“This book in verse tells the story of 12-year-old Chuck, who discovers that it is possible to recover from past decisions. Students love the rhythm and hip-hop feel of the poetry and relate to the basketball themes in the book as well.”- Catherine Cox, librarian at Normal Park Museum Magnet Upper School
Rebound by Kwame Alexander is the Hamilton Book of the Week nominated by Catherine Cox, the librarian at Normal Park Museum Magnet Upper School. Rebound is the prequel to Alexander’s best-selling novel, The Crossover, that came out in 2014. Rebound gives the backstory of twins Josh and Jordan Bell's father, Chuck "Da Man" Bell, a basketball star who died young. Set in 1988, the novel-in-verse follows Chuck, who is acting out as he mourns the premature death of his father. His mother's solution is to send him to spend the summer at his paternal grandparents' home, where he endures his grandfather's tough love and his cousin Roxie's superior skills as a baller. Alexander's non-rhyming poetry has propulsive, hard-hitting rhythm. Although the older generation may understand more of the 1980’s pop culture references, the coming-of-age story will resonate with younger readers as well. The different style of writing is a nice, refreshing read for middle and high school students.
Editorial Reviews
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from Amazon Readers
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This companion book takes a step into the past, telling the story of Josh and JB's dad when he was a middle-schooler. Reeling from the sudden loss of his father, Charlie Bell is struggling. His mom's unable to reach him and afraid that he's going to end up in trouble, so she sends him to spend the summer with his grandparents in Washington DC. There, Charlie gets to know his family and, against his better judgment, starts playing basketball. If you read and loved The Crossover, you NEED to read this book. If you haven't read The Crossover, this book will still resonate with you. You'll find strong characters and emotions deftly crafted into prose poems and even comic sections.
Hamilton Book of the Week seeks to move Hamilton County Schools closer to district goals found in the Future Ready 2023 action plan. We hope to encourage kids to read more books for fun by sharing books popular at area schools.
Goals addressed by more students reading include:
• Reading improvement will increase the number of students on-track or mastering English language arts
• Improve the district ACT score to a district average of 21
• Reach the target goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by 2023