Josh Bell, 12-year-old poet and ace basketball player, narrates this gripping novel in stanzas, and proves he's both scholar and athlete, with his sights set on Duke.
Josh's identical twin, Jordan ("JB"), is also a gifted ball player. Josh is "an inch taller, with dreads to my neck," while JB gets his head shaved once a month. JB is the jumper; Josh is the slasher, and master of on-court moves, including the crossover. School comes harder to JB, but he's always up for a wager. The twins bet that if JB scores the last basket of the game, he can cut off Josh's dreads. Josh agrees to let him cut just one, but JB inadvertently gets his way. Tension smolders. When JB gets interested in a "pulchritudinous" new girl, Josh acts as his brother's Cyrano de Bergerac.
Alexander carefully charts Josh's anger building to the boiling point. Josh lets loose on the basketball court, nearly breaking his brother's nose. Despite the damage to the brothers' relationship, the novel brims with evidence of the family's profound respect for one another. Full-bodied characters and spellbinding wordplay will keep readers riveted to find out if the brothers can mend the breach in their once iron-clad bond. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness