I happened to catch part of an interesting interview with
the author on NPR not long ago, then read a wonderful essay by him in a recent New York Times Book Review, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/books/review/kwame-alexander-on-childrens-books-and-the-color-of-characters.html. I decided to read a recent title by him. The
crossover, a Newbury winner, is a basketball novel aimed primarily at
middle school students, but it is a terrific read for older kids and adults as
well. Narrated in short verse chapters,
which occasionally shade into hip-hop, it is told from the viewpoint of one of
two twin boys in seventh grade. Josh,
known as Filthy McNasty, and his brother Jordan, aka JB, are stars on the
basketball team—no surprise as their father is Charlie (Chuck) Bell, or Da Man
as he was called during his successful career on a European team. Their mother is assistant principal at the
school they attend. Chuck Bell has
coached his sons since toddlerhood and they are rising stars. He is not employed, having earned a lot of
money during his career, but the boys are both puzzled as to why he no gave up
playing professionally and why their mother is so concerned about his health. When JB falls for a new girl at school, the
brothers, for the first time, grow apart.
Josh tries to navigate these troubled waters, but ends up acting out and
being suspended from the unbeaten team shortly before the playoffs. Although the boys come from an intact
privileged family, I think this book would speak to kids from all
socio-economic and emotional backgrounds. 237 pp.
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