Kwame, Alexander. (2014). The Crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Format: Poetry
Awards: Newberry Medal and Coretta Scott Award
Lexile Measure: 750L
DRA: M/A
AR: 5.0
Summary: Josh and JB are 13 year old twins, that come from a professional and educated African American family. Josh admires his father and wishes to grow up like him, a respected and admire professional basketball player. JB gets a new girlfriend and spends less time with Josh, making Josh feel jealous of his brother. The father has poor eating habits leading him to have a heart attacks. Josh has trouble coping with his father's sickness and takes his anger out on his JB, making them fight and distance away from each other. When the boys loose their father they realize they need each other.
Reader Response: I enjoy how the novel is written in poetry format. The author uses free verse to convey the characters thoughts and feelings, some haiku poetry from the boys' mother, and rap and hip-hop to convey the energy of a basketball game. The 10 rules of basketball are also expressed in verse. This book will get all of the basketball fans reading and pondering about the author's life message in the story. Teachers can use The Crossover to teach cross curriculum activities like fiction reading skills and poetry.
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