Module 9: The Crossover

Summary: Josh and Jordan play basketball and love it almost as much as they love their family.  Josh and Jordan are the amazing twin sons of a once professional basketball player and are in the seventh grade.  They are also helping to lead their middle school team to the playoffs.  The only thing interfering with making it to the playoffs is life.  Love and death make an appearance and the twins are not sure that they will make it to the final game.

APA Reference: Alexander, K. (2014). The Crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Impressions: Verse novel...  Honestly this was not something that I had ever heard of before we started discussions.  I had already pulled several poetry books and was well prepared to use them for my blog that was until someone mentioned this book.  I immediately switched tabs and reserved this book from my local library.  Later that afternoon I picked it up and after that point it did not leave my side until I had finished it.  I even stayed up late one night because I just could not put it down.  The very first verse took me some time to read.  I really had to figure it out but then Filthy McNasty drew me in.  The flow of the words on the page was like music but more than that I could see the brothers.  I could feel the ball being dribbled down the court, the crossover, the pass, the shot and the ball swooshing through the net. This book was just awesome.  By the end the boys struggles was the readers struggles and the boys loss also belonged to the reader.  My heart ached for the boys and burst with joy for them as they carved out their path in life.

Professional Review:

NEWBERY MEDAL

THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander (HMH)
 SLJ Best Book, star

Gr 6–10—Twins Josh and Jordan are junior high basketball stars, thanks in large part to the coaching of their dad, a former professional baller who was forced to quit playing for health reasons, and the firm, but loving support of their assistant-principal mom. Josh, better known as Filthy McNasty, earned his nickname for his enviable skills on the court: “…when Filthy gets hot/He has a SLAMMERIFIC SHOT.” In this novel in verse, the brothers begin moving apart from each other for the first time. Jordan starts dating the “pulchritudinous” Miss Sweet Tea, and Josh has a tough time keeping his jealousy and feelings of abandonment in control. Alexander’s poems vary from the pulsing, aggressive beats of a basketball game (“My shot is F L O W I N G, Flying, fluttering…. ringaling and SWINGALING/Swish. Game/over”) to the more introspective musings of a child struggling into adolescence (“Sit beside JB at dinner. He moves./Tell him a joke. He doesn’t even smile….Say I’m sorry/but he won’t listen”). Despite his immaturity, Josh is a likable, funny, and authentic character. Underscoring the sports and the fraternal tension is a portrait of a family that truly loves and supports one another. Alexander has crafted a story that vibrates with energy and heart and begs to be read aloud. A slam dunk.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Parrott, K. (2015, February 2). SLJ Reviews of 2015 Youth Media Award–Winning and Honor Books. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2015/02/industry-news/slj-reviews-of-2015-youth-media-award-winning-and-honor-books/

Library Use: Since this is a verse novel it could be used to help reach a reluctant reader.  This book could almost be combined with music or even most defiantly be used as part of a book talk.