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Verse can so often be a scary undertaking for readers but today we’ve listed some titles that make verse novels relevent and appealing to even the most reluctant.
Song of the Sparrow – Lisa Ann Sandell
The year is 490 AD. Fiery 16-year-old Elaine of Ascolat, the daughter of one of King Arthur’s supporters, lives with her father on Arthur’s base camp, the sole girl in a militaristic world of men. Elaine’s only girl companion is the mysterious Morgan, Arthur’s older sister, but Elaine cannot tell Morgan her deepest secret: She is in love with Lancelot, Arthur’s second-in-command. However, when yet another girl — the lovely Gwynivere— joins their world, Elaine is confronted with startling emotions of jealousy and rivalry.
Words cannot accurately encapsulate how much I adore this book. It is my number gifted book and I am yet to meet a person who fails to realise its magnificence. Even the verse adverse appreciate the gentle turn of phrase, the emotional plight of the heroine and the lovely spin on Arthurian legend.
Scholastic
A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl – Tanya Lee Stone
Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva all get mixed up with a senior boy, a cool, slick, sexy boy who can talk them into doing almost anything he wants. In a blur of high school hormones and personal doubt, each girl struggles with how much to give up and what ultimately to keep for herself. How do girls handle themselves? How much can a boy get away with? And in the end, who comes out on top? A bad boy may always be a bad boy. But this bad boy is about to meet three girls who won’t back down.
A verse book that uses Judy Blume’s Forever as an important plot point? Check.
A book that depicts girls are proactive and strong without needing to excel in archery. Check.
A flowing style that weaves the tale of three independent girls who find themselves confused by their hormones and their choices? Check.
PanMacmillan
Star Jumps – Lorraine Marwood
A poignant verse novel depicting the joys and heartbreaks of a farming family as they struggle to cope with the devastating effects of long term drought. Told through the eyes of Ruby, day to day farm life involves playing in grassy paddocks with siblings, doing jobs and helping out, and witnessing birth, death and sacrifice. The family are devastated when they have to sell off some of their herd, but in the spirit of hope it is Ruby who tries in her own small way to help the family by making miniature bales of hay.
Skewing a little younger, this award winning title depicts the difficulties of living in Australian rural areas and the stresses that places upon the families that work the land. Marwood has a lovely way with words
Walker
There is also:
Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist.
Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose.
Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn’t the best way to show it.
Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.
An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they want to be.
Cath Crowley gets it. She understands perfectly the feelings of desire and recklessness that come with being young and in crush, and she puts these into words that resonate and characters that are real.
Every time he looked at me I felt like I’d touched my tongue to the tip of a battery. In Art class I’d watch him lean back and listen and I was nothing but zing and tingle. After a while the tingle turned to electricity, and when he asked me out my whole body amped to a level where technically I should have been dead. I had nothing in common with a sheddy like him, but a girl doesn’t think straight when she’s that close to electrocution.
- p 26-27
On the surface Graffiti Moon is about love. Guys and girls chasing each other, often literally, trying to find the perfect fit. At its heart though, Graffiti Moon is about wanting. Each of the characters is longing for something – something to prove their worth, fix their faults, make them complete. In their most reductive forms, Lucy wants perfection; Ed wants acceptance; Leo wants stability; Jazz wants adventure; Daisy wants appreciation; and Dylan wants to feel worthy. It is the angst of this wanting, the tension arising from each character’s shortcomings that builds drama and suspense throughout the book.
This tension is further facilitated through Crowley’s use of rotating character perspectives. The reader is allowed the privileged position of seeing Lucy and Ed in all of their truth – the beauty and the flaws. We see the misunderstandings and the missed connections between them even when they cannot. Crowley is skilled at creating complex characters and I applaud that all of them, regardless of gender, are dirty, mischievous, and sweet. It has to be said that Ed, Leo, and Dylan are the best bad-boys-with-good-hearts to appear in contemporary YA since Markus Zusak’s Wolfe brothers.*
Special mention must also be made of the non-traditional family situations in Graffiti Moon – Leo lives with his grandmother, Lucy’s father lives in their family shed. Crowley subtly reinforces the message that life and love are a matter of individuality; that the best way is not necessarily the typical way.
Graffiti Moon is a very visual novel. There are many beautiful descriptions of Shadow’s and Lucy’s respective artworks, as well as many references to well known artists and their works, from Picasso to Bill Henson. This gives Graffiti Moon a depth of reality that you don’t often see, and from a teaching perspective lends itself to more interesting classroom discussions and art exercises.
I don’t want to raise expectations too much as often the best reading experiences are those discovered quietly, but it’s hard not to when this book just. nails. it. I’m not the only one singing its praise either – among its honours Graffiti Moon has won the
0 Comments on Book Review: Graffiti Moon as of 1/1/1900
Fairy tales are pervasive. Across cultures and throughout time fairy tales are retold, reworked, reimagined. So what do the classics look like when they’re placed in a more contemporary setting?
Beastly – Alex Flinn
Beauty and the Beast in modern-day New York City.
Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.
Harper Collins
A Kiss In Time – Alex Flinn
When Jack went on holidays to Europe, he wasn’t expecting to find Sleeping Beauty…
I couldn’t help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn’t know this would happen. Now I’m stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels. . . . The good news: My parents will freak!
