One year ago Nora's family went out for dinner to celebrate her birthday. One year ago, Nora's mother was killed when a shooter opened fire in the restaurant. Ever since, her father has kept her close and withdrawn from everyone else, even pulling Nora out of school. This year for Nora's birthday her father has chosen a remote celebration, miles from the nearest person. They get out their gear to explore a slot canyon. But when the worst happens, their remote location means no one can hear their cries for help. So it's up to Nora to survive, find her father, and save them both.

This novel starts and ends in prose but when Nora is fighting for survival in the canyon it switches to powerful verse. The story moves quickly as her situation goes from bad to worse and death seems inevitable. Watching Nora fight is thrilling and inspiring as she combats the real environment around her and the memories that have haunted her ever since her mother's death. A quick, impactful read.

The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling

Erica's Picks
4th - 6th grade
​tags: character driven, contemporary fiction, family life, fast-paced, mental illness, novels in verse, survival

When a plane crashes on its way from New York to the Dominican Republic, the lives of two girls are changed forever. They live in the same time zone but worlds apart. Yahaira is a chess champion who lives in an urban apartment with her mother and is dating the girl next door. Camino lives in a rural house with her aunt who is a healer and dreams of going to America to study medicine one day. When tragedy strikes, they are forced to question everything they thought they knew as they cope with loss and unexpected gains.

This novel in verse is a quick, impactful read. The alternating chapters explore each girl's point of view and paint two very different but equally compelling pictures.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Erica's Picks
8th grade
​tags: character driven, contemporary fiction, family life, global perspectives, issues fiction, LGBTQ, novels in verse, People of Color, SEL, summer vacation, tear-jerker

"There is an Arabic proverb that says:
She makes you feel
like a loaf of freshly
baked bread
It is said about
the nicest
kindest people
The type of people
who help you rise."
This story in verse is about Jude, a young Syrian who has fled her country with her pregnant mother. Suddenly she finds herself labeled “Middle-Eastern” and struggles to fit in yet keep her identity.  Can a girl who wears hijab star in the school play? You will love Jude’s voice as she tells her story with grace and heart.


Tessa's Picks, 5-7th grade, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Global perspectives, Issues fiction, Novels in verse

“A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.”

Dominican teen Xiomara is a powerful poet.  Growing up in a strict Hispanic household, she feels trapped by her mother’s oppressive religious beliefs.  Her voice will grab you and not let go as she processes her relationships and her passion to break out of the confines surrounding her. There is so much raw emotion here. 
“Late into the night I write and the pages of my notebook swell from all the words I’ve pressed onto them. 
It almost feels like the more I bruise the page the quicker something inside me heals.” 
Content warning:  for mature students

Tessa's Picks

​8th grade, Character driven, Family life, Issues fiction, People of color, LGBTQ, Novels in verse

The words in this book are so wise and wonderful, I want to carry it around and speak them to anyone who will listen. I used to think i wouldn't like novels in free verse. Boy was I wrong. Like Brown Girl Dreaming, the verse seems to transport you into the mind and soul of the main character. Mimi Yoshiko Oliver's mother is Japanese and her father is black, and her family moves to a predominantly white town in Vermont  where she is judged by her identity and confined by her gender.
The time is the 1960s and the move from liberal Berkeley California is a culture shock.
Mimi is never afraid to speak her truth or stand up for what she believes.My favorite part is when the white principal tells her that "she is a credit to her race" and as she leaves their exchange she tell him the same thing. She is "Like raindrops on granite." I say,
because we know that's how I persist---
drip, drip, drip
until the granite cracks."
Funny, tender,strong, this is a book you will want to put in the hands of everyone you know.

Tessa's Picks, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, 7th summer 2016, People of color, Novels in verse, Historical fiction, Character driven

  
  A classical dance prodigy in India, Veda’s heart and soul are in her graceful movements.  When an accident on the way home from winning a big competition leaves her with one leg amputated below the knee, her dreams are also shattered.  Fitted with a state of the art prosthesis, she must start over as a beginner.  Her spirit and courage get her into a school with a revered teacher, Dr. Dhanam, who tells her that dancing is not about competition but “something larger and deeper that self.”  With the help of the handsome and talented Govinda, Veda begins to approach dance as a spiritual pursuit. 

This is the inspiring story of a young girl struggling to regain  joy in her art. Told in verse which captures the mystery and beauty of India, it is a moving tribute to the power of art, faith and hope.

tags: Tessa's picks, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, Contemporary fiction, Novels in verse, Character driven, People of color.

If you're stuck in your room or stuck in a rut,
If your life needs adventure no if, and, or but,
If you love magical creatures and mysteries too,
I've  just the right thing: read Zorgamazoo!

Zorgamazoo is a delightful rhyming romp that reminded me of Dr. Seuss, except in long form. In addition to rhyming, the novel does a lot of fun things with typography and has illustrations at the beginning of each chapter.  Full of weird creatures, clever humor, and adventure this is a great choice for a read-aloud or independent reading.

Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston


Erica's Picks
2nd - 4th Grade
Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Humor, Novels in Verse

Who are you? Are you who they say you are? Or are you someone else? Or perhaps a combination of the two: the public and the private you? Addie has been called many things by many people: to her fellow misfits she's a friend, to her classmates she's a know-it-all, to her boyfriend she's beautiful but infuriating, to her boyfriend's friends she's a loser social-climber, to her ex-best friend Becca she's badly in need of a makeover, to her grandmother she's a reminder of how times have changed, and to herself she's...a girl trying to figure out who she is. 

The format of a novel in verse provided provides an intimacy that allows a good look into Addie’s psyche. Addie worries about her boyfriend and her social status, but she also worries about stories she reads in the newspaper. The poems range from haikus about her cats to long, loosely structured ones about her grandmother and each format fit the subject. This a quick and easy read. Even though it is economical with its words, the descriptions of the plot, character, and setting shine through just as strongly as in a regular novel. Technically it's the third book in a series but you don’t have to read the first two to enjoy it. I'd give it to fans of poetry, but I'd also give it to anyone looking for an outsider school story.

Addie on the Inside by James Howe

Erica's Picks
5th - 8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Novels in Verse, School Stories