Novels in verse books
Novels in verse books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
Make Lemonade
Virginia Euwer WolffAn early and widely read example of the form, about a teenage girl who takes a babysitting job with a young single mother; it set out many of the features later verse novels used.
Out of the Dust
Karen HesseA historical verse novel about a girl in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, written in short poems dated by month; it shows how the form can carry a specific place and period.
Love That Dog
Sharon CreechA short verse novel about a boy's growing ability to write poems, built around responses to famous poems; a common first book for younger readers.
The Crossover
Kwame AlexanderA novel about twin brothers and basketball told largely in rhythmic free verse; it shows how the form can borrow the cadence of sport and music.
The Poet X
Elizabeth AcevedoA novel about a Dominican-American teen in Harlem who writes poetry, using spoken-word style; a widely read example of the form in contemporary YA.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More novels in verse books
- Eugene OneginEugene OneginAlexander Pushkin
- Burned
BurnedEllen Hopkins - Witness
WitnessKaren Hesse - Sold
SoldPatricia McCormick - Inside Out & Back Again
Inside Out & Back AgainThanhha Lai - The Weight of Water
The Weight of WaterSarah Crossan - Because I am furniture
Because I am furnitureThalia Chaltas - Long Way Down
Long Way DownJason Reynolds - What my mother doesn't know
What my mother doesn't knowSonya Sones - Before the Ever After
Before the Ever AfterJacqueline Woodson - Impulse
ImpulseEllen Hopkins2007 - Clap When You Land
Clap When You LandElizabeth Acevedo2020