Contents

1. Praise for Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess’s
2. Other Novels by Kwame Alexander
4. Prologue
5. Part 1: Cheesecake
   1. Tryouts
   2. I’ve Liked Baseball
   3. Cut
   4. Primer One
   5. I Don’t Understand Jazz
   6. Swing
   7. Discharged
   8. Truth
   9. My Secret
   10. The Dare
   11. Next Week
   12. While I’m Waiting
   13. Surprise
   14. My Funny Valentine
   15. Unforgettable
   16. Insults
   17. We Sit
   18. Stars and Stripes
   19. Batter Up
   20. A Lonesome Ride
   21. Phenomenal
   22. Phone Conversation
   23. Spain
   24. La Quinta
   25. Tattoo
   26. Inked
   27. Dairy Queen
   28. Conversation
   29. This Is What I Know About Sam
   30. This Is What Floyd Knows About Sam
   31. The Secret Formula
   32. Unlock Your heart
   33. Guru Confusion
   34. A Sign
   35. The Meaning
   36. Family Meeting
   37. Sit Down, Noah
   38. The Walk of Death
   39. Twins
   40. Two-of-a-Kind
   41. The Jalopy
   42. Three-Way Conversation
   43. First Attempt
   44. Woohoo Woman Podcast #1: Who’s at the Controls?
   45. For Your Safety—Please Read All Warning and Operating Signs Before Batting
   46. Conversation on the Way to the Mall
   47. The mall
   48. Cruel Comparison
   49. Cruz
   50. Out With the Old
   51. Conversation
   52. Gift Giving 101
   53. The Keepall
   54. The Loan
   55. I Walk Outside
   56. After Dessert
   57. Conversation With Walt
   58. Share
   59. First Draft
   60. Woohoo Woman Podcast #3: Training Wheels
   61. What Matters
   62. Inspection
   63. Lucky Day?
   64. Text to Walt
   65. Tonight, After Reading the Love Letters
   66. Bon Voyage
   67. Text From Walt
   68. Star Spangled
   69. He Reads
6. Part 2: I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
   1. Too Good to Be True
   2. What Are You Doing Here?
   3. The Master and the Pupil
   4. We Kick Off
   5. Ebony and Ivory
   6. Texts With Granny
   7. Inspiration
   8. Friday Morning
   9. Practicing
   10. A Clue?
   11. Patriot
   12. The Line
   13. Primer Two
   14. Park of Love
   15. Wrong!
   16. After the Lecture on Jazz
   17. A Big Hiccup
   18. Heart Attack
   19. Written
   20. Truth
   21. I Walk
   22. When Your Best Friend Is Trying to Ruin Your Life
   23. Shut the Freak Up
   24. Stuck
   25. My Heart
   26. Finally
   27. When Walt Strolls
   28. Apology
   29. Noise
   30. I Slam My Door
   31. The Price of Betrayal
   32. Starbucks
   33. On Tuesday
   34. Apology Accepted
   35. The Baddest Girl on Earth
   36. So, We Go Back
   37. Conversation
   38. Birth of the Cool
   39. An Hour Later
   40. The Only Thing That Can Shut Walt Up
   41. Out of His Mind
   42. When We Get Home
   43. You Hear Cool, Noah?
7. Part 3: Second Balcony Jump
   1. Guess Who?
   2. Conversation
   3. Close, but No Cigar
   4. Primer Three
   5. I Hear
   6. Starbucks Fix No. 1,299
   7. Never Mix the Wrong Drinks and the Wrong Company
   8. Awkward Conversation With Cruz
   9. Black Lives Matter!
   10. Squirrels and Lovers
   11. Disgusting
   12. Conversation With Walt
   13. Searching
   14. MIA
   15. Text to Sam
   16. Text From Sam
   17. What Happened Was
   18. I Throw My Clothes on
   19. Mayhem
   20. Chance Encounter
   21. Phantom
   22. Happiness
   23. Trap
   24. Love Is the Reader
   25. X-Man
   26. No Dice
   27. A Secret
   28. King of Heartbreaks
   29. Text to Swing
   30. Text From Swing
   31. Ceiling Lights
   32. The Metaphors
   33. Out of Two Hundred Balls
   34. Spur of the Moment
   35. Thrifting and Riffing
   36. When I Get Home
   37. What Else Did She Say?
   38. We Listen
   39. Primer Four
