Book Lists, Category, Poetry

It’s Poetry Month! Celebrating Books in Verse

Posted onAuthorK. Imani Tennyson

April is National Poetry Month and I thought it would be great to highlight a few books the get to the heart of teens through poetry. We have some novels by some of our favorite poets and some debuts. Check out our list and see which ones you missed and need to add to your TBR pile.

King of the Neuro Verse By Idris Goodwin

For the third summer in a row, Pernell is back in the classroom, facing the same struggles that have always made school seem more like a battlefield than a place of learning. This summer is different, though: he’s battling to become the Cypher King, leader of the lunchroom’s impromptu rap circles. Here, the rhythm flows and the words fly, creating a space where the wittiest and most rhythmically inclined reign supreme. Here, Pernell’s ADHD gives him an edge.

But life outside the cypher isn’t as forgiving. Pernell’s English teacher has it out for him. His parents are pressuring him to see a doctor for his lack of focus. And Electra, his friend-slash-crush and the only one who truly gets him, is too busy chasing her dream internship to give him the time of day.

If Pernell doesn’t pull himself together, he won’t just lose the title of Cypher King—he’ll lose his chance to graduate high school. In a world where the systems are turned against kids like him, Pernell needs to find a way to succeed with his ADHD, rather than in spite of it.

Illustrated cover has a small portion of the corner of a brick apartment building. There are four windows one above the other and the edge of a fire escape can be seen. The rest is blue sky where the title is written in a white all cap font. There is a quote from Brendan Kiely. A gorgeous, tender testament to the generation of young people who shouldered the pandemic. The word Air looks like it has wind blowing on it.

A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne

In New York City, teens, their families, and their communities feel the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst the fear and loss, these teens and the adults around them persevere with love and hope while living in difficult

Malachi writes an Armageddon short story inspired by his pandemic reality.Tariq helps their ailing grandmother survive during quarantine.Zamira struggles with depression and loneliness after losing her parents.Mohamed tries to help keep his community spirit alive.A social worker reflects on the ways the foster system fails their children.
From award-winning author Mahogany L. Browne comes a poignant collection of interconnected prose, poems, and lists about the humanity and resilience of New Yorkers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The book cover of the story of my anger features a young black woman on a stage holding a book up in her right hand. A spotlight is on her.

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez

Yulieta Lopez is angry. Angry at her racist drama teacher who refuses to cast Black students in lead roles. Angry at the school board threatening her favorite teacher for teaching works of literature that they deem “controversial.” Angry that she has to keep quiet until she can head to college and leave Texas forever.

Yuli is accustomed to playing various roles: the diligent daughter, the honorable hija, the good girl who serves everyone else before serving herself. But as the fire of Yuli’s rage spreads and lights her up, she can no longer be silent. Determined to find a way to fight back, Yuli and her friends start a guerilla theatre club which stirs things up and gets people talking, and finally, Yuli steps into the role she was always meant to play.

Cover of book Island Creatures centers two young people. On the left is a young woman with brown wavy hair and light brown skin. On the right is a young man with an afro and slightly darker skin. They are surrounded by foliage of different colors. There is a sun in the background high in the sky above two palm trees.

Island Creatures by Margarita Engle 

Vida misses her best friend Adán now that she’s no longer living in Cuba. She finds a lot of solace in volunteering at a local wildlife rescue center, and she’s been working hard to establish her new life in Florida.

What Vida doesn’t know is Adán is in Florida, too. The transition for him has been extremely difficult, especially as he witnesses several major fights between his abuelo and papi.

Vida and Adán reconnect by accident, and the feelings that never quite settled in Cuba are reignited. But as much as they’re finding a lot of joy and companionship working together, there are many things that stand between the two of them fully opening up to and trusting one another.

Cover of the book Estela, undrowning. A young brown skinned woman is standing in profile. She has long dark hair in a high pony tail and is wearing large hoop earrings that say Frisco. There are city buses near here. One behind her back and one in front of here. There are red roses above and below the buses. There is a blue sky with puffy white clouds above all.

Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea 

Estela Morales is one of the only Latinas who tested into San Francisco’s most exclusive public high school. In her senior year, Estela just wants to keep her head down, eke out a passing grade from her racist Spanish teacher, and get into her dream college.

But after placing second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest behind a non-Latino student, Estela is thrust into citywide debates about merit, identity, and diversity.

Things only get messier when her family is threatened with eviction. As Estela’s friends organize against bigotry and her landlady increases the pressure, Estela is suffocating and finds release only in poetry and in a breathless new romance. When tensions finally reach their breaking point, Estela must find a way to undrown the community she loves—and herself.