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.

2019 Summer Reading List for Teens

This week, I'm sharing some recommended books for teens to read this summer . . . .

Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
In her debut novel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks pens a sensitive and funny Romeo and Juliet tale about modern romance, geek royalty, and what it takes to heal the long-festering scars of the past (Spoiler Alert: love).

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.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl
After an alien attack devastates the Earth, pilot and future astronaut Clover Martinez bands with seven other teens in a struggle to survive.

The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett
After getting away with murder, Grant Tavish plans his own form of justice, but before he can act upon it a cave system collapse traps him and four other teenagers miles below the surface, where they soon discover that they aren't alone.

Dig by A.S. King
Five white teenage cousins who are struggling with the failures and racial ignorance of their dysfunctional parents and their wealthy grandparents, reunite for Easter.


More Books --
And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle
Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky
Girls on the Line by Jennie Liu
I, Claudia by Mary McCoy
Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden
Isle of Blood and Stone by Makila Lucier
Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Now You See Her by Lisa Leighton
Pride by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
Relative Strangers by Paula Garner
Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor
The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotick by David Arnold
To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin
We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett
When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas
White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig
Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through July 12, 2019.