The crossover, by Kwame Alexander

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.