Booklist: Verse Novels
There are those that like poems. There are those that like novels. Why not combine the best of both worlds and read a verse novel - one cohesive story that is told in poetic form? Here are some of my favorite verse novels as well as novels that have poetry portions.
Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer - G - ****
Reaching for Sun celebrates the growth of a young girl who flourishes over the course of a year, just like the flowers in her family's garden. As things change with the seasons, so does she, thanks in part to an unexpected new friend, her motivated mother, and her inspirational grandmother. Read my full-length review.
Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham - G - ****
What began as a typical day at the beach with her family ended in tragedy. Jane loses her arm to a shark and her life changes forever. Read my full-length book review. Read my interview with the author. Read one of my favorite passages from the book.
Margaux with an X by Ron Koertge - PG - ****
Surprising, shocking, refreshing, realistic. Read it. Margaux is intelligent, so the poems are peppered with multisyllabic words. Readers will root for her. I know I did. This book really left an impression on me.
Things Left Unsaid by Stephanie Hemphill - PG - ****
Told in first-person poetry, Things Left Unsaid chronicles a school year for Sarah, who is suddenly feeling itchy in her own skin. She finds herself being critical with her own friends and family members, and although they are there for her, she needs something else. Just what that something is, she doesn't know, not yet. Read my full review at Amazon. Read my full review on LJ.
Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill - PG - ****
This book blends poetry, biography, fiction, and footnotes to describe the life of Sylvia Plath. Really outstanding work here. Highly recommended for adults and teens.
One of Those Horrible Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones - PG - ****
Not just good, but great. Really. If you haven't read it yet, please do. It won't take you that long to read, and you'll laugh and cheer as you read it. As with her second book (see below), people seem to make assumptions based on the title and I have to convince them to read it, saying, "It's not what you expect." After a teenager's mom passes away, she has to pick up and move across the country to Southern California to live with her father, a famous actor that she has seen on the screen more often than she has seen him in person. This title is also on my But I Don't Want to Be Famous! booklist.
Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown - G - ****
Rachel's mother decides to run away. At least, that's how Rachel feels as she watches her mother pack up the car and drive away to parts unknown. Rachel takes ownership of Madison, her mother's dog, stops doing her schoolwork, and has trouble talking to her father. This story tackfully and truthfully discusses desertion and bipolar disorder as one young girl learns the truth about her mother. In losing her mother, Rachel is able connect with her father as she never has before. Readers will find hope and heart in these pages. Vote for this review at Amazon.
Nothing by Robin Friedman - PG - ****
This novel uses a dual narrative: Parker relates his thoughts in straightforward prose while his younger sister Danielle uses verse. Both speak in first person. Danielle wishes she got a fraction of the attention Parker gets from their family and friends. While Parker feels a great deal of pressure from his parents, especially his father, and he starts secretly binging and purging. (Full review coming soon.)
Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass - PG - ***
Imagine coming upon a bag of forgotten things, then reliving memories for each and every item you touch. After being beaned on the head during a game of dodgeball, high school junior Tessa finds herself in heaven - or the local mall - or both. She remembers being hit and falling down, but she's not quite sure if she's dead or just dreaming. Read my full review within my post about novels by Wendy Mass.
Jinx by Margaret Wild - R - ***
This is a story of love, loss, and labelling. Boyfriend #1 commits suicide. Girl struggles to deal. Girl moves on. Boyfriend #2 passes away. Girl earns a new nickname: Jinx.
Dead on Town Line by Leslie Connor - PG-13 - ***
A murdered girl tells her story to readers from beyond the grave. For fans of The Lovely Bones. (In fact, I recommend this book instead of The Lovely Bones.)
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate - G - ***
This modern-day verse novel discusses immigration, loss, grief, extended families, foster homes, and more as a young boy attempts to learn new customs, a new language, and new way of life in America with his aunt and cousin after tragedy befalls his family in Africa. A good, solid story.
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan - PG-13 - ***
The author channels 12 different characters in this book, all attending the same high school, each telling his or her own experience with classmates, teachers, and family members in a distinct voice. Read one of my favorite passages.
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone - PG-13/R - ***
Read my review of the novel and interview with the author.
Pieces of Georgia by Jen Bryant - PG - ***
Georgia's artist mother passed away when she was 7. Now 13 and an artist herself, Georgia begins to write to her mother in a journal provided by the school counselor. This book is very sweet, and it made me smile. Now I'll let Georgia sum up the plot in this excerpt from page 73:
I wanted to let her know
that sometimes living with Daddy's sadness,
and a hyper hunting dog,
and the ghost of my mother,
and a super-athletic best friend
was just too much.
Rubber Houses by Ellen Yeomans - G - ***
Father, mother, sister, brother. A happy family - until the youngest, the boy, is diagnosed with cancer. Told from the point of view of the teenaged daughter, this story is written simply and shared gently. Read it alongside Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick and With You and Without You by Ann M. Martin.
