there for who you are becoming. I recommend this books to ages 13-16 because it needs a little understanding about what is going on and to show how your high school senior year could go. He Said, She Said
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January 4, 2018He Said, She Said is an action packed novel about T-Diddy Smalls, a star football player. All he cares about is himself, and how many girls he can get with. This is until, he makes a bet with his friends and he changes his view on things. Now T-Diddy is starting to realize what is more important in life and is starting to get his priorities straight. I really liked how it is very relatable to high school students, being that it is about high school students. Many of us play sports and can be very cocky and high headed sometimes. I also liked how it has plenty of slang in it, not super formal words, and each character has their own unique way of speaking. One thing I did not enjoy so much is the fact that it goes from character to character. One character speaks throughout one chapter, then it switches to the other one in a different chapter. Another thing I did not like is how it ended. It was not how I expected it to end which is a little depressing. Overall, I would rate this book an 8 out of 10. It is very relatable to kids who play high school sports and are dealing with friends that encourage things that should not be encouraged. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a twist in a book, anyone that is an athlete looking for a college, or anyone that likes a little romance and comedy in a book.
September 29, 2013
I found the black slang and peculiar dialect depictions really off-putting at first: All kind of “grittin” and “lip smackin” as well as lots of “homeboys” were nothing compared to a character named Fast Freddie who seems to scream or speed or rap or something with his words all capitalized and run together like this: “Don’tForgetTheT-DiddyThree-StepGuaranteedLadyKillerPlanOnHowToBagAGirl.” Not sure what Alexander is going for with that, but I did learn that I can substitute “ish” for “shit,” though it sounds weird coming from the middle-aged white lady who is hopelessly unhip. Also, it makes my teen daughter “grit” on me.
Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls is Mr. Football at West Charleston High and the whole state of South Carolina after taking his team to the state championship game to win as its QB—and that helped him win a full ride at the University of Miami. He’s not only a player on the field, but he’s also a “playa” with the girls. Ever since he moved to South Carolina from Brooklyn, he’s been loving and leaving them just as quickly as he can smash and “bong-bong.” Seriously, these are the terms he and his friends use about his twenty or so conquests.
This kind of disgusting misogyny is hard to overcome making T-Diddy so unlikeable a character for the first fourth of the novel that it was tough to see his transformation. At a house party where he was about to close the deal with Kym, the latest challenge, he sees bookish and socially conscious Claudia, daughter of missionary parents. She looks so much like Beyoncé that he has to go for it even though she seems way too smart to mess with T-Diddy, but he’s been egged on by his friends with a bet that he can’t get Claudia’s panties. No luck that night, but soon at school, he takes her suggestion of a protest over the city’s austerity cuts of arts programs to heart; and as a way to impress her and get in her pants, he uses his power as king of the school to get students to commit to ten minutes of silence, building by five more every day, until the mayor and school board listen. As he puts on the show of caring and trying to do good, it starts to ring true. As he starts to put the moves on Claudia and get to know her, his feelings get stronger, and for once, he might actually care about a girl and not just to get to what’s between her legs.
The chapters are from both his and her perspectives, and we get to see Claudia fall for Omar after she finds there is more to him than just Mr. Football. Of course, he has to find that out about himself first and mean it. Whole sections are just Facebook posts with likes and comments. I guess that’s designed to draw in the “young people,” right? The story-telling was a bit clumsy and patchy, though. Even while I was reading, so sure that this book was completely NOT for me, I was thinking of students who would probably love its BET urban school story with touches of comedy and fighting, social change message, and a strong dose of romance. However, there is one locker room scene with Omar and a jealous Kym, both naked, that will keep me careful about only recommend it to students not shy about its forays into R-rated materials. Believe that!
(quotation taken from uncorrected proof, Advanced Reading Copy)
Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls is Mr. Football at West Charleston High and the whole state of South Carolina after taking his team to the state championship game to win as its QB—and that helped him win a full ride at the University of Miami. He’s not only a player on the field, but he’s also a “playa” with the girls. Ever since he moved to South Carolina from Brooklyn, he’s been loving and leaving them just as quickly as he can smash and “bong-bong.” Seriously, these are the terms he and his friends use about his twenty or so conquests.
