National Poetry Month

Every April we celebrate National Poetry Month by sharing poetry books.  This April, read one of these great novels in verse for teens . . . .

Keesha's House by Helen Frost

Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.

Spin by Rebecca Caprara

Arachne is ostracized by all but her family and closest friend, Celandine. Turning to her loom for solace, Arachne learns to weave, finding her voice and her strength through the craft. After the tragic loss of her family, Arachne challenges Athena, and a fateful weaving contest ensues, resulting in an exposé of divine misdeeds, a shocking transformation, and unexpected redemption.

Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds
Miles Morales is still just your average teenager. He has unexpectedly become totally obsessed with poetry and can never seem to do much more than babble around his crush. Nothing too weird. Oh! Except, just yesterday, he used his spidey superpowers to save the world (no biggie) from an evil mastermind called The Warden.


More Novels in Verse for Teens --

19 Love Songs by David Levithan

Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia Cole

Facing the Enemy by Barbara Krasner

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Jazz Owls by Margarita Engle

The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson

Nothing Burns As Bright As You by Ashley Woodfolk

Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

One Step Forward by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams by Shari Green

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott

Wave by Diana Farid

We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

Novels in Verse for Teens

 April is National Poetry Month.  Celebrate this year by reading a novel in verse.  Here are a few of my favorites for teens . . . .

Keesha's House by Helen Frost

Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.

Kissing Annabel by Steven Herrick

Sixteen-year-old Jack woos beautiful Annabel, and, through their relationship, he copes with his mother's death.

Vanilla by Billy Merrell

Told in a series of blank verse poems, two boys Van (called Vanilla) and Hunter tell of their relationship which began before they were teenagers, but foundered in high school, mostly because Hunter thinks they should be having sex and Vanilla is not so sure.

One by Sarah Crossan

Despite problems at home, sixteen-year-old conjoined twins Tippi and Grace are loving going to school for the first time and making real friends when they learn that a cardiac problem will force them to have separation surgery, which they have never before considered.

White Rose by Kip Wilson

Tells the story of Sophie Scholl, a young German college student who challenges the Nazi regime during World War II as part of the White Rose, a non-violent resistance group.

More Novels in Verse for Teens --

500 Words of Less by Juleah Del Rosario

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann

Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh

Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

Freakboy by Kristen Elizabeth Clark

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Punching the Air by Ibi Aanu Zoboi

Saving Red by Sonia Sones

The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party by Allan Wolf

Sold by Patricia McCormick
Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott

The Way the Light Bends by Cordelia Jensen

Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through April 30, 2021.

April Is National Poetry Month

This month, we celebrate our love of language in poetry.  A growing genre is novels written in verse.  So here are some of my favorite Novels in Verse for teens . . . .

Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge
Praying for help after the sudden death of his brother, Walker is astonished by the appearance of an irreverent Jesus in his bedroom who imparts unexpected strength and comfort while helping him understand some of life's biggest questions.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
Fifteen-year-old Ruby Milliken leaves her best friend, her boyfriend, her aunt, and her mother's grave in Boston and reluctantly flies to Los Angeles to live with her father, a famous movie star who divorced her mother before Ruby was born.

Keesha's House by Helen Frost
Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again.

Cold Skin by Steven Herrick
In a rural Australian coal mining town shortly after World War II, teenaged Eddie makes a startling discovery when he investigates the murder of a local high school girl.


More Teen Novels in Verse --
The Brimstone Journals by Ronald Koertge
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
By the River by Steven Herrick
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses by Ronald Koertge
Nothing by Robin Friedman
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman
Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
The Taking of Room 113: A Hostage Drama in Poems by Mel Glenn
Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards
Walking on Glass by Alma Fullerton
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill
The Wolf by Steven Herrick

Check these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 25, 2015.