Review by Booklist Review
This adaptation of Alexander's Newbery-winning novel in verse brings each character and event to life through Anyabwile's dynamic line work and portions of Alexander's beautiful poetry. The artwork, in a palette of black, white, gray, and orange, evokes the imagery of the basketball, ensuring that readers feel Josh Bell's experiences come to life. Josh and his brother, Jordan, sons of a basketball legend, rule the court, especially when they cooperate. But when the two find themselves growing further apart, as hormones increase and a girl enters the picture, life on and off the court falls into chaos. Although larger portions of the text in this adaptation exist in prose form, the poetry of the novel still exists at various stages to bring readers back to Alexander's original lively style. An energetic and lively re-envisioning, this transformation of the original text into a combination of visuals, poetry, and changing font styles will be sure to engage young readers who are both familiar and unfamiliar with Alexander's original work.--Rob Bittner Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this graphic novel adaptation of Alexander's 2015 Newbery-winning novel, Anyabwile's clean lines, athletic characters, and free-form layouts capture the fluid poetry of basketball and the helplessness and confusion of early adolescence. Middle school basketball star Josh "Filthy McNasty" Bell navigates sibling rivalry with his twin brother, JB, on and off the court. The two are neither clones nor opposites; they share plenty, but Josh tends to brood while JB runs cool. Josh's jealousy over JB's first girlfriend, Alexis, eventually takes a backseat to their father Chuck's escalating health problems. A former Euroleague champion sidelined by a knee injury, Chuck has always been averse to medical treatment, provoking a family crisis. Alexander's complex, affectionate family portrait is augmented by Anyabwile's dynamic characterizations; when the boys' father gets in a ref's face and their mother pulls him back, each character's pain is palpable on the page. With confident strokes and choice details--likenesses of rappers attending "five reasons I have locks," movement-filled moments on the court, and a close-up on a saltshaker alongside an explanation of hypertension--the graphic version brings out the best in the original, as any good teammate should. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 10--12. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5--8--A fresh look at the Newbery Medal--winning book, still told in verse but now stunningly illustrated by Anyabwile. Josh and Jordan Bell are 12-year-old twins who have each other's backs, on and off the basketball court. With the support of their loving parents, they're on track for an amazing season, hoping to claim the championship trophy for their junior high. But everything changes, and the boys and their family find themselves on the brink of a crisis. Basketball is important to the novel, with the brothers' rivalry and game action fueling many of the poems. But the heart of the story is the joy and heartbreak of family love. In this graphic novel/prose hybrid, characters are sympathetically drawn and distinct. The text is thoughtfully positioned and sized, moving the narrative quickly along and complementing the energetic artwork, which is rendered in grayscale with burnt orange accents. VERDICT With lively poems that use basketball as a metaphor for life, this mix of free verse, hip-hop, and powerful artwork will resonate with fans of the original book and inspire a new audience of nascent players, artists, and poets.--Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT
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Review by Horn Book Review
Alexander's Newbery Medal-winning verse novel of the same name (rev. 5/14), about African American twins and middle-school b-ballers Josh and JB Bell, is an ideal choice for graphic-novel adaptation, with its on-court action, swaggering narrative voice, and poignant emotional pitches. Anyabwile's (of Alexander's Rebound, rev. 7/18, and the graphic novel version of Walter Dean Myers's Monster) angular, comics-style illustrations in shades of black and white-and, appropriately for a basketball story, orange-dynamically share space on the pages with the hand-lettered-looking text. Every mid-game scuffle, fast break, and "KERPLUNK / TO THE FLOOR. FOUL" comes alive in the motion-filled art. Yet the same goes for the story's more tender social interactions ("and just like that JB and the new girl are sipping sweet tea together"), moments of familial intimacy, and later scenes of heartbreak surrounding the boys' father. The original novel's success mingling accessible poetry with basketball, middle-school dynamics, and Black boyhood is reinforced in Anyabwile's impressive visual interpretation. Katrina Hedeen November/December 2019 p.82(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This graphic-novel adaptation of Alexander's 2015 Newbery Medal winner offers powerful visuals to an already-cherished narrative of teenage black boys navigating the game of life.The tale follows a year in the life of the Bell family, with Chuck "Da Man" Bell at the helm as he teaches his twin sons, Josh and Jordan, how to follow in his star-studded footsteps. Josh "Filthy McNasty" Bell takes the lead in narration, providing readers with in-depth court play-by-play as he deals with the growing pains of adolescence, balancing brotherhood and his own becoming. Myriad poetic forms appear throughout. A portion embrace rhyme, with a hint of old-school flow recalling hip-hop's golden era. Veteran comics illustrator Anyabwile brings an expansive range of black-boy emotional expressiveness to the page, accompanied by a striking attention to detail and pop-cultural reference. Just check the fresh barber lines on display or the true-to-life illustrations of beloved athletes and musicians such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and more. Eschewing the traditional paneled look of the graphic-novel form creates a dynamic flow between the scenes. These are sectioned out into basketball-appropriate quarters and dotted with Chuck's inspirational Basketball Rules, such as this excerpt of No. 3: "The sky is your limit, sons. Always shoot for the sun and you will SHINE." These messages grow ever more resonant as readers approach the climax of this heartwarming story.Flashy and engaging with emotional deptha slam-dunk thrill. (Graphic fiction. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
