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Novels-in-Verse Middle School |
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The boy lost in the maze
by Joseph Coelho
Blending the ancient myth of Theseus with the quest of a modern-day teen searching for his father, this unputdownable novel-in-verse follows 17-year-old Theo as he realizes he must be resourceful and strong like his mythical hero after he is tricked and double-crossed by a search-agency scam artist and a depraved lawyer.
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Bright red fruit
by Safia Elhillo
"Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet--until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she's keeping a bigger secret than ever before--one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community"
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Wild dreamers
by Margarita Engle
Living out of their car ever since her militant father became one of the FBI's most wanted, Ana meets Leandro, who struggles with crippling anxiety, and forming an instant connection, they fight to protect wildlife and heal from their troubled pasts. (Young Adult– Grade 7+)
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Song of freedom, song of dreams : a novel in verse
by Shari Green
"Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the BerlinWall in the late 1980s. Written in stunning lyrical verse, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them"
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A second chance on earth
by Juan Vidal
"When sixteen-year-old Marcos travels to Cartagena, Colombia to scatter his late father's ashes, he strikes up a friendship with Camilo, a boy his age who works as a local taxi driver and shares Marcos' love for the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude"
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Eb & Flow
by Kelly J. Baptist
In this emotional novel-in-verse, tweens De'Kari and Ebony are suspended after a fight for ten days, during which they learn to see the world with a fresh perspective.
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Spin
by Rebecca Caprara
After the tragic death of her family, 16-year-old Arachne flees to the city of Colophon, where her skills as a weaver are put to the test, leading to a confrontation with the goddess Athena that results in an exposé of divine misdeeds and unexpected redemption.
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The Girl Who Became a Tree : A Story Told in Poems
by Joseph Coelho
Since her father died, 14-year-old Daphne spends her afternoons at the library until her mother can pick her up. She keeps everyone at a distance, preferring to lose herself in the world of books in an effort to keep her grief at bay. One day, she loses her phone—precious because it holds the last voicemail her father left her—and is given a cryptic message to “follow the nuts” to find the creature who took it. Thus begins a surrealistic odyssey through a “forest of past memories” wherein Daphne, like the namesake from Greek mythology her tree surgeon father told her about, turns into a tree. Before she can find her way back to humanity, she must confront the pain surrounding her father’s death and its aftermath.
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Wings in the wild
by Margarita Engle
When a hurricane exposes Soleida's family's secret sculpture garden, the Cuban government arrests her artist parents, forcing her to escape alone to Central America where she meets Dariel, a Cuban American boy, and together they work to protect the environment and bring attention to the imprisoned artists in Cuba
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The song of us
by Kate Fussner
"Love at first sight isn't a myth. For seventh graders Olivia and Eden, it's fate. Olivia is a capital-P Poet, and Eden thinks she wants to be a musician one day, but for now she's just the new girl. And then Eden shows up to Poetry Club and everything changes. Eden isn't out, and she has rules for dating Olivia: don't call. Don't tell her friends. And don't let anyone know they're together. But when jealousy creeps in, it's Olivia's words that push Eden away. While Eden sets out to find herself, Olivia begins a journey to bring Eden back--using poetry. Both Olivia and Eden will learn just how powerful their words can be to bring them together...or tear them apart forever"
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Fly
by Alison Hughes
"Told in free verse, this moving novel about courage, connection and self-discovery follows Felix, a 14-year-old with cerebral palsy, who, captivated by the noble, chivalrous ideals of knighthood, embarks on a quest to save his lady love from the school bully.
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An appetite for miracles
by Laekan Zea Kemp
When Danna, struggling with family issues, and Raúl, playing guitar for the elderly to escape his past, meet, they embark on a mission to heal both her grandfather, whose memories are fading, and themselves.
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Forever is now
by Mariama Lockington
Suffering from agoraphobia after witnessing a scene of police brutality, Sadie discovers, with the help of family, friends and online activists, that she can build a safe place inside herself.
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The road to after
by Rebekah Lowell
After being freed from her abusive father, Lacey embarks on a new kind of life, one filled with choices she's never had before—and one where she can create good memories with family and friends.
