Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty-five books, including Rebound, the follow-up to his Newbery medal0winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. Some of his other books include Booked, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, The Playbook: 52 Rules to Help You Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game of Life, Swing, and the picture books Out of Wonder and The Undefeated, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. A regular contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, The NCTE/Charlotte Huck Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. He believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people around the world through The Write Thing, his K-12 Writing Workshop. Kwame is the founder of Versify. You can find him online at www.kwamealexander.com. Find more of my reviews of books on TIME's Top 100 YA Books of All Time list here.
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . . The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. 'Cuz tonight I'm delivering," raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood—he's got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it's all on the line. In this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander, Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
There's so much to love about The Crossover. My favorite is the way it examines family. Josh and Jordan, twin brothers in middle school, have always been close. Now, as they face the inevitabilities of middle school—more homework, the pressure of basketball championships, girls—their relationship starts to fray. So does, it seems, the relationship between their parents, regarding their father's indecisiveness about going to the doctor for his health problems. Yet, through it all, they know that they have to stick together. This is a story about family, and a testament to the importance of sticking with the people who are sticking with you. It's beautiful and heartbreaking.
Alexander's poetic ability is not to be disputed. The novel reads fast—all novels in verse do, to me—but this one was sharp and captured so much emotion in its brevity. I felt like I was in Josh's head, experiencing his emotions with him, and truly seeing the world through his eyes. In the basketball scenes I felt like I was with Josh as he played ball; in the text chapters, I felt like I was reading texts from my own mom. Alexander distills the essence of life in these poems, without compromising on emotion, or wit. Being able to do that in less words than a novel is incredible, and must be incredibly difficult, but Alexander does it seemingly with such ease.
This was a fantastic read, and makes me that much more excited to tackle the last half of the list. Find more of my reviews of books on TIME's Top 100 YA Books of All Time list here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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