National Poetry Month 2025 - Books for Teens and Young Adults

Updated March 26, 2025
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Abuela, don't forget me
Ogle, Rex
Paper Book
A Finalist for the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award. Rex Ogle's companion to Free Lunch and Punching Bag weaves humor, heartbreak, and hope into life-affirming poems that honor his grandmother's legacy. In his award-winning memoir...
Ain't burned all the bright
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor winner! Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds....
How the boogeyman became a poet
Keith, Anthony R., Jr.
Paper Book
Odyssey Award for Audiobook Excellence Winner Poet, writer, and hip-hop educator Tony Keith Jr. makes his debut with a powerful YA memoir in verse, tracing his journey from being a closeted gay Black teen battling poverty, racism, and homophobia to becoming an openly gay first-generation...
Louder than hunger
Schu, John
Paper Book
Nearer my freedom : the interesting life of Olaudah Equiano by himself
Edinger, Monica
Paper Book
"Permit me to lay at your feet the following genuine Narrative . . ." Olaudah Equiano was a writer and abolitionist whose autobiography, The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, captured the attention of British readers at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. The...
Ode to my first car
Gow, Robin
Paper Book
By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions, this contemporary sapphic romance novel-in-verse follows a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer, perfect for fans of Juliet Takes a Breath and Laura Dean Keeps...
Poemhood: Our Black Revival : History, Folklore & the Black Experience: a Young Adult Poetry Anthology
Mcbride, Amber/ Martin, Erica/ Byas, Taylor/ Ashwin Writing, Llc (COR)
Paper Book
"A rich, thoughtful anthology exploring centuries of Black poetry." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This deep and complex assemblage of Black poetry culminates in a joyful, painful, and emotionally rich experience." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "An eclectic mix of Black...

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