The Crossover Graphic Novel (The Crossover Series)

Great for middle school boys. Purchased for my Son (12) & he read it in one day! It’s always been my goal to cultivate a love for reading in my children, but my son viewed reading as a chore. To counter this I went on a quest to hunt for books that he would enjoy reading for fun. It has a lot of pictures (that are awesome by the way) & not many words on the pages. When asked what he liked about the book he replied “I like the love displayed in the family.”

Bought these for my students. I teach SPED and the graphics brings the book alive , while also aids with comprehension. Last year, I taught the regular novel (poems and no graphics) and the kids were not that interested. Now, they are much more engaged and seem to understand the novel more. Thank you!

My son doesn’t like to read but loves sports. We came across this author and my son loves how the original books are written in verse—making him feel that it’s not so hard to read. Now it’s also in the form of a graphic novel so he is so excited.

My son loves this book! A good book for young athletes who rather play sports than read.

I used this book during my Verse Novel/Poetry Month Unit. The graphics helped my students understand figurative language and literary terms.

I bought this for my son's 10th birthday. He got over $200 in Xbox giftcards, but this was his favorite gift! He carried it around for weeks (reading it over and over again, sharing it with his friends at school)! Seriously, this is a really good read. Our whole family read it and I'm buying it again for my 9 year old nephew for Christmas! Don't miss out on this book!! Already excited for the next graphic novel by this amazing author.

My son is a book worm who told me at the age of 2 that “Basketball was his Life” LOL! He is a huge basketball fan and loves the game and loves playing basketball. I decided to purchase this book for my son becaise his older sister has been into graphic novels for a while now so I wanted to purchase my son a graphic novel that I felt would interest him and BOY DID THIS BOOK DO ITS JOB. My son couldn’t put this book down and read the entire book in 1 week. He was barely half way through the book and was asking if there was a part 2. I told him no but I went ahead and pre ordered the next novel Booked, it’s soccer hit I’m sure he will enjoy it too.

Ordered this for a 12 year olds required summer reading. Was thrilled tho find it is a graphic novel with great illustrations. I skimmed it before handing it over and it seems very well done, written in rap and/or poetry. I will be asking to borrow this when she is done.

Great book

Love it!! Students loved it!!

Great for middle school boys. Purchased for my Son (12) & he read it in one day! It’s always been my goal to cultivate a love for reading in my children, but my son viewed reading as a chore. To counter this I went on a quest to hunt for books that he would enjoy reading for fun. It has a lot of pictures (that are awesome by the way) & not many words on the pages. When asked what he liked about the book he replied “I like the love displayed in the family.”

Bought these for my students. I teach SPED and the graphics brings the book alive , while also aids with comprehension. Last year, I taught the regular novel (poems and no graphics) and the kids were not that interested. Now, they are much more engaged and seem to understand the novel more. Thank you!

My son doesn’t like to read but loves sports. We came across this author and my son loves how the original books are written in verse—making him feel that it’s not so hard to read. Now it’s also in the form of a graphic novel so he is so excited.

My son loves this book! A good book for young athletes who rather play sports than read.

I used this book during my Verse Novel/Poetry Month Unit. The graphics helped my students understand figurative language and literary terms.

I bought this for my son's 10th birthday. He got over $200 in Xbox giftcards, but this was his favorite gift! He carried it around for weeks (reading it over and over again, sharing it with his friends at school)! Seriously, this is a really good read. Our whole family read it and I'm buying it again for my 9 year old nephew for Christmas! Don't miss out on this book!! Already excited for the next graphic novel by this amazing author.

My son is a book worm who told me at the age of 2 that “Basketball was his Life” LOL! He is a huge basketball fan and loves the game and loves playing basketball. I decided to purchase this book for my son becaise his older sister has been into graphic novels for a while now so I wanted to purchase my son a graphic novel that I felt would interest him and BOY DID THIS BOOK DO ITS JOB. My son couldn’t put this book down and read the entire book in 1 week. He was barely half way through the book and was asking if there was a part 2. I told him no but I went ahead and pre ordered the next novel Booked, it’s soccer hit I’m sure he will enjoy it too.

Ordered this for a 12 year olds required summer reading. Was thrilled tho find it is a graphic novel with great illustrations. I skimmed it before handing it over and it seems very well done, written in rap and/or poetry. I will be asking to borrow this when she is done.

Great book

Love it!! Students loved it!!

Given as a gift

My son is a secret reader more than a reluctant one. He finished this book in no time

Love this version of the crossover

I love The Crossover. Actually, I'm teaching it at the middle school level, and my students love this book as well. This graphic novel version has the complete text, and I imagined it would help students understand the poetry a little better...but ultimately, I didn't like it. The layout is simply too busy, it become a bit confusing to read.

My son And I laughed and cried while reading this book. We highly recommend it. The book was very Age appropriate too.

Very good book I would recommend this too someone that likes basketball that are about 5-14 ages and thank you for reading

I’m shocked by how good that book was I acutely cried at the end I love the mix of emotions the anger the heartbreak the happiness and the love so woah just woah.

