Rebound by Kwame Alexander Series: The Crossover #0.5
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on April 2nd 2018
Genres: Middle Grade, Fiction
Goodreads
Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. In this prequel to Newbery Medal winner The Crossover, Chuck Bell takes center stage, as readers get a glimpse of his childhood and how he became the jazz music worshipping, basketball star his sons look up to.
I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. This does not influence my thoughts on the book or this review.
If you know anything about me, then you know that I love verse novels. One of my favourite verse novels ever is The Crossover by Kwame Alexander so I was so happy to see that Alexander has another novel coming out! I wasn’t sure about the fact that it’s a prequel to the original book but I’d read anything about the Bell family at this point. Rebound was definitely another amazing novel from this great poet and author.
Rebound is about how Josh and Jordan’s father, Chuck, learned to love basketball and become the legend he is. The novel takes place during Chuck’s childhood in which he mourns the loss of his father. As he goes to his grandparents’ house for the summer, he attempts to move on and rebound in his life.
In the novel, Chuck is a huge fan of comics and I think that’d definitely relate to so many kids today. I really appreciated the small comics that were included throughout the book by artist Dawud Anyabwile. They added another layer to the novel and really fit in with Chuck’s love of comics.
I’m a huge fan of verse novels and if poetry is your thing, I highly recommend this one. Despite the 400 pages, Rebound read pretty quickly and it was reading. As usual when it comes to verse novels, I’d recommend this to reluctant readers and to anyone who loves poetry.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the original The Crossover series or want to read the prequel to start the series, I think you can’t go wrong with Rebound. It’s another stellar novel in verse that I highly recommend.
