Novels in Verse (YA)

Poems are short things, often tiny
Written with precision and great pain
Imagine a novel written in poetry

Embrace this ancient form’s fantasy
Try something interesting, out of your domain
Poems are short things, often tiny
Imagine a novel written in poetry

Updated August 11, 2024
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The black flamingo /
Atta, Dean.
Paper Book
Stonewall Book Award Winner * A Time Magazine Best YA Book Of All Time A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender. Michael is a mixed...
Bull
Elliott, David
Paper Book
Much like Lin-Manuel Miranda did in Hamilton, the New York Times best-selling author David Elliott turns a classic on its head in form and approach, updating the timeless story of Theseus and the Minotaur. A rough, rowdy, and darkly comedic young adult retelling in verse, which NPR called...
Dear Medusa /
Cole, Olivia A.
Paper Book
This searing and intimate novel in verse follows a sixteen-year-old girl coping with sexual abuse as she grapples with how to reclaim her story, her anger, and her body in a world that seems determined to punish her for the sin of surviving. "This is more than a story about sexual...
Full cicada moon
Hilton, Marilyn
Paper Book
Inside Out and Back Again meets One Crazy Summerand Brown Girl Dreaming in this novel-in-verse about fitting in and standing up for what's right It's 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi,...
Moonrise /
Crossan, Sarah.
Paper Book
From Carnegie Award-winning author Sarah Crossan comes a poignant and thought-provoking novel that explores life, sibling bonds, and forgiveness as a teen tries to reconnect with his brother on death row for a crime he may not have committed. Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn't seen...
Nothing burns as bright as you
Woodfolk, Ashley
Paper Book
Five starred reviews! From New York Times bestselling author Ashley Woodfolk, Nothing Burns as Bright as You is an impassioned stand-alone tale of queer love, grief, and the complexity of female friendship. Two girls. One wild and reckless day. Years of...
The poet X /
Acevedo, Elizabeth.
Paper Book
Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award! Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award...
Punching the air
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
Paper Book
New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of...
The realm of possibility /
Levithan, David.
Paper Book
Here’s what I know about the realm of possibility— it is always expanding, it is never what you think it is. Everything around us was once deemed impossible. From the airplane overhead to the phones in our pockets to the choir girl putting her arm around the metalhead. As hard as it is...
Three things I know are true /
Culley, Betty.
Paper Book
Fans of Jandy Nelson and Marieke Nijkamp will love this deeply moving novel in verse about the aftermath of a gun accident. Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay's father's gun. Now Jonah needs round...
Vanilla
Merrell, Billy
Paper Book
  A bold, groundbreaking novel about coming out, coming into your own, and coming apart. Vanilla and Hunter have been dating since seventh grade. They came out together, navigated middle school together, and became that couple in high school that everyone always...
Voices :
Elliott, David,
Paper Book
"Stunning . . . elegant . . . arresting . . . supple and harrowing." - The Wall Street Journal ★"An innovative, entrancing account of a popular figure that will appeal to fans of verse, history, and biography." - Kirkus, starred review In poems that surprise and move...
The watch that ends the night :
Wolf, Allan.
Paper Book
Arrogance and innocence, hubris and hope--twenty-four haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, as well as the iceberg itself, are evoked in a stunning tour de force. Millionaire John Jacob Astor hopes to bring home his pregnant teen bride with a minimum of media scandal. A...
We come apart /
Crossan, Sarah.
Paper Book
A poetic, gifty offering that combines first love, friendship, and persistant courage in this lyrical immigration story told in verse. Award-winning authors Brian Conaghan and Sarah Crossan tell a thought-provoking dual-narrated tale about two troubled teens, one immigrating to a new...
White Rose
Wilson, Kip
Paper Book
"In a searing indictment of silent complicity, White Rose shines a light on one remarkable young woman's insistence on the power of truth, no matter the cost. A timely call to resistance." - Joy McCullough, author of Blood Water Paint "White Rose is a resonant...

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