Genre: Newbery
Author: Kwame Alexander
Awards: Newbery Medal (2015)
Coretta Scott King Award Honor (2015)
Age Group: 10 to 12-year-olds
Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I would recommend this to my fifth-grade students. This book is beautifully written in verse, great for students learning about poetry or that enjoy poetry. It also offers students many things to relate to such as siblings, sports, growing up, and loss.
Summary: This book is narrated by a young middle-school boy named Josh. Josh and his twin brother Jordan are all-star basketball players just like their father. The book is written in quarters like in a basketball game instead of the traditional chapters. The first quarter is about Josh's relationship with his twin brother and basketball. The twins are very close together but slowly begin to separate with Jordan becomes interested in a new girl at school. Josh gets in trouble trying to pass a note from Jordan to the new girl but doesn't come clean that it wasn't his fault but takes it for his brother. The second quarter is about how Jordan is becoming more distant the more he becomes interested in the new girl. Josh feels more alone without a girl and his twin, so he decides to try asking his dad to talk to his brother for him. Josh's dad explains to him there is no way to talk to his brother now that he is falling for the girl. In this section, Josh's mother discusses with him the situation of his dad's health. Josh's father is not doing very well with his high-blood-pressure and his mom is worried because that is how their grandfather died. Things slowly start to get better for Josh, he has his twin, he's doing good in school and on the court until he reaches a tipping point. One day, instead of being with Josh, Jordan went out with the new girl. Josh needed Jordan to finish a book assignment so he goes to the library only to see his twin kissing the new girl. Later at the basketball game, Josh's built up anger makes him throw the ball so hard at his brother his nose bleeds. The third quarter of the book describes how the events at the basketball game change Josh's life. Josh is no longer able to play on the team and his brother doesn't talk to him anymore despite many apologies. The new girl becomes Jordan's girlfriend and comes over to meet the family, she also doesn't talk to Josh because she believes he is mean. This section of the book reaches its climax near the end when during a warm-up for a small 3-on-3 game, Josh's father collapses. The fourth and final quarter of the book is about Josh's family dealing with his dad's health problems. Josh is angry at his dad for not taking care of himself sooner. The book ends with Josh attending the championship game after his father has a second heart attack, winning the game and losing his father on the same night. Josh is not happy without his father but he and his brother once again are togehter.
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