Kobe Bryant New Novel: Vanessa Shares First Look At 'Geese Are Never Swans'

Vanessa Bryant has revealed a sneak peek of the last novel written by her late husband and NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

“Geese Are Never Swans” was written by Kobe in collaboration with psychologist Eva Clark. The book is a young adult novel that revolves around the life of Gus Bennett, an aspiring young swimmer with dreams of competing in the Olympics one day, all while battling difficulties with his mental health.

On Thursday (May 21), Vanessa took to Instagram to dish on the first few details of her late husband’s upcoming novel. “Whether goose or swan, I have wings and I’ll fly,” she quoted on her post, along with a picture of the book’s cover. “This story perfectly highlights the healing nature that lies within sports.”

Spanning 288 pages of a poignantly encouraging storyline, “Geese Are Never Swans” is Kobe’s fifth book following his previous collaboration with writers like Wesley King for his popular “The Wizenard Series.” Its first season entry immediately garnered good reviews and even became a New York Times bestseller in April.

Meanwhile, during an appearance on PEOPLE Now in April, King shared how he and Kobe had worked tirelessly on the first installment of their “Wizenard” book series, People reported. The award-winning author said that they wrote at least six or seven drafts before finally perfecting the story.

“This is an underdog story. This is a story about a kid who’s defined himself as being as the bottom of the bottom," King said. "He’s so used to losing so he believes he can only lose. So, this entire story is about redefining who we are and working towards our dreams."

King, a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, also added that their book series embodies the very essence of the late NBA legend’s character, saying that it’s a very “Kobe-esque” type of novel.

Kobe has also been known for producing mediums that have mainly targeted the youth. Before his untimely death in January during a helicopter crash —that claimed the lives of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers — Kobe had already launched content such as a podcast series titled “The Punies.”

The late basketball player’s audio series, which debuted in 2018, was meant to teach life lessons to children. According to Kobe, he wanted to “give parents something they can listen to” as he believes that people “certainly needed something to listen to.”

“We need something that’s fun, something that gets the kids ready to play, but also keeps things light and fun, and has a message for them before they engage in competition,” the NBA legend told People at the time.

As for Kobe and Clark’s upcoming YA novel, “Geese Are Never Swans” is slated to debut on July 21 and will be released by the late basketball player’s multi-media original content company, Granity Studios. People can also pre-order via the novel's website, as per Vanessa's Instagram post.