Wednesday, July 12, 2017

LSSL 5385 Book Blog- THE CROSSOVER

Alexander, K. (2014). The Crossover (The Crossover #1). Houghton Miffin.


This book of poetry really surprised me. I didn’t expect to be so intrigued by it, and when I opened the book to read it, I didn’t put it down until I was done. I really enjoyed Alexander’s ability to put such vivid words on a page and express the character’s feelings through free verse poetry, and even changes in font and format. 

These two twin brothers, Josh and Jordan, love the game of basketball like it’s a way of life. For them, it is. Their dad was a professional basketball star, who won championships playing for the Italian team, and whose dreams were ended by an injury. Now, he lives for his boys to play the game he loves so much, but he always misses the “swish.” Together, and apart, the brothers experience glory, triumph, division, love, loss, and loneliness… but the game of basketball inevitably keeps them all together. It’s hard for me to go into too much of a summary without spoiling the progression of the story, so do yourself a favor and go read this one. It’s a quick read, but it’s heartwarming, heartbreaking, and downright emotional in every way. Kwame Alexander is extremely talented. I am always completely blown away by writers who can move me with dynamic poetry.  He is a master of setting a tone that moves and flows from one page to the next with seamless transitions. One minute, I was laughing, and in the next, without even noticing it, I was grabbing the tissues: that was the strength of this book.


If you enjoyed this book, check out some more books by Kwame Alexander. The second book in the Crossover series is called Booked. I really want to read that one as well. I think this is the perfect book to entice high school kids into a poetry unit!

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