77 pages • 2 hours read
Kwame AlexanderA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
“‘Cause when FILTHY gets hot
He has a SLAMMERIFIC SHOT
It’s
Dunkalicious CLASSY
Supersonic SASSY
and D
O
W
N right
in your face
mcNASTY.”
The playfulness of the word choice and the placement of words on the page support Josh’s confident tone and create stops and turns and differences in volume, much like a basketball game in action.
“1. ever since I watched
the clip of Dad
posterizing
that seven-foot Croatian center
on ESPN’s Best Dunks Ever;
soaring through the air – his
long twisted hair like wings
carrying him
high above
the rim – I knew
one day
I’d need
my own wings
to fly.”
The number one reason Josh wears dreadlocks is that he idealizes his father. He wants to be just like him, down to the wing-like locs. The pride Josh has about his hair runs deep, which is why it is devastating for him to lose his locs later in the story.
“JB’s the second
most phenomenal baller on our team.
He has the better jumper, but I’m the better
slasher. And much faster. We both
pass well. Especially to each other.
To get ready for the season, I went
to three summer camps. JB only went to
one. Said he didn’t want to miss Bible school.
What does he think, I’m stupid? Ever since
Kim Bazemore kissed him in Sunday school,
he’s been acting all religious,
thinking less and less about
basketball, and more and more about
GIRLS.”
Josh establishes his bond with his twin brother, JB, by showing what a great team they make. The differences he highlights widen into what they choose to do with their free time, which foreshadows the major split between these two brothers: girls.
By Kwame Alexander
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Coretta Scott King Award
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