I know, I know. Despite the fact that schools are physically closed, remote-learning seems to take more out of you than ever before! There’s hardly enough time in the day to take care of your classwork- forget about reading for fun!
Unless....you check out some of the Young Adult novels in verse that we have in our ebook collections! Verse novels take a story and tell it in a series of poems, making for a faster read that just flows off the page and manages to pack a ton of emotion and attention grabbing content into a minimal amount of text.
Why not check out one of these Overdrive, Hoopla & Axis360 ebook suggestions, and give yourself a little break from the world? You won’t regret it!
I know, I know. Despite the fact that schools are physically closed,
remote-learning seems to take more out of you than ever before! There’s hardly enough time in the day to take care of your classwork- forget about reading for fun!
Unless....you check out some of the Young Adult novels in verse that we have in our ebook collections! Verse novels take a story and tell it in a series of poems, making for a faster read that just flows off the page and manages to pack a ton of emotion and attention grabbing content into a minimal amount of text.
Why not check out one of these Overdrive, Hoopla & Axis360 ebook suggestions, and give yourself a little break from the world? You won’t regret it!
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (8th grade & up)
The daughter of devout Catholic immigrants, Xiomara struggles against her family's expectations and society’s perception of her, and strives towards an authentic life -- including her love for slam poetry and Aman, her classmate and love interest. This book won multiple awards- including the Printz! (That’s kind of a big deal.)
Ebook & Audiobook: Axis360, Hoopla & Overdrive
Crossover by Kwame Alexander (6th-9th)
Twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan narrate their troubles and triumphs in poetic form, hitting on typical school woes, family worries, romantic entanglements, and more. This award-winning verse novel has broad appeal and made the author a household name in the poetry world.
Ebook & Audiobook: Overdrive
Solo by Kwame Alexander (8th & up)
Kwame Alexander is my favorite verse novel author, so I couldn’t resist putting another of his amazing books on this list. In Solo, 17-year-old Blade has just been disappointed by his drug and alcohol addicted rock-star father (again), betrayed by the love of his life, and he’s been hit with a family secret that knocks his whole world off kilter. Determined to clear his head, he escapes all the way to Ghana, where he just might find out who he was meant to be.
Ebook & Audiobook: Hoopla & Overdrive
Shout: a Memoir by Laurie Halse Anderson (8th & up)
Twenty years after her groundbreaking novel Speak debuted, Anderson is back in a raw, emotional, and vulnerable memoir where she talks about her difficult childhood, her abusive father, and especially her traumatic rape at 13 years old by a boy she trusted. She talks about censorship, how the conversations and the reception around sexual trauma needs to change, and how she is determined to shout out the truth until those who need to hear start to listen. This is tough stuff; but it is also powerful, important, and beautifully written.
Ebook & Audiobook: Overdrive & Axis360
5 to 1 by Holly Bodger (7th & up)
In the year 2054, India has a population ratio of five boys to every girl -- making women a highly prized commodity and resulting in their often being sold into marriage to the highest bidder. In protest, women band together and form a society where men must compete for the chance to win a wife instead. Sudasa doesn’t want to be won, and Kiran, her potential husband, has other plans as well. If they work together, can they both get what they need? Sounds interesting, doesn't it?
Ebook: Overdrive
500 Words or Less by Juleah Del Rosario (9th & up)
When Nic Chen cheats on her boyfriend, their entire school gives her the cold shoulder. Intent on gaining back her social standing, Nic attempts to curry favor by writing her classmates’ college admission essays. Delving into the kind of emotional revelations that colleges are looking for, Nic begins to shed some light on her own truths.
Ebook & Audiobook: Overdrive
Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes (6th-8th)
Feeling like his father is constantly disappointed in him for being into science and books instead of obsessing over sports like him, Garvey struggles at home and at school to show he has value despite not fitting the mold that others would like him to. Nikki Grimes has won many awards for her poetry, and if you haven’t read anything by her, this would be a great place to start.
Ebook & Audiobook: Overdrive
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton (6th-8th)
It’s 1969, and Mimi and her family have just moved from diverse and sunny Berkeley, California to an all-white neighborhood in Vermont. Shunned because of her half Black/half Japanese heritage and her interest in “boyish” things like science and woodshop class, Mimi must find a way to clear a place for herself just as she is. This is a lovely historical novel with a main character you’ll be invested in within the first few pages.
Ebook: Overdrive
Audiobook: Hoopla
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (8th & up)
This absolutely stunning work tells -- in sparse poems -- the tale of 15-year-old Will who is taking a 60-second elevator ride from the eighth floor to the first, where he will exit his apartment building and exact revenge on the young man who murdered his brother. Such a short trip, but at each floor the doors open and he meets a person who has a connection with his brother and the deadly situation. Will 60 seconds be enough to save a life? This book will only take a short time to read, but you will be thinking about it for a long time afterwards.
Ebook & Audiobook: Overdrive
Girls Like Me by Lola Stvil (7th & up)
Dealing with the recent death of her father, conscious of being overweight, and constantly bullied at school, Shay is more than ready for something good to enter her life. However, when she finds love online, she’s not sure she can trust that when the most popular boy in school finds out he’s been chatting with her, he won’t reject her like everyone else. Told through poems, notes, texts, and online conversations, this book is super sweet and a lot of fun.
Ebook: Hoopla & Overdrive