vblankenship's review against another edition
5.0
I was lucky to receive an advance readers copy. This is an awesome book! My students love every Kwame Alexander books. It is beautifully written and will keep students interested. It is a quick read.
kiperoo's review against another edition
5.0
This prequel is absolutely amazing. It 100% delivers an emotional punch very much like THE CROSSOVER, with absolutely beautiful lines and gut-punches that left me in tears. Fans of verse (and jazz! and basketball1) will surely love this as much as Kwame's other books.
allieonreading's review against another edition
4.0
Really emotional and moving, and a cool mix of poetry and graphic novel!
honeybee02's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lawbooks600's review against another edition
5.0
Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Death of a father by a heart attack and stroke, grief and loss depiction
8/10, I only discovered The Crossover and Kwame Alexander last year and I enjoyed that so I picked up this novel and turns out it was a prequel but still this is one of the few novels that I enjoyed so much, this will not change the fact that I liked The Crossover more; everything here is executed almost perfectly, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Chuck Bell and he's the father of Josh and Jordan Bell in The Crossover and this already made me feel a tinge of sadness considering what would happen after this book. Only a few pages in and this book already packed an emotional punch when Chuck's father dies which kind of foreshadows things to come, nice touch. Chuck slowly recovers from that loss and soon enough he discovers a thing called basketball and that takes up most of the book and sets up future events. I liked the illustrations interspersed and the character development and the cherry on top was the flashforward? 30 years later with Chuck now a father with his sons with some metaphors added in to boot. Not to mention the poetry here is top tier.
Trigger warnings: Death of a father by a heart attack and stroke, grief and loss depiction
8/10, I only discovered The Crossover and Kwame Alexander last year and I enjoyed that so I picked up this novel and turns out it was a prequel but still this is one of the few novels that I enjoyed so much, this will not change the fact that I liked The Crossover more; everything here is executed almost perfectly, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Chuck Bell and he's the father of Josh and Jordan Bell in The Crossover and this already made me feel a tinge of sadness considering what would happen after this book. Only a few pages in and this book already packed an emotional punch when Chuck's father dies which kind of foreshadows things to come, nice touch. Chuck slowly recovers from that loss and soon enough he discovers a thing called basketball and that takes up most of the book and sets up future events. I liked the illustrations interspersed and the character development and the cherry on top was the flashforward? 30 years later with Chuck now a father with his sons with some metaphors added in to boot. Not to mention the poetry here is top tier.
tracybabler's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to the Kid Lit Exchange for the review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
As much as I loved THE CROSSOVER, I enjoyed this prequel even more. It explores the childhood of Chuck Bell before he became a father to Jordan and Josh Bell. How he learned to play ball--from his female cousin. How his father's death shaped him. His relationships with his mother and grandparents afterwards. How his childhood sweetheart became is wife.
It's sweet, heartfelt, and easy to read. A must-read for fans of THE CROSSOVER and novels written in verse.
As much as I loved THE CROSSOVER, I enjoyed this prequel even more. It explores the childhood of Chuck Bell before he became a father to Jordan and Josh Bell. How he learned to play ball--from his female cousin. How his father's death shaped him. His relationships with his mother and grandparents afterwards. How his childhood sweetheart became is wife.
It's sweet, heartfelt, and easy to read. A must-read for fans of THE CROSSOVER and novels written in verse.
owen_melly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
very good
emmakat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
deservingporcupine's review against another edition
5.0
Favorite book so far this year. I did not think I would love this as much as Crossover, but I love it more. It pushed all the 80s nostalgia buttons for me: comic books, Michael Jackson, Pac Man. This novel took all of the great things about Crossover, refined them, and then added several more even better things. Every page of about this novel was thoroughly satisfying, including the ending. A study in how to use format and structure to tell a story.
hrenfro's review
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0