Young Adult Poetry

Books are disappearing from shelves across the country. What does this mean for authors, illustrators, and—most crucially—for young readers? This bold collection of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres explores book bans through various lenses, and empowers teens to fight back. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, fifteen legendary YA authors and illustrators confront the high-stakes question of what is lost when books are kept from teens.

Apple is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly red on the outside, white on the inside. Eric Gansworth tells his story in Apple (Skin to the Core). The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds. Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking.

A gorgeously told novel in verse written with intimacy and power, Audacity is inspired by the real-life story of Clara Lemlich, a spirited young woman who emigrated from Russia to New York at the turn of the 20th century and fought tenaciously for equal rights. Bucking the norms of both her traditional Jewish family and societal conventions, Clara refuses to accept substandard working conditions in the factories on Manhattan's Lower East Side. For years, Clara devotes herself to the labor fight, speaking up for those who suffer in silence.

Senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school with a stolen gun, threatens his girlfriend, Emily Beam, and then takes his own life. Soon after, angry and guilt-ridden Emily is sent to a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where two quirky fellow students and the spirit of Emily Dickinson offer helping hands. But it is up to Emily Beam to heal her own damaged self, to find the good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.

Right before winter break, 14-year-old Molly Rosenberg reluctantly volunteers to participate in Santa Monica's annual homeless count, just to get her school's community service requirement out of the way. But when she ends up meeting Red, a spirited homeless girl only a few years older than she is, Molly makes it her mission to reunite her with her family in time for Christmas. This turns out to be extremely difficult - because Red refuses to talk about her past. There are things Molly won't talk about either.

Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.

Your Own, Sylvia draws on Plath’s writing and extensive non-fiction sources, chronicling Hemphill’s interpretation of Plath’s life from infancy to her death by suicide at age 30. The poems are arranged chronologically and each conveys an experience in Plath’s life told via the voice and perspective of family members, friends, doctors, fellow writers, etc. - as interpreted by Hemphill. Each poem is accompanied by an addendum that further explains the factual circumstances of that poem’s subject.

"My name is Colette. This book is about me. Who am I? To be perfectly honest, I'm not exactly sure who I am. I guess you could say I'm the 15-year-old daughter of an annoyingly famous movie star. Or maybe I'm the 18-year-old daughter of a famous movie star's stand-in. Or maybe I'm the thousand-year-old daughter of a vampire.... Having trouble guessing which one of these stories is true? Join the club. My friends have a joke about me: 'How can you tell if Colette is lying? Her mouth is open.'"

It's 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien. Suddenly, Mimi's appearance is all anyone notices. She struggles to fit in with her classmates, even as she fights for her right to stand out. This historical middle-grade novel is told in poems from Mimi's perspective over the course of one year in her new town, and shows listeners that positive change can start with just one person speaking up.

Gabriel's life is about to change. He lives in a world where change never happens. In Harmony, a tyrannical mayor dictates everyone's lives without opposition. Gabriel makes a plan to change the routine of such a boring, regimented life. In his quest, he never expected to find himself in an unfamiliar place. And, unfortunately for him, his past is hot on his trail.

A unique collection of eclectic stories and poetry designed to entertain, delight, and make you ponder everything. It has been compared to Alfred Hitchcock and The Twilight Zone for its creepy tone and themes.

In his award-winning memoir Free Lunch, Rex Ogle’s abuela features as a source of love and support. In this companion-in-verse, Rex captures and celebrates the powerful presence a woman he could always count on—to give him warm hugs and ear kisses, to teach him precious words in Spanish, to bring him to the library where he could take out as many books as he wanted, and to offer safety when darkness closed in.

This educational drama captures the experiences of a young World War I soldier who was touched, inspired, and changed forever by war poetry. Through vivid readings and recollections, we examine the work of 16 poets.

Henry has been deaf from an early age. He's intelligent and aware of language, but by age six, he has decided it's not safe to speak to strangers. When the time comes for him to start school, he is labeled "unteachable." Because his family has very little money, his parents and older sister, Molly, feel powerless to help him. Henry's sent to Riverview, a bleak institution where he is misunderstood, underestimated, and harshly treated. Victor, a conscientious objector to World War II, is part of a Civilian Public Service program and arrives at Riverview to serve as an attendant in 1942.

Николай Алексеевич Некрасов (1821-1877) – поэт, прозаик, публицист, руководитель знаменитого общественно-политического и литературного журнала "Современник", основанного ещё А.С. Пушкиным. Н.А. Некрасова называют «самым крестьянским» поэтом. Он одним из первых заговорил в литературе о крепостничестве в России. Его стихи на остросоциальные темы никого не оставляли равнодушными. В сборник вошли наиболее известные произведения поэта – 'Дедушка Мазай и зайцы", "Железная дорога", "Школьник", "Размышления у парадного подъезда" и другие, а также поэмы "Мороз, Красный нос" и "Русские женщины. Княгиня Трубецкая".

Some homes you carry in your suitcase. Others, you leave buried under a guava tree. In this moving novel-in-verse, Mina has just uprooted her life in St. Kitts to start over in Orlando—a place of strange food, strange people, and a silence that stretches between her and the world. Back home, everything was guava-sweet and familiar. Here, even her voice feels too heavy to carry.

Voices in the Air is a collection of almost one hundred original poems written by the award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye in honor of the artists, writers, poets, historical figures, ordinary people, and diverse luminaries from past and present who inspire her and us. Full of words of encouragement, solace, and hope, this collection offers a message of peace and empathy.

From groundbreaking and award-winning poet Koleka Putuma comes an empowering and uplifting collection of poems about figuring out who you are and embracing it. With words to affirm, this is the ideal companion to hold your hand while you navigate all the big questions, discoveries and transitions of young adulthood.

Collected by international poetry sensation Nikita Gill, Slam! You're Gonna Wanna Hear This is a joyful celebration of the ground-breaking poets making their voices heard in the spoken-word scene. Empowering, inspiring and often hilarious, slams are a platform for well-known and emerging talent from all walks of life where every style of poetry has a home.

Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than 80 original and never-before-published poems. A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages. National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than 80 new poems.