Friday, July 1, 2016

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Alexander, K. (2014). The Crossover. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Crossover is a great book for the reluctant reader, advanced reader and/or sports fan or not.  This book written in free-verse that flows so easily and is fun to read that it hooks from the start.  You follow brothers as they muddle, struggle and persevere through relationships, championship games and even death of a loved one. 

Assignment #3-Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Style and gender and culture are the stand out evaluation criteria for The Crossover.   The book is in verse form. It’s divided into 6 sections, all which represent the game of basketball.  All different styles of poetry serve to pull the verse style of the book together to make an incredible, tear-inducing, heartwarming story.  Different font sizes and letter cases add to the style.  I think a third evaluation criteria also stands out in this book which is the theme of “The Crossover,” which has multiple meanings, in basketball and at the end of life.  It appears throughout the book.

Gender and culture is evident through the sports culture and hip-hop, urban culture.  Many of the poems are “rapped” and express the feelings you have on the court and in life. The boy meets girls gender challenge rears it’s ugly head when one brother gets a girlfriend and forgets his twin.  


The Author discusses Crossover

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