Harper Collins
Sisters Red – Jackson Pearce
Scarlett and Rosie March are not your usual Little Red Riding Hoods, and Fenris are no ordinary wolves…
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris—the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.
Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls’ bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett’s only friend—but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they’ve worked for?
Hachette
Sweetly - Jackson Pearce<
1. Looking for something to read? Go no further than this lovely little Literature Map highlighted by Flavorwire. Just type in your favourite author and watch a series of names juggle to and fro in order to arrange a recommended reading list of authors. Even better, young adult adults are in the mix including Sarah Lessen, Jennifer Echols, JK Rowling, Terry Pratchett and more.
Literature Map
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2. Need proof that time allows you to be more creative? Check out this two minute video out on youtube.
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3. Do you know all the punctuation marks? Buzzwire presents 13 that you might not know existed. I am particular fond of the The Asterism which they claim “…has an awesome name, a cool look, and a really lame usage.” Agreed.
13 Punctuation Marks You Never Know Existed
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4. The Amperstand Project is a brand new initiative at Hardie Grant Egmont to flush out those new, undiscovered Australian writing talents. Targeted at writers of contemporary Australian young adult fiction they are hoping to discover the next Melina Marchetta.
HGE have a whole list of suggestions of what they are on the look for, which you can find here. Submissions close on the 27th of February, 2012.
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5. Readings has released their top young adult titles picks for 2011. We were extremely excited to see Vikki Wakefield, Kelly Gardiner and Jane Higgins (among many other fabulous books) on the list as we’ve bee graced by their presence in our programming in 2011.
By: awalsh,
on 11/17/2011
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What was a little surprising in this list of sporty gals is the prevalence of soccer as the sport of choice. I guess it is called “the most beautiful game” for a reason. We would like to augment this list with further Australian titles so if there is a title that you know is missing, add it in comments!
Soccer-centric:
Grace Faltrain series by Cath Crowley (soccer)
Shutout by Brendan Halpin (soccer)
Jersey Tomatoes Are the Best by Maria Padian (soccer and dance)
Pretty Tough series by various authors (soccer)
Breakaway by Andrea Montalbano (soccer)
Everything else:
- Dairy Queen series by Catherine Murdock Gilbert (US football/basketball)
- Netball or Nothing by Bernadette Hellard (netball)
- Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe (dancing)
- Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati (dancing)
- Gracey by James Moloney (running)
- Surf Ache by Gerry Bobsien (surfing)
- Raw Blue by Kirsty Eager (surfing)
- Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally (US football)
- The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane (baseball)
- Whip It! by Shauna Cross (roller derby)
- The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z by Kate Messner (cross country – younger)
- The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanan (running)
- Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes (basketball)
- Boost by Kathy Mackel (basketball)
- Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley (snowboarding)
- The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols (snowboarding)
- Total Horse Mad by Kathy Helidoniotis (horse riding – 9-14)
- Breathless by Jessica Warren (swimming)
- Open Court by Carol Clippinger (tennis)
1. Amazon: the world is your oyster.
Seems there’s a new frontier: e-book lending, Amazon style.
Of course it’s a very exclusive kindle-only and subscribers-to-Amazon-Prime-program club.
At the moment it is a limited and not all that interesting virtual library. But knowing Amazon this will be short lived. Expect it to grow by leaps and bounds. Also expect everyone else under the sun to have their own version in a heartbeat.
2. YA book bloggers; a resource.
The Centre of Youth Literature are proud as punch that the international online community is all a gush with Aussie YA. Take a look at Carla’s blog, The Crooked Shelf, for ‘Aussie YA Month.’
Carla is a force of nature. She is a whirlwind when it comes to YA; lots of capitals, lots of exclamation points and lots of enthusiasm.
Please beware the occasional course language.
3. Book banning Google map.
A rather industrious person at the library found this little Google map gem: an American book bans and challengers list (only 2007 to 2011). What scares me is the length (in a few short years) and the breadth (nearly every state in America) of this list.
Surely the idea is to fill the libraries, not empty them out.
4. John Wood, honorary librarian.
It is a classic story: former Microsoft big wig turns charity founder. His belief? That ‘World Change Starts with Educated Children.’ His charity, Room to Read, has the rather staggering statistic of opening (on average) six libraries a day.
‘So many American efforts to influence foreign countries have misfired — not least here in Vietnam a generation ago. We launch missiles, dispatch troops, rent foreign puppets and spend billions without accomplishing much. In contrast, schooling is cheap and revolutionary. The more money we spend on schools today, the less we’ll have to spend on missiles tomorrow.’
A hero after my own heart.
5. Christopher Paolini release
Fourth and final book in the Inheritance Cycle (now that it’s no longer a trilogy, mind) will be in stores on the 9th of November. There’s a competition for signed hardback additionsfor all those die hard fans.
An amen for all those left with Harry Potter withdrawals.
Dystopian novels are extremely popular with middle school kids. A dystopia is defined as, “An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.” In response to the huge popularity of these grim and seemingly hopeless backdrops within youth literature, a writer for School Library [...]
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Isobelle Carmody’s Tower of Tales collections – A Wilful Eye and The Wicked Wood.
Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Princess Ben and Wisdom’s Kiss.
Robin Palmer’s Cindy Ella, Geek Charming, Little Miss Red and soon to be released in the US, Wicked Jealous.