The Crossover

Link to Amazon

This novel tells the story of a young man and his brother, through elegantly written poems. While reading, this gave me a sense of hearing someone rapping the verses in my head. This was both a good and bad thing at the same time. While entertaining and interesting, for someone who does not follow this style of music, they may have trouble following this story line. The reader follows teenage twins Josh and Jordan as they learn about growing up when they are not playing basketball. At times the story follows the brothers as they make difficult decisions as well as near the end when they have to come to terms with a difficult loss.

This story is a contemporary realistic fiction with main characters who show the importance of family in this culture through poetry. By using poetry this novel shows the cultural marker that people see in Hip Hop, as mentioned in MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE AND RESPONSE, (p. 105)

Another novel that is similar to this one is BOOKED which is by the same author and is told in the same style. This novel centers on a main character, Nick, and deals with many issues that teenagers deal with today, along with many of the same cultural markers as in CROSSOVER. After reading these novels students can practice writing their own stories in the style of this talented author.

This novel was reviewed in School Library Journal, an excerpt of the review follows:

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.

Citation: 

Alexander, K. (2014). THE CROSSOVER. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Smolen, L. A., & Oswald, R. A. (Eds.). (2011). Multicultural literature and response. Santa Barbra, CA: Libraries Unlimited.