   40. Speechless
   41. All Night Long
   42. What Are You Doing Here?
   43. Art Is
   44. Speechless Again
   45. Primer Five
   46. Her Name Is Dream
   47. Sam at the Window
   48. Opportunity
   49. At Lunch
   50. Dear Love
   51. Dear Love
   52. All the Things I Want to Say
   53. All the Things I Text
   54. Texts With Sam
   55. The Party
   56. 10:15 PM
   57. 10:29 PM
   58. Love Is Love Is Love
   59. Blur
   60. 10:45 PM
   61. The Masquerade Is Off
   62. The Myth
   63. Nerves
   64. Verve
   65. Writing the Story
   66. Reckoning
   67. The Wave Is Coming
8. Part 4: Love for Sale
   1. Quiet
   2. Bewildered
   3. We Interrupt This Broadcast
   4. It’s a Bird,
   5. He Misses
   6. The Sirens
   7. Over
   8. Knock, Knock
   9. Nightmare
   10. Busted
   11. They Pick Cruz Up, Unlock His Cuffs, Shove Him Toward Us
   12. Men in Blue
   13. They Leave Us All With a Warning
   14. Tomorrow?
   15. I Want to Crawl Back
   16. Intruder
   17. Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2
   18. Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2: Scherzo
   19. Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2: Lullaby
   20. Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2: Serenade
   21. Text to Sam
   22. 1:31 AM
   23. The Right Time
   24. We Lie Across the Bed
   25. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars
   26. 2:06 AM
   27. Moon River
   28. Conversation
   29. On Monday
   30. When I Get to School
   31. I’ve Got You Under My Skin
   32. Prelude to a Kiss
   33. The Week With Sam
   34. Olive Garden
   35. Give-and-Take
   36. Are You Kidding Me?
   37. In Full Swing
   38. After I Congratulate Walt
   39. I Didn’t Get a Call
   40. Boundaries
   41. The Anatomy of a Kiss
   42. Caught in a Love Haze
   43. When I Get Home
   44. The Blues
   45. No Fries, Just More . . . Floyd
   46. Where Floyd Tells Walt What to Do and It Makes No Sense Whatsoever
   47. Special Something
   48. Phone Conversation
   49. The Big Game
   50. Realization
   51. Caught in the Truth
   52. The Last Inning
   53. Debut
   54. The Ride From Antarctica
   55. Forlorn
   56. Texts With Granny
   57. Woohoo Woman
   58. Text From Sam
   59. Dear Sam
   60. Text to Walt
   61. Text From Walt
   62. Something Is Coming
9. Part 5: Where Are You?
   1. Conversation With Walt
   2. Texts to Sam
   3. On the Drive
   4. When the Traffic Clears
   5. How Long Has This Been Going on?
   6. Escape
   7. Another Reckoning
   8. End
   9. Early
   10. Consequence
   11. Kind of Blue
10. Part 6: Three O‘clock in the Morning
    1. Text From Walt
    2. Two Strikes
    3. Walt at Bat
    4. Unfortunately
    5. Independence Day
    6. Texts With Walt
    7. Future Plans
    8. At the Stoplight
    9. Conversation With Sam
    10. It’s Definitely Over
    11. All the Things You Are, Divya: A Playlist by Swing
    12. Slowly Coming Alive
    13. What Being Alone Looks Like
    14. Best Thing I Never Had
    15. Why Is My Alarm
    16. Stranded
    17. I Leave
    18. Let’s Face the Music and Dance
    19. The Flag Bearer
    20. Mo!
    21. Haunting
    22. Out of Nowhere
    23. Boom!
    24. War Zone
    25. Witness
    26. Interrogation
    27. Says Me
    28. After
    29. Critical Care
    30. Autumn Leaves
    31. I, Too?
    32. Epilogue
    33. There’s This Dream
    34. Strings
    35. Chapel
    36. Texts From Chapel
    37. Leaving in Ten Minutes
    38. The Show
    39. The After-Party
    40. Hollywood Report
    41. Who Am I?
    42. Are You Sure They Aren’t Coming Home?
    43. Those Eyes Will Be the Death of Me
    44. Two Years Ago