100 Must-Read YA Novels in Verse
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While we at the Riot take some time off to rest and catch up on our reading, we’re re-running some of our favorite posts from the last several months. Enjoy our highlight reel, and we’ll be back with new stuff on Monday, July 11th.
This post originally ran March 22, 2016.
One of my favorite formats, and one that’s abundant in the young adult designation in particular, is the verse format. I love novels, as well as non-fiction, that is thoughtfully and skillfully crafted in verse. It’s a skill few writers possess well, since it’s so much more than simply breaking up prose into lines and calling it done. There needs to be clear thought and purpose behind the format, since it reflects the voice and perspective of the character. But damn, when a verse book is done well, it is done well. The craft behind it, the voice that drives it, and the way it builds a story and character and time period and setting can make verse books spectacular. Want to get started? Let me offer up 100 YA books in verse. These range from novels to non-fiction, as this category of books is privileged to have writers who can easily navigate both through poetry. Because YA has writers who are prolific in their verse writing, I’m limiting selections to no more than 2 books per author, meaning that this list will showcase dozens and dozens of unique writers and perspectives. I’ve marked with a * those authors who have far more than two YA verse novels so that the eager can dive realllllllllly deep. Some of these flirt with the middle grade/YA line, but I’m including them because the few here add to the dynamic format. I’ve also only listed first titles in a series, in order to offer up a wider variety of reads. Finally, again in the interest of offering the widest range of books possible, I’ve included some verse titles that the entire book is not in verse, but rather, parts of it are or individual voices in a cast are. Get ready to get your verse reading on!
1. 5-to-1 by Holly Bodger
2. After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields
3. After The Kiss by Tera Elan McVoy
4. All The Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg*
5. All We Have is Now by Lisa Schroeder*
6. Amiri & Odette, A Love Story by Walter Dean Myers
7. And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
8. Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann
9. Audacious by Gabrielle Prendergrast
10. Audacity by Melanie Crowder
11. Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe
12. A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
13. Beanball by Gene Fehler
14. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
15. Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford
16. The Braid by Helen Frost*
17. Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
18. Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
19. By the River by Steven Herrick*
20. Caminar by Skila Brown
21. Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge*
22. Crank by Ellen Hopkins*
23. Crash Boom Love by Juan Felipe Herrera
24. Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips
25. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
26. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
27. The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff
28. Displacement by Thalia Chaltas
29. Escaping Tornado Season by Julie Williams
30. Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
31. Family by Micol Ostow
32. The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle*
33. Fishtailing by Wendy Phillips
34. Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean
35. Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
36. The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith
37. Ghosting by Edith Pattou
38. Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland
39. A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes
40. Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
41. The Good Braider by Terry Farish
42. A Heart Like Ringo Starr by Linda Oatman High
43. Heaven Looks A Lot Like A Mall by Wendy J Maas
44. Hidden by Helen Frost*
45. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson
46. How To (Un)cage A Girl by Francesca Lia Block
47. Hugging The Rock by Susan Taylor Brown
48. I Don’t Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
49. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
50. Karma by Cathy Ostlere
51. Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick
52. Kissing Annabel by Stephen Herrick
53. The Language Inside by Holly Thompson
54. Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath
55. Loose Threads by Lorie Ann Grover
56. The Lost Marble Notebook of Forgotten Girl and Random Boy by Marie Jaskulka
57. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
58. Make Lemonade by Virgina Euwer Wolff
59. My Book of Life By Angel by Martine Levitt
60. October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman
61. One by Sarah Crossan
62. One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies by Sonya Sones*
63. Orchards by Holly Thompson
64. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
65. Out of This Place by Emma Cameron
66. Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott
67. Planet Pregnancy by Linda Oatman High
68. Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan
69. Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
70. Reaching For Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
71. The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
72. The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
73. Rubber Houses by Ellen Yeomans
74. Running Back to Ludie by Angela Johnson
75. The Secret of Me by Meg Kearney
76. Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong
77. Shakespeare Bats Clean-Up by Ron Koertge
78. Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
79. Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen
80. Sold by Patricia McCormick
81. Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
82. The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe
83. Splintering by Eireann Corrigan
84. Split Image by Mel Glenn*
85. Street Love by Walter Dean Myers
86. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
87. Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
88. Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards
89. A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
90. Two Girls Staring At The Ceiling by Lucy Frank
91. Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
92. Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave
93. Up From The Sea by Leza Lowitz
94. The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolfe
95. The Weight of the Sky by Lisa Ann Sandell
96. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
97. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? A Mystery in Poems by Mel Glenn
98. Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell
99. You Remind Me of You: a Poetry Memoir by Eireann Corrigan
100. Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill*
One of my favorite formats, and one that’s abundant in the young adult designation in particular, is the verse format. I love novels, as well as non-fiction, that is thoughtfully and skillfully crafted in verse. It’s a skill few writers possess well, since it’s so much more than simply breaking up prose into lines and calling it done. There needs to be clear thought and purpose behind the format, since it reflects the voice and perspective of the character. But damn, when a verse book is done well, it is done well. The craft behind it, the voice that drives it, and the way it builds a story and character and time period and setting can make verse books spectacular. Want to get started? Let me offer up 100 YA books in verse. These range from novels to non-fiction, as this category of books is privileged to have writers who can easily navigate both through poetry. Because YA has writers who are prolific in their verse writing, I’m limiting selections to no more than 2 books per author, meaning that this list will showcase dozens and dozens of unique writers and perspectives. I’ve marked with a * those authors who have far more than two YA verse novels so that the eager can dive realllllllllly deep. Some of these flirt with the middle grade/YA line, but I’m including them because the few here add to the dynamic format. I’ve also only listed first titles in a series, in order to offer up a wider variety of reads. Finally, again in the interest of offering the widest range of books possible, I’ve included some verse titles that the entire book is not in verse, but rather, parts of it are or individual voices in a cast are. Get ready to get your verse reading on!
1. 5-to-1 by Holly Bodger
2. After the Death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields
3. After The Kiss by Tera Elan McVoy
4. All The Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg*
5. All We Have is Now by Lisa Schroeder*
6. Amiri & Odette, A Love Story by Walter Dean Myers
7. And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
8. Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann
9. Audacious by Gabrielle Prendergrast
10. Audacity by Melanie Crowder
11. Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe
12. A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
13. Beanball by Gene Fehler
14. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
15. Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford
16. The Braid by Helen Frost*
17. Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
18. Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
19. By the River by Steven Herrick*
20. Caminar by Skila Brown
21. Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge*
22. Crank by Ellen Hopkins*
23. Crash Boom Love by Juan Felipe Herrera
24. Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips
25. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
26. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
27. The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff
28. Displacement by Thalia Chaltas
29. Escaping Tornado Season by Julie Williams
30. Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
31. Family by Micol Ostow
32. The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle*
33. Fishtailing by Wendy Phillips
34. Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean
35. Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
36. The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith
37. Ghosting by Edith Pattou
38. Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland
39. A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes
40. Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
41. The Good Braider by Terry Farish
42. A Heart Like Ringo Starr by Linda Oatman High
43. Heaven Looks A Lot Like A Mall by Wendy J Maas
44. Hidden by Helen Frost*
45. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson
46. How To (Un)cage A Girl by Francesca Lia Block
47. Hugging The Rock by Susan Taylor Brown
48. I Don’t Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
49. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
50. Karma by Cathy Ostlere
51. Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick
52. Kissing Annabel by Stephen Herrick
53. The Language Inside by Holly Thompson
54. Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath
55. Loose Threads by Lorie Ann Grover
56. The Lost Marble Notebook of Forgotten Girl and Random Boy by Marie Jaskulka
57. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
58. Make Lemonade by Virgina Euwer Wolff
59. My Book of Life By Angel by Martine Levitt
60. October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman
61. One by Sarah Crossan
62. One of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies by Sonya Sones*
63. Orchards by Holly Thompson
64. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
65. Out of This Place by Emma Cameron
66. Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott
67. Planet Pregnancy by Linda Oatman High
68. Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan
69. Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
70. Reaching For Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
71. The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
72. The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
73. Rubber Houses by Ellen Yeomans
74. Running Back to Ludie by Angela Johnson
75. The Secret of Me by Meg Kearney
76. Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong
77. Shakespeare Bats Clean-Up by Ron Koertge
78. Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
79. Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen
80. Sold by Patricia McCormick
81. Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
82. The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe
83. Splintering by Eireann Corrigan
84. Split Image by Mel Glenn*
85. Street Love by Walter Dean Myers
86. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
87. Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
88. Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards
89. A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
90. Two Girls Staring At The Ceiling by Lucy Frank
91. Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
92. Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave
93. Up From The Sea by Leza Lowitz
94. The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolfe
95. The Weight of the Sky by Lisa Ann Sandell
96. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
97. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? A Mystery in Poems by Mel Glenn
98. Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell
99. You Remind Me of You: a Poetry Memoir by Eireann Corrigan
100. Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill*
