Reading a book written in verse is an incredibly powerful experience. It takes reading to a whole other level, and we’re kind of obsessed with it. Check out these must-read books in verse!
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature Finalist
Two starred reviews!
A Golden Kite Award Honor Book for Young Adult Fiction
An “artful and introspective” (BCCB, starred review) novel in verse “celebration of neurodiversity wrapped in bars so tight they could stop traffic” (Shelf Awareness) about a Black teen with ADHD who finds self-expression and first love during one epic summer school season.
A Golden Kite Award Winner for Young Adult Fiction
From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes a “[f]anciful, hopeful, and heartfelt” (Kirkus Reviews) love story told in verse about childhood friends, once lost and now reconnected, and their fight to protect endangered animals.
Acclaimed author Jeannine Atkins revisits her past in this “brave, searing” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) memoir-in-verse about memory, healing, and finding her voice as a writer, perfect for fans of Amber Smith and Speak.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List Selection
“Soaring and searing.” —Elizabeth Acevedo, former Young People’s Poet Laureate and New York Times bestselling author of Poet X
A promising young singer recovers from a traumatic experience by traveling to Venice and connecting with the work of a 17th-century female composer in this gorgeous and sensual novel in verse from the acclaimed author of Call Me Athena.
Longlisted for the National Book Award!
In this stirring young adult novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle, love and conservation intertwine as two teens go on a “transformative journey celebrating the power of overcoming personal struggles to make a lasting impact” (Kirkus Reviews).
The Song of Achilles and Circe get a sapphic, young adult twist in this “exciting, richly textured, thought-provoking” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) retelling of the myth of Arachne spun in moving verse.
This gorgeously romantic contemporary novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the “inspiring and hopeful” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) love story of two teens fighting for climate action and human rights.
An inspiring coming-of-age story told in prose and “spare, lyrical” verse (The Horn Book Magazine) from award-winning author Margarita Engle about a girl falling in love for the first time while finding the courage to protest for women’s right to vote in 1920s Cuba.
Acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells a “deeply felt and engrossing” (Horn Book Magazine) story of love in a time of hunger inspired by her own family’s struggles during a dark period in Cuba’s history.
Perfect for fans of Deb Caletti, this “powerful, absorbing, and beautiful” (Booklist) coming-of-age novel in verse follows a teen girl who connects with the women of her maternal line through their journals and comes to better understand her fraught relationship with her mother.
The #1 New York Times bestselling tale of addiction—the first in the Crank trilogy—from master poet Ellen Hopkins.
A compelling and complex novel about gun violence and white supremacy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.
An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller Jason Reynolds’s fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.
A teen navigates questions of grief, identity, and guilt in the wake of her sister’s mysterious disappearance in this breathtaking novel-in-verse from the author of 500 Words or Less—perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo.
This moment changes everything. Becca has been head-over-heels for Alec from the instant they met. Camille is careful with her words and protective of her heart, especially since Chicago. Then a new boy in her new town catches her off guard with a surprise kiss.Too bad that new boy is Becca’s boyfriend, Alec. Camille and Becca have never met, but their lives will unravel and intertwine in surprising ways as they deal with what happens after the kiss.