This kind of disgusting misogyny is hard to overcome making T-Diddy so unlikeable a character for the first fourth of the novel that it was tough to see his transformation. At a house party where he was about to close the deal with Kym, the latest challenge, he sees bookish and socially conscious Claudia, daughter of missionary parents. She looks so much like Beyoncé that he has to go for it even though she seems way too smart to mess with T-Diddy, but he’s been egged on by his friends with a bet that he can’t get Claudia’s panties. No luck that night, but soon at school, he takes her suggestion of a protest over the city’s austerity cuts of arts programs to heart; and as a way to impress her and get in her pants, he uses his power as king of the school to get students to commit to ten minutes of silence, building by five more every day, until the mayor and school board listen. As he puts on the show of caring and trying to do good, it starts to ring true. As he starts to put the moves on Claudia and get to know her, his feelings get stronger, and for once, he might actually care about a girl and not just to get to what’s between her legs.
The chapters are from both his and her perspectives, and we get to see Claudia fall for Omar after she finds there is more to him than just Mr. Football. Of course, he has to find that out about himself first and mean it. Whole sections are just Facebook posts with likes and comments. I guess that’s designed to draw in the “young people,” right? The story-telling was a bit clumsy and patchy, though. Even while I was reading, so sure that this book was completely NOT for me, I was thinking of students who would probably love its BET urban school story with touches of comedy and fighting, social change message, and a strong dose of romance. However, there is one locker room scene with Omar and a jealous Kym, both naked, that will keep me careful about only recommend it to students not shy about its forays into R-rated materials. Believe that!
(quotation taken from uncorrected proof, Advanced Reading Copy)
December 4, 2014
He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander was an easy read. There was very little difficult language; the plot was simple and easy to lose yourself in. The characters were experiencing things that most of us have experienced before (sans the severe lay-offs, the drastic cutbacks, and the entire protest--that isn't a typical high school experience). This made the characters very easy to relate to and to sympathize with. Omar and Claudia's relationship is so beautiful and wonderful because it is human! He is sort of the "bad boy" and she is "good girl" that create the dysfunctional relationship that builds up to the dramatic ending.
There are some twists in HSSS that the archetypal bad boy, good girl does not encompass. For example, Omar is not bad through and through; he is able to think outside of the small world that he is portrayed as having. He volunteers with dogs! That side of him is his redeeming point with Claudia. And Claudia isn't the best goody-two-shoes in existence. Near the end, she does throw it down with Eve, as if her full-ride to Harvard didn't exist. And both Claudia and Omar throw themselves whole-heartedly into this protest. He Said, She said pairs the love story with the black history of protest. And Kwame Alexander makes it work.
There were loose ends that I questioned. Near the end, when the Bayside boys were creating a ruckus, Kym is shot. Why Kym? Why not Omar, who the Bayside boys threatened the entire book? Why not Claudia, who was obviously the source of Omar's affection and therefore his weak point? WHY KYM?
Also, where was Kym shot? Why was the "surgery taxing on her body?" Was she really going to make it through? Why was Omar so insistent on knowing how she was doing? Was he simply there because he felt responsible, or because he wanted to bang her again, Claudia put to one side? I feel like the ending did not wrap up as neatly as I would have liked it to.
From an educational standpoint, I can see where this novel fits in my classroom without too much difficulty. The protest seems to come in more as a subplot (it was Omar's original way to get in Claudia's pants), but it is what I would want to focus on with my students. Especially in times where we are still battling racism and discrimination, the cutbacks of the arts programs and the layoffs of teachers while the multimillion-dollar stadium remains in effect, especially at a (at least semi) black school, should hit my students as wrong. Of course, the protest of the school does not have to be the centerpiece of my instruction. The simple act of protesting could provide a wealth of material for my students to examine. There are protests going on in our current news. My students could examine the differences between the styles of protest and the effects each one has. Was one more productive than the other? Does their cause really differ all that much? Yes, this would be a heavy topic. But protests normally are heavy topics, and the only reason it didn't become a truly heated topic in He Said, She Said was because of the overlay of a love story. This book has potential in my classroom, even if it is as a tiered text to a more difficult text.
