Verse Novels

After the murder of his father, Keith and his mother are forced to leave Brooklyn and move in with his aunt. Keith urgently clings to every last reminder of his dad, discovering comfort in his own music and that of the late legend--and his father's idol--Jimi Hendrix.

This startling autobiographical account tells of a young woman's battle with eating disorders that put her in and out of hospitals over a span of four years and led to her own parents fighting for the right to commit her. When her last source of support, her boyfriend, attempts suicide and ends up in a coma, she is forced to find strength from within.

An unforgettable narrative collage told in poems
Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids gravitate to her house when they just can' t make it on their own. They are Stephie - pregnant, trying to make the right decisions for herself and those she cares about; Jason - Stephie' s boyfriend, torn between his responsibility to Stephie and the baby and the promise of a college basketball career; Dontay - in foster care while his parents are in prison, feeling unwanted both inside and outside the system; Carmen - arrested on a DUI charge, waiting in a juvenile detention center for a judge to hear her case; Harris - disowned by his father after disclosing that he' s gay, living in his car, and taking care of himself; Katie - angry at her mother' s loyalty to an abusive stepfather, losing herself in long hours of work and school.

Brutally honest and authentic in tone, these poems center on the suicide of high school freshman Anna Gonzales. Each poem portrays a classmate's or teacher's personal reaction to the loss. Together, the poems create a moving testimony to the effects of one girl's devastating choice.

When Wesley Boone writes a poem for his high school English class and reads it aloud, poetry-slam-style, he kicks off a revolution. Soon his classmates are clamoring to have weekly poetry sessions. One by one, eighteen students take on the risky challenge of self-revelation. Award-winning author Nikki Grimes captures the voices of eighteen teenagers through the poetry they share and the stories they tell, and exposes what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes, beyond the masquerade.

In stunning verse, Stephanie Hemphill slowly reveals the complexities of friendship--the power it has to define, destroy, and eventually heal again.

When her first boyfriend dies, Jen thinks she's just unlucky. But when her second boyfriend dies, she "is" Jinx--a curse, a promise of bad luck, and girl who is angry and alone, and can't get close to people anymore. Original.

The critically acclaimed author of "Crank" returns with a gripping, masterful novel told in verse that weaves a riveting story about a teenage girl who is raised in a religious--yet abusive--family. Young Adult.

Based on a real-life event and written in verse, this novel relates the disturbing story of one girl's descent into addiction.

2003 Kentucky Bluegrass Award - Grades 9-12
Narrated by 15 teenage characters, this startling, often poignant poetic novel evokes a suburban high school both familiar and terrifying. It also offers an ideal opportunity for young adults to discuss violence in schools.

"Here's what I know about the realm of possibility--
it is always expanding, it is never what you think
it is. Everything around us was once deemed
impossible. From the airplane overhead to
the phones in our pockets to the choir girl
putting her arm around the metalhead.
As hard as it is for us to see sometimes, we all exist
within the realm of possibility. Most of the limits
are of our own world's devising. And yet,
every day we each do so many things
that were once impossible to us.
Enter "The Realm of Possibility and meet a boy whose girlfriend is in love with Holden Caulfield; a girl who loves the boy who wears all black; a boy with the perfect body; and a girl who writes love songs for a girl she can't have.
These are just a few of the captivating characters readers will get to know in t

Written in verse, this novel follows a girl from ages 14 to 18, exploring first crushes, first dances, first kisses, and the many dangers of growing up.

After her mother's death, Ruby moves to Los Angeles to live with her father, actor Whip Logan, whom she's never met. Ruby hates her new glamorous life, but a tragic incident helps Ruby and Whip be honest with each other. Written in free verse poems.

Well, I'm a huge Sonya Sones fan, but this book just didn't do it for me. Like her other books, it's a novel in verse, but this one's written from a guy's perspective, and something about it just didn't ring true. However, Sones is great at writing from a girl's point of view, so I highly recommend any of her other books: Stop Pretending, One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, or What My Mother Doesn't Know.

Sophie's mother doesn't know about the boy who's pressing Sophie to go further than she wants. Or about the boy she chats with online. These sharp, funny, and tragic poems tell of Sophie's sometimes painful but always passionate journey of self-discovery.

"You walk into class--
my head clears.
No kidding.
You are my aspirin.
One girl. One school year. All poems. From friends to first dates, school dances to family fights, this inspiring collection captures the emotional highs and lows of teen life with refreshing honesty and humor. With an authentic voice full of wit and insight, "Girl Coming In for a Landing is just like high school: impossible to walk away from unchanged.

Filled with love, fear, and the tough choices born of casual acts, "One Night" is a passionate and compellingly readable novel about teen life, the hardships of parenthood--and the joy and forgiveness between family and friends.

When she answers a babysitting ad, 14-year-old LaVaughn meets Jolly, a 17-year-old single mother with two kids by different fathers. As she helps Jolly make lemonade out of the lemons her life has given her, LaVaughn learns some lessons about making choices in this multiple award-winning and groundbreaking novel.

When LaVaughn hears that Jody is moving back into her housing project, she can hardly believe it. But why doesn't he return her affection? In this eloquent sequel to "Make Lemonade, " author Wolff explores gender identity, class, religion, and love with her penetrating intelligence and gleaming literary style.