Gr 6-10 Twins Josh and Jordan are junior high basketball stars, thanks in large part to the coaching of their dad, a former professional baller who was forced to quit playing for health reasons, and the firm, but loving support of their assistant-principal mom. Josh, better known as Filthy McNasty, earned his nickname for his enviable skills on the court: "&30;when Filthy gets hot/He has a SLAMMERIFIC SHOT." In this novel in verse, the brothers begin moving apart from each other for the first time. Jordan starts dating the "pulchritudinous" Miss Sweet Tea, and Josh has a tough time keeping his jealousy and feelings of abandonment in control. Alexander's poems vary from the pulsing, aggressive beats of a basketball game ("My shot is F L O W I N G, Flying, fluttering&30;. ringaling and SWINGALING/Swish. Game/over") to the more introspective musings of a child struggling into adolescence ("Sit beside JB at dinner. He moves./Tell him a joke. He doesn't even smile&30;.Say I'm sorry/but he won't listen"). Despite his immaturity, Josh is a likable, funny, and authentic character. Underscoring the sports and the fraternal tension is a portrait of a family that truly loves and supports one another. Alexander has crafted a story that vibrates with energy and heart and begs to be read aloud. A slam dunk.— Kiera Parrott , School Library Journal.

The Bell twins are stars on the basketball court and comrades in life. While there are some differences sh shaves his head and Jordan loves his locks th twins adhere to the Bell basketball rules: In this game of life, your family is the court, and the ball is your heart. With a former professional basketball player dad and an assistant principal mom, there is an intensely strong home front supporting sports and education in equal measures. When life intervenes in the form of a hot new girl, the balance shifts and growing apart proves painful. An accomplished author and poet, Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip-hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond. The effect is poetry in motion. It is a rare verse novel that is fundamentally poetic rather than using this writing trend as a device. There is also a quirky vocabulary element that adds a fun intellectual note to the narrative. This may be just the right book for those hard-to-match youth who live for sports or music or both.

Twelve-year-old twins Josh and Jordan (JB) are a well-oiled machine on the basketball court. But then JB gets a girlfriend, and before Josh knows it, things start to change. Josh's narration is a combination of exciting play-by-play game details, insightful observations on middle school, and poignant meditations on sibling dynamics and familial love. This verse novel has massive appeal for reluctant readers.

Josh Bell, known on and off the court by the nickname Filthy McNasty, doesn-t lack self-confidence, but neither does he lack the skills to back up his own mental in-game commentary: -I rise like a Learjet-/ seventh-graders aren-t supposed to dunk./ But guess what?/ I snatch the ball out of the air and/ SLAM!/ YAM! IN YOUR MUG!- Josh is sure that he and his twin brother, JB, are going pro, following in the footsteps of their father, who played professional ball in Europe. But Alexander (He Said, She Said) drops hints that Josh-s trajectory may be headed back toward Earth: his relationship with JB is strained by a new girl at school, and the boys- father health is in increasingly shaky territory. The poems dodge and weave with the speed of a point guard driving for the basket, mixing basketball action with vocabulary-themed poems, newspaper clippings, and Josh-s sincere first-person accounts that swing from moments of swagger-worthy triumph to profound pain. This verse novel delivers a real emotional punch before the final buzzer. Ages 9-12. Agent: East West Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Josh, nick-named Filthy McNasty, is a dred-headed basketball player.á So are his bald-headed twin brother, Jordan, and his father who played in the NBA.á Together, the twins dominate their middle school court with their father shouting from the bleachers and their mother, the assistant principal, trying to constrain their father.á Josh relies on his family but things are falling apart.á He has never known what it is like to be estranged from his twin brother, but then AlexisMiss Sweet Teacomes between them. ááHe has never worried about his father, but starts to when he sees his dad reaching for his heart during a pickup game. Josh is growing up and crossing over, the hard way.While the story is compelling enough, what makes this verse novel excel is the poetry itself.á The language paces the novel.á Basketball games are succinctly captured in quick, staccato rhythms; languid free verse makes waiting for his punishment seem endless.á Almost every page is an example of this synergy between diction and discourse. This book will appeal to both fans of basketball and fans of poetry.á Teachers will love using this book for teaching language usage and vocabulary since much of the chapters are structured as definitions of words in the context of Josh's story.á This quick read is highly recommended.Ann Reddy Damon.