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A warning about swans
by R. M. Romero
Swan maiden Hilde sacrifices her magical wings to seek freedom in the human world, but when her pact with an upstart baron takes her to the court of Ludwig II, she struggles to fit in, and only Jewish artist Franz, who has the power to paint souls, can help her escape her newfound prison.
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The in-between
by Katie Van Heidrich
After being evicted from their home, 13-year-old Katie Wingate and her family move into an Extended Stay America Motel where she tries to lead a normal life, all the while wondering if things would be easier living with her father.
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One last shot : a story of wartime photographer Gerda Taro
by Kip Wilson
"Sent to Paris after being arrested for distributing anti-Nazi propaganda, Gerda Taro teams up with a fellow photographer to take pictures of military conflict and sell them at a high price but soon loses sight of her own safety.
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The name she gave me
by Betty Culley
In this deeply emotional story, 16-year-old Rynn secretly decides to search for her biological family, learning that she has a younger sister in foster care two towns away—a discovery that could tear her adoptive family apart.
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Ode to a nobody
by Caroline Brooks DuBois
After a devastating tornado tears apart her home, thirteen-year-old Quinn struggles to find stability and return to who she was before, finding she has to rebuild herself
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Moonwalking
by Zetta Elliott
When punk rock-loving JJ Pankowski and graffiti artist Pie Velez stumble into an unlikely friendship, they use their love of music and art to get through a tough semester until a run-in with the police changes everything.
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Wave
by Diana Farid
When her best friend's cancer returns in the summer of 1987, none of her usual pursuits--surfing, singing, or reading poetry--can keep thirteen-year-old Ava afloat
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Don't call me a hurricane
by Ellen Hagan
After a devastating hurricane changes everything, high school senior Eliza, fearful that something will upend her life again, falls for a summer tourist who has a devastating secret that risks the life she's rebuilt.
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When we make it
by Elisabet Velasquez
Sarai uses verse to navigate the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn, questioning the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives
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Clap when you land
by Elizabeth Acevedo
An evocative novel in verse by the National Book Award-winning author of The Poet X follows the experiences of two grieving sisters who navigate the loss of their father and the impact of his death on their relationship.
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Chlorine sky
by Mahogany L. Browne
Picked on at home, criticized for talking trash while beating boys at basketball, and always seen as less than her best friend, a girl struggles to like and accept herself
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Alma presses play
by Tina Cane
In 1980s New York, half-Chinese, half-Jewish Alma, whose life is a series of halfways, uses her Walkman to get through the challenges thrown her way until she is ready to press play on the soundtrack of her life.
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Home is not a country
by Safia Elhillo
A novel in verse follows the experiences of a misfit teen in a discriminatory suburban community who questions her mixed heritage before unexpected family revelations force her to fight for her own identity.
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The seventh raven
by David Elliott
Turned into a raven along with his six brothers, Robyn places his fate in his sister's years-long effort to break the curse and restore their humanity, before realizing that he feels more himself while flying.
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Your heart, my sky : love in a time of hunger
by Margarita Engle
Coming of age against a backdrop of Cuba's“Special Peacetime” severe economic depression, Liana is emboldened by starvation to skip a summer of forced farm labor and team up with a quiet boy and a mysterious dog to search for alternate food sources.
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Alone
by Megan E. Freeman
"When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone--left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie's most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day"--
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Closer to nowhere
by Ellen Hopkins
Told in two voices, sixth-grade cousins Hannah and Cal learn a lot about family when circumstances throw them together under one roof and Hannah's love of order clashes with Cal's chaotic behavior
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What about Will
by Ellen Hopkins
Afraid of further fracturing his family, 12-year-old Trace Reynolds covers for his older brother, who is recovering from a tragic accident and now addicted to pain medicine, until Trace realizes that some secrets cannot be kept if we ever hope to heal.
