Josh Bell, aka Filthy McNasty, is a solid basketball player. His brother, Jordan, isn’t too bad himself. The twin boys, both middle schoolers, have been playing for a long time. Their dad wasn’t too bad a ball player himself back in the day either — in fact, he played professionally and earned some good money and good jewelry. But he quit playing, and when Josh tries to broach the question about why his dad stopped and why his dad doesn’t take up coaching, dad dodges the questions.

On the surface, Kwame Alexander’s verse novel The Crossover looks simple. It’s about a boy and his brother who play basketball. But it’s a much deeper, more complex novel about the challenges that exceptionally “average” characters can have. Josh is a relatable character, with two parents who are happily married. He and his brother get along. They’re passionate about the game.

But things become more complex.

Josh and Jordan make a bet with one another relating to the game, and when Josh loses the bet, his brother has earned the privilege of cutting off one of his beloved locks. A misstep, though, leaves Josh with more than one lock cut, and the resulting look is something his mother isn’t too happy with. She tells him that he’ll have to cut them all off. He’s not thrilled about it, but he goes along with it, and when he’s sent to look for a box in which he can put those cut locks, he stumbles upon a box containing not just one of his father’s precious rings from his time as a ball player, but he uncovers why his father quit the game. This revelation about his father opens up a whole new world to Josh and Jordan about their father and his deep-seeded fears.

As the season progresses, Jordan becomes enamored with a new girl at school. She reciprocates, and the two of them become boyfriend and girlfriend (in the way that middle schoolers are boyfriend and girlfriend — there’s no physical action and nothing happens on page here at all if there is). When this relationship begins to bud, suddenly Josh feels left out. His best friend and twin brother has entered into a new phase of life and a new experience that Josh hasn’t. They spend less time together as a team and more time apart. It’s a huge change for Josh, and at times, it comes across as jealousy and at other times, it comes across as grieving how his relationship with his brother once was.

There’s more though. The little secret about their father’s future in basketball was just the tip of what Josh discovers. As he’s spending more time alone, he’s been keeping an eye on his parents and learns that his dad hasn’t been feeling well. In one instance, he fainted after not feeling well. While his mother keeps telling his dad to see a doctor, since his other father died young of heart disease, his father won’t listen.

He’s afraid of doctors.

Between explosive scenes on the court, rendered visually in the text, are the moments of quiet sadness and fear that linger in Josh’s mind about his dad and the condition his dad may or may not be in. Spoiler: it’s not good condition, and when the basketball season comes to its final game, one that’s tense and important, Josh’s dad’s heart doesn’t stay strong enough for him to witness it. The last few pages of this book are tough to read.

The Crossover makes exceptionally smart use of the verse format, without once feeling overdone or leaving the reader with the feeling a lot was lost because of the style. Alexander plays with the format visually in tense action scenes, and Josh’s voice comes through. He loves rap and he plays around with rap himself, so the poetry and the beat of this story are authentic, natural, and memorable. This is the kind of story you’d read out loud because it lends itself to that. The speed and intensity of the game pair with the rhythm of the text.

The little details of this book stand out because of the format, and those little details tell us so much about Josh and the rest of his family. His mom is the assistant principal at his school, and he feels more pressure for himself and on the court because of that. Of course, dad’s former role as a player doesn’t help that. Both mom and dad are supportive in his and his brother’s lives and in their passion for the game. Josh is also an average student, and even when things start getting tough for him, what’s sacrificed is his behavior, not his intellect or his capacity to do well. Those behavioral changes are done in a way that make you want to hug him and tell him it’s going to be all right. He’s a great kid, with a great head on his shoulders, and passions that are worth pursuing.

Being that this book is about 7th graders, this “it’s going to be all right” sentiment is important because it taps into what so many middle schoolers feel at that age. It’s a rough transition period for even the most “average” kid. People are growing and changing in ways that do and don’t make sense. What seems like a natural thing — Josh’s brother getting a girlfriend — is something much more than that. It’s a crisis of Josh’s identity since he’s no longer half of the Josh and Jordan pair. He’s an entirely independent being, and being jolted into that awareness is tough because it’s new.

Alexander’s book falls into a weird area, though. This book is perfectly appropriate for middle grade readers, and it’s also going to have appeal for both young YA readers and more reluctant YA readers. The challenge on that end, though, is that teens who read YA will likely be less willing to read about 7th graders than middle grade readers would be. I suspect The Crossover may fall between the cracks because of this, and I sure hope it doesn’t. Alexander’s book is about this “crossover” period, and it’s going to speak deeply to teens (especially boys and especially black boys who don’t see enough of themselves in realistic fiction) who are in that “crossover” period themselves. This is a book you sell to readers based on their maturity and interest, rather than on the grade or reading level they’re at. The Crossover will make a great bridge to books like Matthew Quick’s Boy21, too, both because of the content and the well-drawn, dynamic, and memorable characters.

You know exactly the kid who needs this book, who will fall in love with this book, and most important, who will see himself in this book. There is a gut punch at the end, but it’s not a story without hope to it.

Pass this book along to those readers.

The Crossover is available now. Review copy picked up from the library.