Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Death of a father by a heart attack and stroke, grief and loss depiction
Score: Eight points out of ten.

I only discovered The Crossover and Kwame Alexander last year and I enjoyed that so I picked up this novel and turns out it was a prequel but still this is one of the few novels that I enjoyed so much, this will not change the fact that I liked The Crossover more; everything here is executed almost perfectly, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Chuck Bell and he's the father of Josh and Jordan Bell in The Crossover and this already made me feel a tinge of sadness considering what would happen after this book. Only a few pages in and this book already packed an emotional punch when Chuck's father dies which kind of foreshadows things to come, nice touch. Chuck slowly recovers from that loss and soon enough he discovers a thing called basketball and that takes up most of the book and sets up future events. I liked the illustrations interspersed and the character development and the cherry on top was the flashforward? 30 years later with Chuck now a father with his sons with some metaphors added in to boot. Not to mention the poetry here is top tier. ( )

I have such an appreciation and respect for Kwame Alexander. I wish I felt like he was more widely read--as opposed to "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." There is a depth to his writing that is lacking in children's literature.

But it is alright. I'll keep Kwame all to myself =)

"Rebound" brought me to tears by the end. Having read "The Crossover," I was familiar with the characters; I knew how things ultimately would end up. But the story still left me in awe. It beautifully captures topics like growing up, culture and race, death with a beauty all its own. I don't like basketball yet I could handle it in "Rebound." It is what defines the Bell family (indeed all of the generations.)

So yes, I'll keep buying what Kwame is selling. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

I can't recommend Kwame Alexander's books highly enough, he is amaaaazing. I would give this book a million star rating. ( )

I love this author's books. My kids love these books. So lyrical and engaging with complex back stories. ( )