The Crossover by Kwame Alexander is a great story about strength, dedication, love, jealousy, drama, and loss. It is a book that contains so many themes, emotions, and feelings that I loved reading. What hooked me as a reader to this book was the drama and jealousy between the characters, which made it hard to stop at any chapter when all of the characters are having these feelings. This fictional and coming-of-age story resembled the true meaning of integrity and teamwork, and that’s what made this story one of a kind. 

Summary:

The Crossover is about two twin boys, Josh (Filthy) and Jordan Bell, exceptional teenage basketball players who explore their lives on a basketball court, focusing on their relationships as siblings, going through the ups and downs of life, and obstacles and challenges that they have to face as they mature.

Review:

Alexander used verse as the writing style and executed the story beautifully. Verse is amazing when written with emotion and beauty through words, and that is what he gave us. Verse is a personal favorite of mine because it is easier to catch onto and it is fast-paced, but easy to understand. Alexander kept the poems and chapters descriptive yet minimal, which made the book feel more real. When I finished the book, I could not imagine reading The Crossover any other way than in verse because it was almost like the story was destined to be written that way. He made every moment an important event. Every poem and every chapter had an important part in the story, and without even just one poem, the story would feel incomplete. 

Every character was written adequately. With their stories, appearance, attitude, and nature, they had so much more to them than just being characters in a book. They were people with emotions, feelings, and a heart. Alexander was able to bring these characters to life. All the characters were well-developed, and what they experienced every day was relatable to teenagers today. They were all very dynamic, and they grew with every chapter and poem. There was exceedingly noticeable growth from the first to the last page in the characters, which made it a lot more realistic and emotional. The characters in The Crossover were so expressive and full of emotion.

The themes that were included in the story were family, loss, integrity, and jealousy. Family was a main theme in The Crossover. Family is a main theme because of the bond between the brothers and their father over basketball, and how the parents influence them to do their best and encourage them to try new things, but also to honor their past. Family is also a support system. They were always there for one another, no matter what the situation was; they were still family at the end of the day. Loss was another theme that was brought up a lot in the story that I noticed. Being someone who is familiar with sports, loss is a big part of athletics. It could be losing a team member, losing a point, or losing a game. The book revolves around loss for all different reasons, including people, and that is why loss is so important in this story. Integrity is the main theme of the whole book from cover to cover. As a former basketball player, integrity is the primary goal in all sports. Always telling the truth, keeping promises, and acting fairly. That was expected from Josh and Jordan, but they didn’t always do what they were expected of, but that was a part of their process of maturing. The last theme is jealousy, the act of feeling envy or resentment towards someone. Josh experienced that quite a bit in the story, but this is something that every person goes through. They always have consequences, especially for athletes, but they have to learn from them to really get over jealousy. All of these themes together created an emotional, personal, and vulnerable story, which I loved.

While on the court, Josh and Jordan talk about their plays, games, and experiences. However, off the court, they talk about family struggles, identity, love, loss, and coming of age, all piecing Josh’s and Jordan’s lives together. The story was original, relatable, and engaging, but sometimes events could become predictable in advance. 

What I like about The Crossover by Kwame Alexander is his emotionally rich story despite being a fictional book. It was fast, intense, and funny. Alexander also made the relationship and bond between the brothers so real with all of the love, arguments, and conflicts. It’s nice to see a book showing both sides of a sibling relationship, rather than just one side. 

What I didn’t like about The Crossover by Kwame Alexander was how the majority of the time it was just Josh and Jordan’s perspective. The mom and dad of the two twin boys had so much of a story and past too, but I didn’t get to see that as much as I wish I did. The parents are extremely important in the story, but Alexander didn’t seem to write their story entirely. 

My overall impression of the book was that it is a great read. It was entertaining, yet serious. There was also a sense of humor in some chapters of the story, which made the book extra enjoyable. For people who love sports, have siblings, are poetry fans, and love a little drama with a twist, this book is for you. 

I would give this book: 📚📚📚📚 – an entertaining, yet meaningful read! (4/5)

Happy Reading!

Love, Smaya

GFB Ambassador