AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. AdLit.org is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital, and is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.
Novels in Verse
In the past several years, a new format of novel has grown in popularity — the novel in verse. Largely for the tween and young teen audience, the plots can be as varied as prose. Here are some of the best from the last few years.
Shark Girl
Age Level: 12-14
This ripped-from-the-headlines story tells of a teenage surfer girl whose arm gets bitten off by a shark. As she recovers, she finds she doesn't like being identified as "the shark girl" and just wants to resume her normal life.
Sharp Teeth
Age Level: Adult
For older, horror-loving teens: a blank-verse horror tale about werewolves in Los Angeles.
Pieces of Georgia
Age Level: 9-12
This slight novel tells of near 13-year-old Georgia, still grieving the loss of her mother six years before. An anonymous benefactor gives her a museum membership, hoping that her love of art will be the cure for her sadness. Georgia's own journal entries are composed in free verse.
Splintering
Age Level: 14-16
After a stranger breaks in and terrorizes a gathering, the family members learn to cope with the aftermath of the crime and their other problems. Told in alternating chapters by Jeremy and his sister Paulie, these poems fit the fast-moving, gripping plot.
Keesha's House
Age Level: 14-16
At-risk teenagers congregate at a safe house, and we gradually learn what brought each of them there—an unplanned pregnancy, harassment about sexual orientation, and an unloving foster parent. A complicated poetic format (sestinas) doesn't make for a complicated read—the plot is equal to the poetry.
CrashBoomLove
Age Level: 16-18
Mexican-American poet Herrera wrote one of the first novels in verse for the teen audience. Sixteen-year old Cesar is the son of migrant workers, and he shares his coming-of-age experiences.
Crank
Age Level: 14-16
Hopkins has become the leading author of novels in verse, mainly due to her gritty, unflinching subject matter. Crank, her first novel, deals with Kristina/Bree and her addiction to crystal meth.
Street Love
Age Level: 14-16
Damien, the star of the basketball team is headed to college. Junice is trying to hold her family together after tragedy. When these two meet, there is nothing but love, even if Damien's parents are less than thrilled with his choice. As the drama unfolds, each character tells his/her story through verse, leaving the reader to wonder if Damien and Junice be able to rise above the adversity that surrounds them.
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
Age Level: 12-14
When Ruby's mother dies, she must move to California to live with her movie-star father, who she doesn't really know. Though, she's determined to hate her rich famous father and she misses her old life in Boston, she comes to accept her new life.
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl
Age Level: 14-16
Three different girls share stories of their run-ins with the same boy. The book's frank treatment of sexuality will have immense appeal to teen girls.
Make Lemonade
Age Level: 12-14
Studious LaVaughn, 14, decides to earn extra money by babysitting for a child whose mother, Jolly, is only a bit older than LaVaughn herself. LaVaughn gradually comes to respect Jolly and eventually the two become friends.
