Diverse In Verse: 7 Must-Reads for National Poetry Month

The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander
Newberry and Coretta Scott King honors have claimed space on the cover of Kwame Alexander’s rhythmic and riveting middle grade book, but don’t let the awards fool you into thinking this one is all about “good for you.” In this fast, fun, and furious read, we experience the highest highs and the lowest lows with star player Josh—aka, Filthy McNasty—as he spins tales about basketball, brotherly love (and the girl that just might get in the way), and a well-loved shadow that starts to fade.

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist, by Margarita Engle
Engle’s 2014 Pura Belpre Honor and PEN Literary Award winner is a poetic, fictionalized biography of Gertudis Gomez de Avellaneda—Tula, for short—a budding abolitionist. As she laments the state of the enslaved, the nineteenth-century heroine also fears for herself, afraid of being auctioned “away to the highest-bidding rich man” in an arranged marriage. So she escapes to a convent and throws herself into books with a religious fervor, finding both mentorship and love as she breaks free of society’s shackles.

Karma: A Novel in Verse, by Kathy Ostlere
Reeling from her mother’s recent suicide, Canadian teen Maya finds herself scrambling into unknown territory when she lands in Delhi on the eve of the violence following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, witnessing firsthand the horrors of a three-day religious massacre. Faced with shattering new realities and the scars they leave behind, will the suddenly muted Maya be healed by the soothing balm of first love?

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
Woodson’s 2014 National Book Award winner is a sweet and salty memoir about home and family, meandering from the hazy swelter of South Carolina to the concrete jungles of old school Brooklyn, as one smart, hopeful, and confused young girl tries to figure out family, friendship, race, and religion in America of the 1960s and ’70s. The details here are startlingly specific, and that’s what makes Woodson’s childhood tale all the more universal.

Audacity, by Melanie Crowder
Parched author Crowder turns to verse for this inspiring historical fiction about Clara Lemlich, a turn-of-the-century Russian Jewish immigrant who finds herself sweltering in sweatshops in treacherous conditions. Inspired by these hardships, she propels a women’s union movement fighting for the rights of female workers, eventually leading to the Uprising of the 20,000, the shirtwaist strikes of 1909.

Make Lemonade, by Virginia Euwer Wolff
LaVaughn’s mother wants her to focus, work hard, and be the first in their family to go to college. But in the inner city, staying on track is a tall order. To save money for school, the 14-year-old babysits for teen mom Jolly, whose situation goes from bad to worse when she loses her job. But the bond between the girls might just be what teaches them both to make lemonade, bootstrapping themselves out of less-than-stellar circumstances. With stunning moments of clarity, this free verse tale is told in a frank, stream-of-consciousness style that will keep you flipping pages with its quiet power. Luckily, LaVaugn’s story continues in True Believer and This Full House.

The Realm of Possibility, by David Levithan
Telling the tale of some 20 teens from one high school, this is an ambitious and diverse project in verse by celebrated YA giant David Levithan, author of books like like Boy Meets Boy and Every Day. Interconnected vignettes take on different forms—song lyrics, free verse, segmented prose—to cover the spectrum of mundane teen drama, from sibling rivalries to first love to breakups, in startling and smart new ways. A must-read for Levithan fans, and a fun introduction for the uninitiated.