The Crossover
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Kwame. 2014. The crossover. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780544935204
2. PLOT SUMMARY
A verse novel about two brothers who love playing basketball just as much as their dad did.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This verse novel is an emotional story of two twin teenagers, their love for the game
of basketball, and their relationship with their dad, an ex all-star basketball player. It
is divided into 6 sections. They all pertain to different times during a basketball
game: warm-up, first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter, and overtime.
The last part of the game is played in the fourth quarter which is symbolic of the dad’s
ending. The ending words of this section are “game over.” It was not only the end of the
game, but the end of their father’s life.
The author magically incorporates rhyme in order to create a rhythm in some of the poems.
He uses it to show the skill of basketball which has a lot of rhythm itself to it. The game
is an experience. “Criss crossing, flossing, flipping…” show Josh Bell’s (aka Filthy McNasty)
skill on the court. Other parts are written in free verse to tell the heart of the story of the twin’s
lives on and off the court. In the final game, Filthy’s story reverts back to rhyme. Excitement is
shown with rhyming words such as “sizzling, drizzling, quivering, cuz tonight I’m delivering.”
With the boy’s father in the hospital, the reader joins in the action and roots for a win in honor
of their father.
The characters and their conflicts in this story are relatable. One twin, Jordan, meets a girl who
becomes his girlfriend. While he cares for his brother and wants the best for him, Filthy’s
jealousy and feelings of abandonment start gnawing at him. Though the ending is emotional
and hard, the brother’s grief reunites them.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
2015 John Newberry Medal
2015 Coretta Scott King Award
Booklist, starred review: "An accomplished author and poet, Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip-hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond. The effect is poetry in motion."
The Horn Book: "Since poet Alexander has the swagger and cool confidence of a star player and the finesse of a perfectly in-control ball-handler, wordplay and alliteration roll out like hip-hop lyrics, and the use of the concrete forms and playful font changes keep things dynamic."
Kirkus Reviews,starred review: “ "This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. . . . Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch."
Publisher’s Weekly starred review: "The poems dodge and weave with the speed of a point guard driving for the basket, mixing basketball action with vocabulary-themed poems, newspaper clippings, and Josh's sincere first-person accounts that swing from moments of swagger-worth triumph to profound pain."
School Library Journal, starred review: "Alexander has crafted a story that vibrates with energy and heat and begs to be read aloud. A slam dunk."
5. CONNECTIONS
Graphic novel version The Crossover ISBN 9781328575494
Read another verse novel by Kwame Alexander:
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