Alexander, K. (2014). The Crossover. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The Crossover is the story of Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan, who live and breath basketball. This love of the game comes from their father Chuck Bell, a former professional basketball player who is now retired. Chuck is a stay at home dad now and is a constant mentor to his sons in basketball and life. The boys struggle to keep up with all the expectations of their team, school and parents. Josh is the team's all star player and is an exceptional student as well, but he begins to act out when his brother Jordan gets a girlfriend and they drift apart. As health concerns begin to escalate in their father, it seems like everything around Josh is crumbling. Josh needs to channel his inner strength and remember the wisdom of his father to overcome his impending obstacles.
The Crossover was the winner of the 2015 Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award Honor and quite deservingly so. I found this book to be very engrossing and unique. One of the unique aspects of this book is that it's told entirely through verse. It is rhythmic and almost musical in nature. The author didn't dumb down this story for his middle school audience and used unique vocabulary which added depth to the book. The tight family structure and strongly parental figures are central to this book. I also feel this book beautifully demonstrated the struggle of that awkward transition during middle school from childhood to adolescents. There are many different themes and lessons to be cultivated in this book and anyone reading it will definitely take something away from it.
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