The Crossover

The Crossover
Author Kwame Alexander
Country United States
Language English
Published 2014
Publisher HMH Books for Young Readers
Media type Print, e-book, audiobook
Pages 240 pages
Awards Newbery Medal[1]
Coretta Scott King Award Honor
ISBN 0544107713
OCLC 842316307
LC Class PZ7.5.A44 Cr 201

The Crossover is a 2014 children's book by American author Kwame Alexander and the winner of the 2015 Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award Honor.[2] The book, which is told entirely through verse, was first published in the United States in hardback on March 18, 2014 through HMH Books for Young Readers. The story follows two African-American twin brothers that share a love for basketball but find themselves drifting apart as they head into their junior high school years.

Synopsis

Middle school students Josh Bell has been playing basketball with his twin brother Jordan for years and they're both fairly good. Josh idolizes his father, especially since he was a professional basketball player. However his father is also surprisingly quiet on his reasons for leaving the sport, which frustrates Josh. The twins' relationship grows tense after Josh loses a bet relating to one of their basketball games, which results in Josh losing his beloved dreadlocks. This rift grows after Jordan begins dating a girl Josh refers to only as "Miss Sweet Tea", as Josh feels increasingly left out.

During all of this Josh begins to research his father's early retirement from basketball and finds that he left because he had patellar tendonitis, something that could have been corrected via surgery that his father refused. This puzzles Josh and becomes something that torments him, adding on to the stress with his brother. Josh and Jordan's relationship deteriorates further after Josh performs a move that gets him suspended from the team and Jordan refuses to accept his brother's apologies. Josh begins to grow increasingly more morose as he and his brother still haven't fully made up. To make matters worse, their father has shown signs of serious health issues, something that concerns his wife since his father died from hypertension.

As time passes the ice between the two brothers begins to melt and Jordan invites "Miss Sweet Tea" to come to dinner, during which time Josh learns that they actually have a lot in common. Things seem to be improving until their father falls into a coma due to a myocardial infarction while playing basketball with his sons and ends up in the hospital, where he remains until he wakes up on Christmas Eve. Josh bonds with his father, who insists that he play in the upcoming finals despite him not being able to attend due to his health. He does as he's asked, but discovers mid-game that his father died due to a heart attack. The death sends the family reeling but helps him grow closer to "Miss Sweet Tea" and he finally accepts her as his brother's girlfriend. The book ends with the two brothers finally reconciling with one another in their driveway.

Characters

Reception

Critical reception for The Crossover has been positive and the book has received praise from the Washington Post and New York Times.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Flood, Allison. "Kwame Alexander slam dunks Newbery medal with basketball tale The Crossover". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Barron, Christina. "Kwame Alexander wins NewberyMedal". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Quattlebaum, Mary. "‘The Crossover,’ by Kwame Alexander". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Eady, Cornelius. "Heart of a Champion". New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Flora & Ulysses		 Newbery Medal recipient
2015 		Succeeded by
Last Stop on Market Street
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.