There are some twists in HSSS that the archetypal bad boy, good girl does not encompass. For example, Omar is not bad through and through; he is able to think outside of the small world that he is portrayed as having. He volunteers with dogs! That side of him is his redeeming point with Claudia. And Claudia isn't the best goody-two-shoes in existence. Near the end, she does throw it down with Eve, as if her full-ride to Harvard didn't exist. And both Claudia and Omar throw themselves whole-heartedly into this protest. He Said, She said pairs the love story with the black history of protest. And Kwame Alexander makes it work.
There were loose ends that I questioned. Near the end, when the Bayside boys were creating a ruckus, Kym is shot. Why Kym? Why not Omar, who the Bayside boys threatened the entire book? Why not Claudia, who was obviously the source of Omar's affection and therefore his weak point? WHY KYM?
Also, where was Kym shot? Why was the "surgery taxing on her body?" Was she really going to make it through? Why was Omar so insistent on knowing how she was doing? Was he simply there because he felt responsible, or because he wanted to bang her again, Claudia put to one side? I feel like the ending did not wrap up as neatly as I would have liked it to.
From an educational standpoint, I can see where this novel fits in my classroom without too much difficulty. The protest seems to come in more as a subplot (it was Omar's original way to get in Claudia's pants), but it is what I would want to focus on with my students. Especially in times where we are still battling racism and discrimination, the cutbacks of the arts programs and the layoffs of teachers while the multimillion-dollar stadium remains in effect, especially at a (at least semi) black school, should hit my students as wrong. Of course, the protest of the school does not have to be the centerpiece of my instruction. The simple act of protesting could provide a wealth of material for my students to examine. There are protests going on in our current news. My students could examine the differences between the styles of protest and the effects each one has. Was one more productive than the other? Does their cause really differ all that much? Yes, this would be a heavy topic. But protests normally are heavy topics, and the only reason it didn't become a truly heated topic in He Said, She Said was because of the overlay of a love story. This book has potential in my classroom, even if it is as a tiered text to a more difficult text.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2015
Omar "T-Diddy" Smalls is a football star and the most notorious playa of West Charleston High. Now he's got his sights set on Claudia Clarke: straight-A student, champion of charities, and 100% not interested in dating - especially not T-Diddy Smalls. In an effort to get in Claudia's good books, Omar accidentally ends up leading a protest to restore the school's arts funding -- and Claudia may just be falling for him for real.
I really enjoyed the way Alexander plays with style in this novel. Claudia's and Omar's voices are distinct and well-developed, but the narrative also relies on facebook postings and school newspaper articles, a touch that really adds to the unique feel of the novel. Also, much of the novel relies on African American Vernacular English (AAVE) -- which didn't really work for me personally, since I'm white and don't use AAVE and therefore had a really hard time following some of the slang, BUT given the overwhelming lack of representation in teen literature, it's a hugely important element. Not only is it a major element of the style (and honestly, the only stylistic element I didn't immediately love), it offers a whole new set of teens a novel that normalizes their vernacular. I want to be very clear here that even though it made the book less enjoyable for me personally, I think it's SO important and a great element of the novel.
I also really enjoyed the way Omar and Claudia's relationship developed. Even though it was not a relationship that seemed in character for either of them, it grew organically and they grew with it in a way that made it feel totally natural. There was a plot twist that I loved that I won't talk about because spoilers, and I thought the ending was spot-on perfect. There's a lot to like about this novel. Oh, and the protest! The protest is fabulous. I loved every minute of that. And as a Charleston native, the shoutouts to familiar landmarks of my hometown were pretty cool.
