The Crossover - Book Review

Alexander, K. (2014). The crossover. NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Josh Bell is a junior high basketball star.  Josh lives and breathes basketball and as the best player, he is ready to lead his team to the championship this year.  Josh has a twin brother, JB, who is the second best player on the team and not as tall as Josh but has a sweet shot.  Their father is a former basketball legend and their mother is the principal of their school, and are both very supportive.  Told from Josh’s perspective in verse, Josh tells his story of his passion for basketball.  Josh also discovers his father is hiding in a mess of genetic health problems and will not go to the doctor, which puts a strain on some of the relationships in the house with this tight knit family.  Josh and his twin brother JB do everything together, until one day a new girl shows up to school and takes JB’s attention away from Josh.  Josh has a difficult time dealing with feeling lonely and frustrated.  He makes a terrible decision and loses his temper on his brother during a game and almost breaks his nose on the court with the basketball.  Josh is suspended from the team and must watch his teammate’s work their way to the championship game with his twin brother leading the way, who is not speaking to him anymore.  Just as the family starts to appear to be coming back together and Josh is working his way to being able to join his team for the championship game, Josh’s father is admitted to the hospital after trying to dunk on Josh at the rec center.  Josh had to perform CPR on his father.  Emotions are high in the hospital as Josh’s father awakes from a coma.  The family must spend Christmas in the hospital with Dad and await their championship game after the holidays.  On the big day, Josh’s mom gets a call that their father has suffered another heart attack.  She will go to the hospital but the boys should go on to the game.  The brothers handle this news differently as Josh still finds a way to the game, while JB misses it to rush to the hospital.  Josh wins the championship for his team, but is devastated to hear his father did not make it and has passed away at age 39.

Josh Bell is a very likable character with a deep love for basketball and his family.  His jealousy for his twin brother’s attention is endearing to readers even though he makes a bad choice with his frustrations and anger.  The remorse Josh experiences leaves readers rooting for a second chance.  Josh also experiences frustrations with his father not getting the medical help he needed and not taking care of his body.  I appreciated the honesty in the writing and plot and how it took JB a while to forgive and get over what Josh did.  Readers will learn in the end that the brothers still have a special bond and will continue to mend their relationship. 

I was impressed with the author’s blend of sports and poetry, combining what some people might think are two worlds that should not collide.  Alexander does it flawlessly.  I can see how a reluctant reader would be drawn to this story line and even to this format of novel in verse.  A recommendation to a reader who enjoyed this novel would be Booked by Kwame Alexander which is another novel in verse about a boy who is plays soccer and is sidelined due to an injury.