Writing style
Conversational · Experimental · Lyrical · Poetic
Apple BooksCrossover Tie-In Edition
Literary fiction
- First published
- 2014
- Print length
- 256 pagesHarperCollins Publishers, 2023
Newbery Medal, 2015
Description
Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan are gifted basketball players shaped by their father’s coaching and their own fierce closeness. As their team’s winning season gathers momentum, Jordan’s new relationship draws him away from Josh, turning ordinary jealousy into a strain on the bond that has always steadied them. Josh responds through basketball and rap, using quick rhythms, wordplay, and rhyme to express emotions he cannot contain on the court. Told entirely in verse, the novel makes the pace of a game and the cadence of a family argument part of the same movement. Its focus extends beyond competition to brotherhood, growing independence, and the limits of treating life as a contest governed by clear rules of victory and defeat.
Reading profile
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Pace
Brisk
Tone
Intimate · Melancholic · Playful · Warm
Structure
Linear
Focus
Character · Relationships · Voice
Emotional intensity
4 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 2 / 5
- Ideas
- 2 / 5
- Structure
- 2 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
Themes
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780063289604
Keep your books and notes in Collected for iPhone.
Apple Books is a service mark of Apple Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.