There's a few things I didn't like, too, though. T-Diddy, through about the first half of the novel, was unbelievably annoying. I hated his chapters, right up to the part where he grew an awareness of the existence of emotions. He talks about himself in the third person all the time, which annoyed me just as much if not more than it annoyed Claudia, and he's honestly a jerk. Once he grew into his "Omar" identity, I liked him a lot more; I grew to like him alongside Claudia, and ultimately he was a very good character, but he was so hard to read about for the first half of the novel. Also, there was a lot that just didn't quite scan. He's been in Charleston for a year and he's already slept with how many girls? And Eve and Kym's revenge scheme required some suspension of disbelief too. It's entirely possible that those things are normal for some high schoolers; again, it may be that as a white girl who had a relatively sheltered high school existence, there's just a culture gap that I'm not getting. But for me, there was a lot that just felt exaggerated beyond the point of believability.
Overall: A good novel with a lot of great style play and an awesome protest, but just not really my personal cup of tea.
I really enjoyed the way Alexander plays with style in this novel. Claudia's and Omar's voices are distinct and well-developed, but the narrative also relies on facebook postings and school newspaper articles, a touch that really adds to the unique feel of the novel. Also, much of the novel relies on African American Vernacular English (AAVE) -- which didn't really work for me personally, since I'm white and don't use AAVE and therefore had a really hard time following some of the slang, BUT given the overwhelming lack of representation in teen literature, it's a hugely important element. Not only is it a major element of the style (and honestly, the only stylistic element I didn't immediately love), it offers a whole new set of teens a novel that normalizes their vernacular. I want to be very clear here that even though it made the book less enjoyable for me personally, I think it's SO important and a great element of the novel.
I also really enjoyed the way Omar and Claudia's relationship developed. Even though it was not a relationship that seemed in character for either of them, it grew organically and they grew with it in a way that made it feel totally natural. There was a plot twist that I loved that I won't talk about because spoilers, and I thought the ending was spot-on perfect. There's a lot to like about this novel. Oh, and the protest! The protest is fabulous. I loved every minute of that. And as a Charleston native, the shoutouts to familiar landmarks of my hometown were pretty cool.
There's a few things I didn't like, too, though. T-Diddy, through about the first half of the novel, was unbelievably annoying. I hated his chapters, right up to the part where he grew an awareness of the existence of emotions. He talks about himself in the third person all the time, which annoyed me just as much if not more than it annoyed Claudia, and he's honestly a jerk. Once he grew into his "Omar" identity, I liked him a lot more; I grew to like him alongside Claudia, and ultimately he was a very good character, but he was so hard to read about for the first half of the novel. Also, there was a lot that just didn't quite scan. He's been in Charleston for a year and he's already slept with how many girls? And Eve and Kym's revenge scheme required some suspension of disbelief too. It's entirely possible that those things are normal for some high schoolers; again, it may be that as a white girl who had a relatively sheltered high school existence, there's just a culture gap that I'm not getting. But for me, there was a lot that just felt exaggerated beyond the point of believability.
Overall: A good novel with a lot of great style play and an awesome protest, but just not really my personal cup of tea.
March 14, 2017
You know that meme? The one about getting ready to go out and feeling like you are in your 20's? Then, while you're out at a bar or club with real 20 year olds, you know you're not 20? Reading this, I know I am old. I just can't even with the dialogue and slang. I mean, I spend a majority of my day around teenagers, urban ones at that, and this book is killing me. It's official. I am not hip. I can barley enjoy the story, or character development because this is so tedious for me to read. I know full well that I am not the target audience of this book, and that is fine. However, my students are that audience, and I want to be authentic with them when I suggest a title, hence, my desire and willingness to read YA lit (OK, and I like a lot of it). This one, I will struggle with. I will have to talk to more of my students who have read this and see what they think. Their opinion is more valuable to their peers than mine, that is for sure.
OK, OK...thank you snow day, I finally finished this. Once I got into it, I was able to enjoy the story more, but honestly, I still did not love it. I did like a lot of the secondary characters, and I enjoyed how the characters of Claudia and T. Diddy were more complex, and richer than they originally appeared. But I liked it, and I would recommend it to students, if for nothing else, to get their opinions.
