Eric G., South River High School
This book follows the story of Cassius Clay in his transition to the man who became the legendary boxing icon Muhammad Ali. Cassius grew up in segregated Louisville, Kentucky to a loving family of his parents, younger brother Rudy and his Granddad Herman. Cassius had difficulty reading and with academics so he spent most of his time outside. He faced the struggles of being African American during segregated America so he dreamed of fame like that enjoyed by Black boxer Joe Louis. He befriended a boy named Lucius “Lucky” Wakely who was academically different from Cassius. Eventually, Cassius stumbled into the Columbia Boxing Gym where he almost seemed destined to grow into the legendary figure he is today.
In my opinion Becoming Muhammad Ali is a well written and informative biographical fiction. The story is told in poetry, prose and full-page illustrations. The story is also told from two perspectives, one from the poetry of Cassius, and one from the prose of Lucky. The rhyming couplets used by Cassius do a good job in highlighting the world he lived in outside of the ring along with celebrating African American culture. The words of Lucky are a stark contrast to the poems of Cassius and serve to show the admiration he had for Cassius and the boys’ love for each other.
I would recommend this to anybody interested in the sport of boxing or of the American time period.
Click here to check out Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander.