The Crossover Review
By Kelly Hartman
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2003 ISBN 9780060092795
PLOT SUMMARY
Josh Bell, and his twin brother Jordan, are ballers, thanks to their once-upon-a-time basketball star dad. The family is close and supportive, but mom, a school principal, is no nonsense when it comes to her expectations of her boys. When Jordan begins to date a new girl, Josh is overcome with feelings of abandonment. Ultimately, those feelings cause a rift on and off of the court. In the midst of all of this change, their dad is neglecting some health issues. In the end, Josh and Jordan have to pull together to face the greatest challenge of their lives.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
From the first, "MOVING & GROOVING", "POPping and ROCKING", readers will feel Josh Bell's beat in their hearts and won't stop until they've followed him down the court and to the net. Alexander's verse novel, The Crossover "swoops" in and engages the middle school reader, sports fanatic or not.
Told in first person, Josh Bell, also known as Filthy McNasty, has a poetic, yet youthful, way with words. Kwame Alexander allows the reader to hear Josh's voice loud and clear within each line. Josh isn't just a great basketball player; metaphorically, he says, "I'm on fire. When I shoot, I inspire. The hoop's for sale, and I'm the buyer." With those rhymes, the reader is "all in" to buy what Kwame is selling; a riveting story about a boy coming to terms with growing up.
The reader will be thrilled with Alexander's thoughtful organization and design of each section of his novel. Just like a basketball game, the introduction is titled Warm-Up, and continues on to a First Quarter, Second Quarter, and so on until the ending of an Overtime.
When on the court, Alexander speeds up McNasty's voice with "SHAKING AND BAKING" and "SMOOOOOOOOTH" moves. But off of the court, Alexander is intentional in showing a softer side of Josh, like in Ode to My Hair. The language slows down and Alexander successfully captures Josh's love for his dreadlocks: "If my hair were a tree, I'd climb it. I'd kneel down beneath and enshrine it. I'd treat it like gold and then mine it." With each couplet, Alexander creates a vivid mental picture in the reader's mind.
Like a basketball moving up and down the court, Kwame Alexander's The Crossover dribbles into the hearts of his readers.
AWARD AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
Newbery Medal Winner
Coretta Scott King Honor Award 2015
"The Crossover crosses over as a gift to all ages." -Ashley Bryan, Two Time Coretta Scott King Award Winner.
"You don't have to be a basketball fan to feel the exhilaration of a game well played in Kwame Alexander's novel. You don't have to be a poetry fan either to appreciate the verve and variety of verse, but chances are, after reading this book, you'll become one." -Marilyn Singer, author of MIRROR MIRROR and FOLLOW FOLLOW
CONNECTIONS
Becoming Muhammed Ali 0316498165
Gather More Verse Novels
Booked 1328596303
Rebound 0544868137
Inside Out and Back Again
Out of the Dust
May B
Brown Girl Dreaming
Writing Connection
Students choose a topic that interests them. Discuss the onomatopoeia and action verbs that Alexander uses to describe and to evoke emotion and the feel for playing basketball. Students will brainstorm verbs and sounds associated with their topic of interest. Students will write a poem incorporating those verbs and sounds.
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