Books like The Crossover

Looking for books like The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Verse Novel · 750L · grades 5–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of family, brotherhood, and basketball. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 5–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to The Crossover

Why each is a match

Rebound780L
Shares themes of family and basketball, same genre (Verse Novel), and a close reading level (780L vs 750L).
Walk Two Moons770L
Shares themes of family, grief, and identity and a close reading level (770L vs 750L).
Long Way Down720L
Shares themes of family and grief and a close reading level (720L vs 750L).
The Poet X800L
Shares themes of family and identity and a close reading level (800L vs 750L).
The Outsiders750L
Shares themes of family and identity and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
Where the Red Fern Grows700L
Shares themes of family and grief and a close reading level (700L vs 750L).
Blended610L
Shares themes of family and identity and a close reading level (610L vs 750L).
Brown Girl Dreaming990L
Shares themes of family and identity and a close reading level (990L vs 750L).
One Crazy Summer750L
Shares themes of family and a close reading level (750L vs 750L).
Ghost730L
Shares themes of identity and a close reading level (730L vs 750L).

← Back to The Crossover