A really compelling verse novel. While there is basketball on the cover, it is the relationships which drive this story. The interplay of a family working out major changes is presented with heart, good humor, and love. ( )

57924

This book had great depth of feeling without sliding into melodrama. And it totally sold me on the novel in verse, a form I hadn't really grokked until now. Highly recommended for readers young and old, including those who don't generally like sports books.

And if you ever get a chance to see Kwame Alexander speak, do it! He has GREAT PERSONAL CHARISMA. ( )

Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Death of a father, death of a grandfather mentioned

8/10, looking back at it this book was one of the few that still holds up really well even to this day ever since I first read and enjoyed it and it would be highly likely that I would pick this up and enjoy this again for a second time; by the way this was the first poetry book that I've read and that made me read more of them. It begins with the two main characters Josh and Jordan Bell and all they do is play basketball which they are good at and everything looks amazing until they begin to grow apart. This comes from one character losing a bet and then he's forced to cut off his hair and another character grows more distant from his brother as he develops an attraction with his new partner. Josh and Jordan try to navigate their lives in middle school and they still play basketball as part of the school team and I liked the writing style since all the poems are so different yet still tell one cohesive story; it shows how poetry can do a lot with very little. Anyways Josh and Jordan's father gets sick from a condition which might have something to do with his diet and he doesn't want to go to the hospital after the death of his father who is also Josh and Jordan's grandfather in there. Eventually towards the end Josh and Jordan's father dies as well however after a while they move on wrapping the book up in a bittersweet manner. ( )

Representation: Black main character
Trigger warnings: N/A?
Score: Seven points out of ten.

I liked how the verse style of the novel combined with the art. ( )