Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Rebound by Kwame Alexander
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: September 3, 2018
Format: Book
Favorite Quote(s):

"It was the summer when Now and Laters cost a nickel and The Fantastic Four, a buck. When I met Harriet Tubman and the Harlem Globetrotters. It was the hottest summer after the coldest winter ever, when a storm shattered my home into a million pieces and soaring above the sorrow and grief seemed impossible. It was the summer of 1988, when basketball gave me wings and I had to learn how to rebound on the court. And off."

Review:
This book is the prequel to The Crossover and if you're considering reading it first, don't. I really enjoyed The Crossover, but the depth Rebound gave to both books make me fall in love with the Bell family. Rebound is about the summer of 1988, when Chuck Bell, dad of Filthy & JB from Crossover, was 12 years old. I'm not sure I've ever experienced a book that made other books good. In its own right it was a great story, but for me the impact of this book came from it giving me a greater understanding of The Crossover... but it had to be in this order. I'm not certain they would have had the impact they had on me if I had read them in reverse. These two books might be my favorite that I've read all year. Such beautiful beautiful family development. Such incredible lessons learned by characters and myself while reading. These are books I will come back to again and again.