Booklist: Verse Novels

[slayground]

There are those that like poems. There are those that like novels. Why not combine the best of both worlds and read a verse novel - one cohesive story that is told in poetic form? Here are some of my favorite verse novels as well as novels that have poetry portions.

Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer - G

Comments

[literaticat]

I also liked Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge - when a baseball playing kid is injured, he finds amusement writing poems about sports, his parents, and sex. And, because he is following along with a lesson plan, every poem is in a different style (Sonnet, Sestina, Quatrain, whatever).

It is quite funny and affecting!

[slayground]

It sounds cool. I liked Margaux so much that I haven't allowed myself to read anything else by Koertge yet. Does that make any sense?

[literaticat]

strangly enough, it makes perfect sense.

:)

[slayground]

Thank you for understanding.

Just added The Fruit Bowl Project to the list. Yay!

[allaboutm_e]

And don't forget THE MONKEY'S MASK by Dorothy Porter -- Australian lesbian murder mystery in prose...

[slayground]

I haven't heard of that one.

[allaboutm_e]

Came out a few years ago -- ADULT, BTW, not YA -- and IIRC was made into a movie, although I haven't seen how that translation worked...

poetic

[new_toy]

three sound interesting.
David Leviathan, the first Sonia Sones, and Tanya Lee Stone.
I'll be sure to pick them up soon.

Re: poetic

[slayground]

YAY. I think you will like Sonya's work the best of the three.

A Verse Novel Binge Coming Up Soon

[anonymous]

I loved "A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl" (review out later this week). You should also check out "Hugging the Rock", by Susan Taylor Brown (due out in August) if you haven't read that. Thanks for the other recommendations. I think that I'm due for a verse novel binge soon.

Jen Robinson
http://jkrbooks.typepad.com

Re: A Verse Novel Binge Coming Up Soon

[slayground]

I plan to read STB's books.
Looking forward to your review.
I am going on a binge of my own shortly - juvenile series with fairies, namely Fairy Realm and Disney Fairies. It will be a nice break from the heavy things I've read lately. I love Tink.

[kibarika]

I have a new booklist request for you!

YA with supernatural elements - ie, Vampires, Monsters. I'm looking more at Teen than YA I guess. More Christopher Golden and less Bruce Coville.

[slayground]

I shall do that for you tonight or later this week. Do you want only urban our-world contemporary or otherworldly and/or medieval too?

[kibarika]

I think I'd like to start with urban our-world contemporary. I mean, I'd like to read the others as well but I'm looking for a purpose here - specifically, I want to read books in the genre because it's what I want to write for NaNoWriMo.

[kibarika]

And since my idea is urban our-world contemporary, that's what is the priority. In case I didn't make that clear. (Stuffy nose makes me stupid.)