OK, OK...thank you snow day, I finally finished this. Once I got into it, I was able to enjoy the story more, but honestly, I still did not love it. I did like a lot of the secondary characters, and I enjoyed how the characters of Claudia and T. Diddy were more complex, and richer than they originally appeared. But I liked it, and I would recommend it to students, if for nothing else, to get their opinions.
December 17, 2013
A unique high school story, He Said She Said is a somewhat cliché teenage romance that tries to portray a deeper message with a comedic tone. A tale of witty satire and filled with the usual high school drama, this novel some what falls short on being a pleasuring book. Compared to other teen novels, this book falls short in terms of quality and creativity. The characters in the book start off showing a little bit of potential but fail to achieve any real connection with the reader. While the book does try convey a good message about social protest, the way it goes about just seems to diminish the actual topic conveyed.
He Said She Said is a novel based on the romance of two high school seniors who of course face a pivotal time in their lives. Omar Smalls is an All American high school quarterback who seems to have the world at his fingertips. With people basically kissing the ground he walks on, Omar seemingly lives life without a care in the world. Next comes Claudia Clarke, the good girl who’s bound to go to Harvard and change the world. Having been hurt before she guard’s her heart ferociously, not letting just anybody get close to her. Predictably these two don’t hit off at first but soon their romance blossoms into a classic teenage love story. To go along with the romance the novel also has a plot line about a social protest that tries to show the power of speech and teenagers in general. In my opinion this book has a couple problems that hinders it from being really good. The first problem I have is sadly the characters of the novel. To me the main characters seem forced and don’t really grow or show progress in their development.Claudia, one of the main characters, is the typical smart good girl who wants nothing to do with guys. On a whole there’s nothing wrong with her character, you just don’t get a sense of connection. At one point of the story you do feel some sympathy for her but in reality as a reader it was easy to see coming, Omar, the other main character, causes a vast amount of feelings, some good and some bad. At some points he is the most annoying person to ever live, while later on you see the potential he has to become a great character. Ultimately though he falls short in becoming a memorable main character in a novel in need of a standout character. The second problem that I have with this novel is the dialogue used by everyone in this book. As a teenager I know the language we as a younger generation use deals with a lot of slang, but in this novel I was somewhat amazed at how some of the teenagers were talking. At one point I honestly started laughing just from some of the language used. For some people this would be a major turn off in reading this book. Overall this book has a lot of potential, but the somewhat cheesy dialogue and characters ultimately take away from what could have been a meaningful book.
He Said She Said is a novel based on the romance of two high school seniors who of course face a pivotal time in their lives. Omar Smalls is an All American high school quarterback who seems to have the world at his fingertips. With people basically kissing the ground he walks on, Omar seemingly lives life without a care in the world. Next comes Claudia Clarke, the good girl who’s bound to go to Harvard and change the world. Having been hurt before she guard’s her heart ferociously, not letting just anybody get close to her. Predictably these two don’t hit off at first but soon their romance blossoms into a classic teenage love story. To go along with the romance the novel also has a plot line about a social protest that tries to show the power of speech and teenagers in general. In my opinion this book has a couple problems that hinders it from being really good. The first problem I have is sadly the characters of the novel. To me the main characters seem forced and don’t really grow or show progress in their development.Claudia, one of the main characters, is the typical smart good girl who wants nothing to do with guys. On a whole there’s nothing wrong with her character, you just don’t get a sense of connection. At one point of the story you do feel some sympathy for her but in reality as a reader it was easy to see coming, Omar, the other main character, causes a vast amount of feelings, some good and some bad. At some points he is the most annoying person to ever live, while later on you see the potential he has to become a great character. Ultimately though he falls short in becoming a memorable main character in a novel in need of a standout character. The second problem that I have with this novel is the dialogue used by everyone in this book. As a teenager I know the language we as a younger generation use deals with a lot of slang, but in this novel I was somewhat amazed at how some of the teenagers were talking. At one point I honestly started laughing just from some of the language used. For some people this would be a major turn off in reading this book. Overall this book has a lot of potential, but the somewhat cheesy dialogue and characters ultimately take away from what could have been a meaningful book.
