Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

As much as I’d like to be back to normal, of course, I’m still sporting an amazingly purple bruise on my stomach, and I only managed two hours of sleep in my bed last night.  That said, however, I did finish Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover while in the hospital, and I really enjoyed it.  It is a book built on basketball, yes, but the plot is more coming of age than anything else.  (I was actually looking forward to it anyway; a college friend of mine reviewed it on her blog, Gator Book Chomp, and she was impressed by it.)  I will say that I wasn’t quite expecting it to end up where it did, but that was in no way a bad thing.  The description made it clear that the twin brothers’ changing relationship was a major part of the plot; the catalyst for some of that change, however, was more complicated than I’d realized.  (It also struck some interesting nerves with me–I could relate to different parts of the plot in different ways.)

Anyway.  It’s a verse novel about twin brothers who are both basketball stars; saying more might just spoil it for you.  (Saying more coherently might also require more sleep than I got last night.)  To sum up, then:  I liked it, and it probably deserved its Newbery (even if, as usual, it’s quite a stretch to call it “children’s” literature.)