The Crossover

by

Kwame Alexander

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Crossover makes teaching easy.
Josh and JB's mom; she's the assistant principal at their middle school. Mom is a fun, supportive, and loving parent. She encourages the boys to play basketball, gives hard-hitting pep talks when necessary, and supports them in academics. Josh eventually realizes that Mom also does her best to control Dad's diet, as she's aware that the boys’ grandfather died of a stroke caused by hypertension and knows that Dad also suffers from the disease. This begins with simply trying to control where her family eats out, but as Dad starts to experience more symptoms that something is wrong, she cuts fried food out of the family's dinner lineup in favor of veggie-heavy offerings. Both Mom and Dad do what they can to encourage Josh and JB in individual pursuits, and Mom in particular tries to impress upon Josh that he and JB are individuals, not the same person. Though she and Dad fight often about his health and his unwillingness to see a doctor, they're still very much in love and, as far as Josh can tell, have sex regularly. Mom does her best to make sure that Josh and JB don't worry too much after Dad is hospitalized for a heart attack, and she doesn't try to stop Josh from playing in the final championship game.

Mom Quotes in The Crossover

The The Crossover quotes below are all either spoken by Mom or refer to Mom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Inheritance and Genetics Theme Icon
).
First Quarter Quotes

And while Dad is telling us another story
for the hundredth time, Mom removes the salt
from the table and JB goes to the buffet.
He brings back three packages
of duck sauce and a cup of wonton soup
and hands them all to me.
Dad pauses, and Mom looks at JB.
That was random, she says.
What, isn't that what you wanted, Filthy? JB asks.
And even though I never opened my mouth,
I say, Thanks,
because
it is.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), JB (speaker), Mom (speaker), Dad
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Second Quarter Quotes

On the way home
Dad asks if we should stop
at Pollard's.
I tell him I'm not hungry,
plus I have a lot of homework,
even though
I skipped lunch today
and finished my homework
during halftime.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), Dad, Mom
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
Third Quarter Quotes

You're twins, not the same person.
But that doesn't mean he has to stop loving me.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), Mom (speaker), JB, Miss Sweet Tea/Alexis
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Fourth Quarter Quotes

Because the only thing that matters is swish.
Because our backboard is splintered.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), Dad, JB, Mom
Related Symbols: The Backboard
Page Number: 204
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Crossover LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Crossover PDF

Mom Quotes in The Crossover

The The Crossover quotes below are all either spoken by Mom or refer to Mom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Inheritance and Genetics Theme Icon
).
First Quarter Quotes

And while Dad is telling us another story
for the hundredth time, Mom removes the salt
from the table and JB goes to the buffet.
He brings back three packages
of duck sauce and a cup of wonton soup
and hands them all to me.
Dad pauses, and Mom looks at JB.
That was random, she says.
What, isn't that what you wanted, Filthy? JB asks.
And even though I never opened my mouth,
I say, Thanks,
because
it is.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), JB (speaker), Mom (speaker), Dad
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Second Quarter Quotes

On the way home
Dad asks if we should stop
at Pollard's.
I tell him I'm not hungry,
plus I have a lot of homework,
even though
I skipped lunch today
and finished my homework
during halftime.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), Dad, Mom
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
Third Quarter Quotes

You're twins, not the same person.
But that doesn't mean he has to stop loving me.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), Mom (speaker), JB, Miss Sweet Tea/Alexis
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Fourth Quarter Quotes

Because the only thing that matters is swish.
Because our backboard is splintered.

Related Characters: Josh (speaker), Dad, JB, Mom
Related Symbols: The Backboard
Page Number: 204
Explanation and Analysis: