what do we learn about josh bell?

If we go strictly by chapter 1, the reader begins embarking on Josh Bell’s journey, they realize they are doing so through poetry. Alexander told an interviewer that his novel was rejected over twenty times because of the “disconnect” between a sports novel and poetry, but that it was important for him to pursue. He explained his thought process: “So, how do we hook kids who are reluctant readers? Well, poetry is a vehicle. I believe it can be the bridge…to take our kids to a more higher level of appreciation for language and literature.” He also said that “I figured that I would write it with poetry because poetry is something I've always loved reading. The second reason is I wanted to sort of mirror a basketball game. I thought, when you play basketball, you're dribbling and you're running fast and sometimes you stop, sometimes you're dunking or shooting. Basketball, when you're playing really well, is like poetry in motion. I thought I could best mirror the game of basketball with poetry.”