Category Archives: Poetry

Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo cover shows a girl on the left with darker skin and a winding fire escape staircase behind her and a girl on the right with lighter skin and palm leaves behind her separated by the silhouettes of airplanes in the center, nose to nose.

Clap When You Land
Elizabeth Acevedo
Quill Tree Books
Published May 5, 2020

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About Clap When You Land

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our … Continue reading →

Review: All That Shines by Ellen Hagan

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All That Shines by Ellen Hagan

All That Shines
Ellen Hagan
Bloomsbury
Published September 5, 2023

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About All That Shines

A contemplative novel in verse that questions what it means to lose everything you once treasured and rediscover yourself, falling in love along the way.

Chloe Brooks has only ever known what it’s like to have everything. Her parents’ wealth and place in society meant she had all she wanted, and friends everywhere she turned. Until it all crashes Her father is arrested in the middle of the night, under investigation for fraud.

Bankrupt and facing foreclosure, Chloe must forgo … Continue reading →

Review: Only on the Weekends by Dean Atta

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Only on the Weekends by Dean Atta

Only on the Weekends
Dean Atta
Balzer + Bray/HarperTeen
Published May 24, 2022

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About Only on the Weekends

From the Stonewall Award-winning author of The Black Flamingo comes a romantic coming-of-age novel in verse about the beautiful–and sometimes painful–fallout of pursuing the love we deserve. The ideal next read for fans of Kacen Callender, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Becky Albertalli.

Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic–likely a hazard of growing up on film sets thanks to his father’s job. Mack has had a crush on Karim for as long as he can remember and he can’t believe it when gorgeous, popular Karim seems into him too.

But … Continue reading →

Review: A Warning About Swans by R. M. Romero

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A Warning About Swans by R. M. Romero

A Warning About Swans
R. M. Romero
Peachtree Teen
Published

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About A Warning About Swans

Swan Lake meets The Last Unicorn by way of the Brothers Grimm in a dreamy, original fairytale in verse which transports readers to the Bavarian Alps.

Bavaria. 1880. Hilde was dreamed into existence by the god Odin, and along with her five sisters, granted cloaks that transform them into swans. Each sister’s cloak is imbued with a unique gift, but Hilde rejects her gift which connects her to the souls of dying creatures and forces her to shepherd them into the afterlife—the “Other Wood.”

While guiding the soul of a … Continue reading →

Review: Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

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Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

Ode to My First Car
Robin Gow
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published June 20, 2023

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About Ode to My First Car

By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions , this YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse is about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off the fine from … Continue reading →

Review: The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

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The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The Black Flamingo
Dean Atta
Balzer + Bray
Published May 26, 2020 (orig. 2019)

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About The Black Flamingo

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-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.

As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, … Continue reading →