Josh and Jordan, twin sons of a professional basketball player, are a couple of phenoms on the court. But as the twelve-year-olds get older, their synergy turns to friction. In The Crossover, the story unfolds in verse, with a patter and pounding and slide that fits young Josh’s voice.In the graphic novel Smile, Raina shares some of her middle school experiences, especially as they related to having (surviving) braces. Dental trauma, fitting in, and finding reasons to smile. In Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere, Armani’s tenth birthday falls on the same day Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana. Like many other families in the lower nines, they didn’t evacuate. And then the levies broke.
C. J. Milbrandt 