Loose Threads by Lorie Ann Grover - PG - ***
Four generations of women live under one roof, with the youngest, Kay, being a seventh-grader. When her grandmother is diagnosed with breast cancer, she begins to see the threads of her household unravel. Each woman reacts to the situation in a different way. A sadly beautiful story about mothers and daughters, inspired by the author's real relatives. Read my interview with the author.
On Pointe by Lorie Ann Grover - PG - ***
A hopeful ballerina named Claire discovers that she may be considered too tall to pursue her dream. This book has hope, grief, eating disorders, and family matters. I recommend it to fans of A Dance of Sisters by Tracey Porter and The Sisters Impossible by J.D. Landis. Read my interview with the author.
Hold Me Tight by Lorie Ann Grover - PG-13 - ***
This story has some hard-hitting subjects - divorce, secrets, abuse - but proves that a book with heavy subject matter doesn't have to weigh readers down. Recommended. Read my interview with the author.
Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland, with illustrations by Elaine Clayton - PG - ***
An extremely fast read about a teenager who expresses her thoughts about her life, her parents, and her sister in poems and art. I really liked Clayton's artwork, which includes sketches, clip art, photos, and collages.
The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith - PG - ***
This follows one girl's experiences from age 14 to 17, able to capture her entire high school career in one slim volume. My favorite line appears on Page 123:
In the end, I'm just a girl on a sleeping bag in the middle of nowhere, at the starting line of every mistake she'll ever make.
What I Believe by Norma Fox Mazer - PG - ***
A mix of journal entries and poems written by a young girl. After her father lost his job, he became a different person. In the two years that followed the layoff, the family struggled to get by and her father became more and more depressed. When he leaves, it only makes things worse.
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones - G - ***
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones - G - ***
Cute, likable novels. Kids pick them up because of the titles and the covers. Though the first book implies parental issues, it's more focused on the lead character's first crush. Teachers and parents seem surprised to find out how innocuous the book is - again, I think, adults make assumptions due to the title, but I assure them that it's really harmless.
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle - G - ***
Cuba's three wars for independence raged on as Rosa la Bayamesa, a nurse, tended to the sick and the injured. Using medicine made from plants, she helped the fallen soldiers, the children, even those who fought for the other side. This verse novel is based on actual events and people, and it follows Rosa's life from 1850 to 1899. Even when they were pursued by her enemies, Rosa and her husband Jose never stopped helping others. Jose and a few other supporting characters, such as a little girl named Silvia, step in from time to time to share a poem, but Rosa is the driving force behind the story. We could all learn something from her selflessness and determination.
The Fruit Bowl Project by Sarah Durkee - PG - ***
What happens when a teacher and a famous rock star give a class of middle schoolers a writing prompt - but assign each student a different writing style? This hilarious and self-aware story has two portions: the initial setup, which is written in prose, and then the variations on the project, which are written in every way imaginable. There's a screenplay. A limerick. A newspaper article. A transcript. The point of view of an insider, an outsider, a popular girl, a gossip hound. Different styles, different kids. This book completely lives up to its premise. I encourage teachers and students to read and discuss this book in their classroom, then create their own Fruit Bowl Project. Vote for this review at Amazon.
17 by Liz Rosenberg - PG - **
A lot of issues are addressed as Stephanie reaches out to - and pushes away from - her loved ones. Your level of interest in it will depend on your tolerance of melodrama. Put it to you this way: if you like Degrassi the Next Generation, you'll probably like this; if you don't, you probably won't.
Split Image by Mel Glenn - PG - **
Ever wonder what everyone thought about you? This book collects the thoughts of Laura's classmates, teachers, and faculty members. Some love her, others loathe her. Laura struggles with how others perceive her. You as the reader are privvy to everyone's honest opinions of her; had Laura herself know what they truly thought, things may have gone differently for her. Note: I recommend Leap Day by Wendy Mass to people who like this book. Though Leap Day is not a verse novel, it has a fantastically innovative way to tell the story: the A part of the chapter is in first person from the protagonist's point of view, while the B part retells that part of the story from someone else's perspective.
Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones - PG - **
Sones' first novel is semi-autobiographical. What happens when your big sister goes "crazy?" Told from the younger sister's point of view and based on her family's experiences, this novel is for those who like A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry and/or want something like Cut by Patricia McCormack or Checkers by John Marsden for someone who is not quite old or mature enough to read either of those titles.
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech - G - **
Out of all of the titles here, this book is intended for the youngest audience, say ages 8 and up. It is also the most poetry-oriented story on the list. By that, I mean that it actually is about poetry, and it is supposed to be a student's collection of poems, rather than a story that just happens to be expressed in that format. Jack is an elementary school student who doesn't want to write poetry, but he has to for class.
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