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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old was Josh's grandfather when he died, according to the narrator in "Conversation"?

2. What was the bet between Jordan and his father on that the narrator describes in "Jordan Bell"?

3. What team does Josh describe having just beaten in "Mom Calls Me into the Kitchen"?

4. Where does the narrator say JB wants to attend college in "JB and I"?

5. What is the narrator's father's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the rule stated in "Basketball Rule #5"? What is its significance?

2. What literary device stand out the most in the poem "Showoff"? What are examples?

3. What differences does Josh describe between him and his brother in "JB and I"?

4. How does Josh describe his brother in "Jordan Bell"?

5. How did Josh Bell get his nickname? What is the significance of Josh's nickname?

6. What metaphors are seen in "Basketball Rule #1"?

7. What is the meaning of the title to the poem "Second-Person"?

8. Why does Josh suggest his father write a book in "Conversation"?

9. How does Josh define "irony" in "Ironic"? How does he apply irony to his life?

10. What conflict is described in "On the Way to the Game"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the motif of basketball in The Crossover. What correlations does the author make between basketball and life? How is this motif related to the themes of the verse novel?

Essay Topic 2

How does Josh's use of language reflect upon his character? How does Josh's use of language stand apart from the other characters in The Crossover? How is dialogue conveyed in this verse novel?

Essay Topic 3

Several poems throughout The Crossover are titled "Basketball Rule #." What is the significance of these particular poems? How do these poems stand out stylistically from the others in the verse novel?

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