The Crossover

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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.

One Crazy Summer

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Like, SIT-IN: HOW FOUR FRIENDS STOOD UP BY SITTING DOWN, ONE CRAZY SUMMER is a story that represents an important aspect of African American cultural history. This novel is told in the perspective of a young girl named Delphine who is eleven years old. The novel starts out with Delphine watching her two younger siblings as they take a plane ride to see their biological mother in California. When the girls were very young their mother left and they to be raised by their paternal grandmother and their father. Instead of the exciting reunion that the girls thought that they were going to have with their mother, the girls are pretty much abandoned, and then they are sent to Black Panther meetings. Later in the story the girls see their mother, along with some Black Panthers, arrested. In the end they learn exactly what their mom is doing, what she is fighting for, and they gain a new respect for her.

This story illustrates an important time in African American history, and the historical perspective is very accurate. Even though the story is told through the eyes of an eleven year old girl, the reader can see the important cultural markers, including how families functioned within this culture, some language that is used by the African American culture, as well as how this young lady is perceived by others outside their culture. 

A book that is related to this one is BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson. This story follows Jacqueline Woodson as she is growing up in different parts of the country, and through this story she learns the difference between growing up in the northern states and growing up in the southern states. She records her experiences of seeing marches and what she sees happen afterwards. This would be a great novel to illustrate these times in African American history through poetry.

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

Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

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Citations: 

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). ONE CRAZY SUMMER. New York, NY: Amistad.

Woodson, J. (2014). BROWN GIRL DREAMING. New York: Penguin.