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Me (Moth)
by Amber McBride
Moth, who lost her family in an accident, and Sani, who is battling ongoing depression, take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors, which helps them move forward in surprising, powerful and unforgettable ways
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Call me Athena : girl from Detroit : a novel in verse
by Colby Cedar Smith
Written from the perspective of three very different narrators, this enchanting novel in verse follows Mary, the American-born daughter of Greek and French immigrants living in Detroit in the 1930s, as she struggles for independence, equality and identity.
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The opposite of innocent
by Sonya Sones
A novel in verse follows the experiences of fourteen-year-old Lily, as an innocent flirtation turns into sexual abuse by a friend of her parents and she is tormented by her abuser's threat to ruin her family and her own desperate need for help
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Thirty talks weird love
by Alessandra Narvâaez-Varela
In Cuidad Juâarez, Mexico in 1999, where kidnapping of girls and women is common, a woman approaches thirteen-year-old Anamaria claiming to be her future self, offering advice and requesting help
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Every body looking
by Candice Iloh
A debut novel in verse follows the story of a mixed-heritage poet whose coming of age within the African diaspora is shaped by abuse at the hands of a cousin, her mother's descent into addiction and her father's efforts to create a Nigerian-inspired home in America.
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Beauty mark : a verse novel of Marilyn Monroe
by Carole Boston Weatherford
A lavishly designed novel in verse by the award-winning author of Becoming Billie Holiday traces the life and legacy of Norma Jeane Mortenson, who survived the foster-care system, sexual abuse and teen marriage before her meteoric rise to stardom was further challenged by depression, addiction and exploitation.
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Kent State
by Deborah Wiles
The author of the National Book Award finalist Each Little Bird That Sings presents a compelling account of the tragic May 1970 shooting of four students who were protesting against the Vietnam War before they were fired upon by American National Guardsmen.
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The poet X
by Elizabeth Acevedo
When Xiomara Batista, who pours all her frustrations and passion into poetry, is invited to join the school slam poetry club, she struggles with her mother's expectations and her need to be heard
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The language of fire : Joan of Arc reimagined
by Stephanie Hemphill
"A lyrical, dark, and moving look at the life of Joan of Arc, who as a teen girl in the fifteenth century commanded an army and helped crown a king of France. This verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill dares to imagine how an ordinary girl became a great leader, and ultimately saved a nation."
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Knockout
by K. A. Holt
Told in assonant free verse, Levi was once a premature baby who suffered from respiratory problems; he recovered, and now in seventh grade, he struggles to demonstrate to his divorced mother and overprotective brother that he is okay--so when his father suggests he take up boxing he falls in love with the sport, but he still must find a way to convince his family to set him free to follow his dream
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White Rose
by Kip Wilson
A timely novel based on true events finds Sophie Scholl, a young German college student, teaming up with her brother and his fellow soldiers to form a group that writes and distributes anonymous letters criticizing the Nazi regime.
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Solo
by Kwame Alexander
A novel in verse tells the story of 17-year-old Blade Morrison, who endeavors to resolve painful issues from his past to navigate the challenges of his former rock-star father's addictions, scathing tabloid rumors and a protected secret that threatens his own identity.
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Hidden
by Helen Frost
When 14-year-olds Wren and Darra meet at a Michigan summer camp, both are overwhelmed by memories from six years earlier when Darra's father stole a car, unaware that Wren was hiding in the back.
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Bronx masquerade
by Nikki Grimes
While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates
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Long way down
by Jason Reynolds
As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know
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A time to dance
by Padma Venkatraman
Losing her leg after a devastating injury, talented Indian dancer Veda begins retraining on her prosthetic leg before falling in love with a young man who approaches dance from a spiritual perspective and who helps Veda to better understand herself and the world.
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And we rise : the Civil Rights Movement in poems
by Erica Martin
This debut poetry collection walks readers through the Civil Rights Movement, introducing lesser-known figures and moments just as crucial to the Movement and our nation's centuries-long fight for justice and equality.
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Ordinary hazards : a memoir
by Nikki Grimes
The award-winning author of Garvey's Choice describes her childhood marked by a mentally ill mother, a mostly absent father, abusive caregivers, stints in a succession of foster homes and how, from a very young age, she discovered the magic and solace of writing in order to deal with the pain and hazards of her life.
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