March 13, 2017
Kwame is an excellent writer brings his own flair for storytelling that students can't help but appreciate.
December 23, 2014
3.5 stars-3.8?
I really really liked this one. Super entertaining, loved the voices, and students fighting for the arts in their school? Why don't we see this more?
Full review from @ Rather Be Reading Blog
I had no idea what to expect from this book especially with a character named T-Diddy who thinks Claudia has “a butt for days.” But you know what? I laughed, I smiled, and I totally enjoyed reading He Said, She Said.
They say opposite attract but Claudia is not having any of T-Diddy’s advances and he is sure she won’t be able to resist him. Told in alternating chapters from each of their POVs, the reader is in on the innermost thoughts of Claudia and Omar (she refuses to call him T-Diddy because it’s silly). You see, Claudia is Harvard bound and doesn’t have the patience for high school boys, but when the school board cuts arts at their school and all the students respond so well to Omar’s help with the cause, she has no choice but to work with him and evoke some change. Suddenly, Omar is like… uh oh, is Claudia more than someone I want to just spend one night with?
THINGS ARE CHANGING.
He Said, She Said is definitely one of those books that shows us we shouldn’t be quick to judge people. (Even though we are all so guilty of this.) Both Omar and Claudia are surprised about what they find out about each other as they spend more time together. But nothing’s easy. Not getting closer, not bringing marching band and art back to school, and certainly not their pasts. The author integrates social media updates via Facebook and Twitter, tracking the “silent classroom” movement Omar and Claudia organize to get the school board’s attention, flirtation (a.k.a bickering) between Omar and Claudia, and a typical pinch of high school drama. This addition really speeds up the pace of the book and was a fun way to get to know these students.
Honestly, I could barely put this down without picking it back up almost immediately.
Vibrant dialogue, clever use of social media, a unique romance (that doesn’t discount individuality), and, most importantly, issues that plague our schools all the time (but I barely find in my books) were so well advocated for in He Said, She Said. I love being surprised by a book and, best of all, discovering a new writer.
I will be sure to have my eye out for Alexander’s next book.
I really really liked this one. Super entertaining, loved the voices, and students fighting for the arts in their school? Why don't we see this more?
Full review from @ Rather Be Reading Blog
I had no idea what to expect from this book especially with a character named T-Diddy who thinks Claudia has “a butt for days.” But you know what? I laughed, I smiled, and I totally enjoyed reading He Said, She Said.
They say opposite attract but Claudia is not having any of T-Diddy’s advances and he is sure she won’t be able to resist him. Told in alternating chapters from each of their POVs, the reader is in on the innermost thoughts of Claudia and Omar (she refuses to call him T-Diddy because it’s silly). You see, Claudia is Harvard bound and doesn’t have the patience for high school boys, but when the school board cuts arts at their school and all the students respond so well to Omar’s help with the cause, she has no choice but to work with him and evoke some change. Suddenly, Omar is like… uh oh, is Claudia more than someone I want to just spend one night with?
THINGS ARE CHANGING.
He Said, She Said is definitely one of those books that shows us we shouldn’t be quick to judge people. (Even though we are all so guilty of this.) Both Omar and Claudia are surprised about what they find out about each other as they spend more time together. But nothing’s easy. Not getting closer, not bringing marching band and art back to school, and certainly not their pasts. The author integrates social media updates via Facebook and Twitter, tracking the “silent classroom” movement Omar and Claudia organize to get the school board’s attention, flirtation (a.k.a bickering) between Omar and Claudia, and a typical pinch of high school drama. This addition really speeds up the pace of the book and was a fun way to get to know these students.
Honestly, I could barely put this down without picking it back up almost immediately.
Vibrant dialogue, clever use of social media, a unique romance (that doesn’t discount individuality), and, most importantly, issues that plague our schools all the time (but I barely find in my books) were so well advocated for in He Said, She Said. I love being surprised by a book and, best of all, discovering a new writer.
I will be sure to have my eye out for Alexander’s next book.
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