The Crossover

I'd been meaning to read something from Kwame Alexander for what felt like forever, so I'm glad to finally have picked up some of his work. Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan of this one! I 100% appreciate the perspectives it offered and the story it told, but the writing lost me time and time again. I read a fair amount of middle grade and I love novels told through verse, so it wasn't either of those things messing with me — I just kept feeling like The Crossover tries a little too hard to be something it's not.

It isn't a funny or “cool” story, yet the writing seems to constantly remind us that it wants to be. It's a pretty tragic tale and most of it is heavy, whether it's about fearing for your loved one's health or dealing with anger issues and loneliness, or just fighting with your family. While the heaviest and worst times in Josh's life are occurring, he's cracking jokes and obsessing over basketball instead of facing them head-on, and I don't think that's a great example to show, honestly. 2.5 stars rounded up for this one.