My son loved it and it is one of his favorite book.

My students described the book as “Disney-fying an good book. The over abundance of graphics diminishes the quality of the poetry. Unfortunate.

school

Wow! I got this book today for my basketball loving, identical twin girls (age 9) and I started reading it as a read-aloud to see what we thought. My 11 year old son joined us on the couch. We didn’t get up for nearly two hours, when the book was finished. I asked them several times if they wanted a break, but they were mesmerized, as was I. This book is about identical twin brothers dealing with jealousy, loneliness, and coming-of-age trials. The main theme of this book is family, although the plot is driven by the father and sons’s love of basketball. My children and I loved the beautiful, poetic language. The Crossover is engaging, it made us think, (it made me cry), and it left an impression that will last beyond the last turning of it’s pages.

The Crossover graphic novel is a wonderful adaptation of Kwame Alexander’s original novel. Identical twin boys love basketball and are following in Dad’s footsteps, as he played professional basketball until an injury ended his career. Jordan and Jason may be identical and their love of basketball strong, but they are finding themselves growing up. Dad’s tips for basketball are truly more than just basketball lessons. He is giving them lessons for life, as the best coaches of our young people do. Will these lessons stick with his boys when he falls ill? Highly recommend this read!

It would be very difficult to avoid comparisons to both Avatar Series (Last Airbender and Legend of Korra): the DNA of this book clearly owes much to the animated series. That said, readers don't need to have watched Avatar to enjoy this Asian-inspired fantasy. While perhaps most appealing to a younger audience due to gaping plot holes and a fairly simplistic plot, the characters are engaging and the book a light read. Story: Four individuals, each from different countries, will find their fates intersecting at the end of a great war. Jimuro, prince of the Tomoda empire, has been a war hostage for years and is now being used by the conquerors to create a new peace with his country. Xiulan, princess of the Shang empire, is too far down the succession line to be of interest to the world and now seeks to emulate her favorite detective characters by bringing justice to the lands. Lee, who is Jongseon, has made a life as a grifter after her country was nearly wiped out by the war. When she meets Xiulan, she will be made an interesting offer. And finally Tala, of the Sanbuna, grapples with the death of her family as she is commanded to bring the Tomoda prince Jimuro back to Tomoda so he can claim his throne. The book's structure is one of pairs: at first Xiulan and Lee (and their emerging relationship) and Jimuro and Tala (with their emerging relationship). The pairings change a bit later on as events happen but much of the book is about their partnerships. The worldbuilding is Asia: thinly veiled Japan, Korea, China, and the Philippines (with India thrown in the side). The events take place after Japan attempted to conquer all three nations, devastating them in the process of plundering their natural resources. The kingdoms eventually fought back and Japan is now in the hands of the people it once oppressed. Those who have watched the Avatar series will recognize the character types here. Prince Jimuro of Japan is very similar to Zuko and has a similar redemptive arc. Xiulan, Tale and Lee greatly shared personality traits of Toph, Korra, and Asami. As well, magic similarities including types tied to nations/peoples and 'metal bending'. The spirit animals were interesting and created probably the best aspects of the plot. For this book, the Tomoda (Japan) can control metal, the Shang (Chinese) and Sanbuna (Philippines) control spirit animals, and the Dahali (India) control energy and can shoot hexbolts to disable or heal. So although not as similar as Avatar's magic, author Krueger does spend time to hypothesize on why these cultures developed the types of magic that they did. There are some things that did bother. Since this is a fairly simplistic tale, a lot of the motivations or repercussions of actions felt very unrealistic and without enough nuance to be believable. Especially the magic, since it was said no one could use another culture's magic and yet by the end, we saw multiple instances of the 'impossible' happen, and very easily. Although explained as the transformative nature of love, I wasn't so convinced. As well, I know many will compare this to anime plots but I don't really see that here - this is much more a Western series like both Avatars. In all, this was a decent read that is easy to follow. I think younger readers will especially appreciate the spirit animals, though the relationship between Xiulan and Lee has some adult references. All the same, a very light read easily finished in a few hours. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Author Kwame Alexander has teamed up with Dawud Anyabwile to create the graphic novel version of his well-known THE CROSSOVER. The original text is combined with action-packed graphics that enhance the story for Alexander's fans. Twins Josh and JR Bell are seventh graders who have inherited their Euroleague champion father's basketball skills. Josh is all about the game especially his ability to thrill the audience with his fabulous dunking skill. Although his brother JR is a skilled player as well, his attention has been focused elsewhere lately. JR has discovered girls. Namely, one girl in particular, and their budding romance is an irritation for Josh. Alexis has distracted JR from his brother, prepping for the game, and even his school work. Josh's anger is building toward his brother and may threaten the team's performance. Another distraction for both the brothers is their father's health. The former basketball star suffers from hypertension and recently the chest pains that usually accompany heart disease. Fearful of hospitals and doctors since his own father's death, ignoring his symptoms may be leading to serious consequences. Fans of Kwame Alexander will love this graphic novel version of THE CROSSOVER. It also helps make reading Alexander's work more accessible for less experienced readers. Pick up a copy today!