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Stories in Blank Verse
(Poetry)
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| Bingham, Kelly |
Shark Girl
Through blank verse and journal entries, fifteen-year-old Jane relates the story of her recovery following a freak shark attack that nearly cost her life, but for her big brother's quick thinking. After spending days in a coma, she awakened to discover that her right arm could not be reattached and was amputated (cut off) above the elbow. She was a gifted artist who won regional and state competitions and planned a career in art. She is in pain and depressed and utterly lost without her art. This book chronicles the first year of her recovery and is quite compelling. |
| Brown, Susan Taylor |
Hugging the Rock
Rachel watches helplessly as her mother packs the car to leave for good. She desperately wants to go, to be asked to go, but there is no room in the car for Rachel or Madison, her mother's dog. So Rachel is left with her father, whom her mother says is a rock. To Rachel, he is distant and inept. Hugging the Rock is the bittersweet story of Rachel and her father's first year without her mom. |
| Bryant, Jen |
The Trial
The Lindburgh Baby Kidnapping
was incredibly newsworthy in 1935. Lucky Lindy was an American
hero having flown the Spirit of St. Louis solo across the Atlantic.
The public demanded justice and when one of the marked notes
that paid the ransom was traced to the Bronx and German-born
Bruno Hauptman, there was really no chance that he'd get a fair
trial.
This story is told from the point-of-view
of twelve-year-old, fatherless Katie Flynn, who wants to become
a news reporter and travel the world. Her best friends are Mike,
the son of the town drunk and her uncle Jeff who is covering
the trial and for whom Katie acts as a secretary because he broke
his arm in a basketball game.
Reminiscent of Karen Hesse' historical
fiction told in blank verse, this book is very readable.
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| Bryant, Jen |
Ringside 1925
Bryant travels back to Dayton, Tennessee in 1925 and uses multiple narrators to tell the story of the Scopes Monkey Trial and the famous showdown between friends and rivals, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. |
| Creech, Sharon |
Love That Dog
A novel told in blank verse,
Love That Dog is the poetry journal of Jack who starts his journal
by refusing to write poetry because that's what girls do. Eventually,
he writes poetry but only allows his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry
to put it up on the board anonymously. Jack grows as a poet from
September to June in this funny and sad book. |
| Creech, Sharon |
Heartbeat
Twelve-year-old Annie loves to run-barefoot and with her friend,
Max. Moody Max is what she calls him. She lives with her parents
and beloved grandfather and loves art. Changes occur at age twelve
for most and Annie is no exception. Her mother is pregnant, her
grandfather is becoming forgetful, Max is joining the track team
and wants her to join, and her art teacher wants her to draw
the same apple one hundred times. |
| Darrow, Sharon |
Trash
Narrated by sixteen-year-old Sissy, this blank verse novel is almost relentlessly sad. Sissy and Boy, her fourteen-year-old brother were so named because their mother couldn't be bothered naming them. Each foster home the two are sent to puts them farther away from their older sister, Raynell and her husband. When they land with a religious couple who collect trash and force the two to dumpster dive, Sissy and Boy know they can sink no lower. When "Uncle Daddy" decides that Boy is a thief and begins beating him, the two decide to run away in search of Raynell before Boy is beaten to death. |
| Fehler, Gene |
Beanball
Twenty-eight narrators help the reader piece together the story of Luke "Wizard" Wallace. Luke is a gifted multi-sport athlete and a well-liked person but his world is literally shattered by a "beanball" pitched by the powerhouse, if wild, pitching star of Oak Ridge's rival, Compton.
There isn't a lot of baseball action in this slim, fast-paced blank verse novel but there is a lot of talk about baseball, athletics, sportsmanship, heart, guild, courage and steadfastness as the various narrators: best friend, coach, opposing coach, guilt-ridden pitcher, girl friend, parents, umpire and others reflect on the accident and Luke's recovery.
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| Grover, Lorie Ann |
On Pointe
This free-verse novel is narrated
by sixteen-year-old Clare who has dedicated the last ten years
of her life to learning ballet. She has opted to live with her
grandfather in Tacoma, Washington in order to intensively train
for her audition for a spot in the Corps. Realistic and engaging,
Clare is driven but grounded and likable. |
| Herrick, Steven |
Naked Bunyip Dancing
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| Janeczko, Paul B. |
Worlds Afire
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| Koertge, Ron |
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup
Fourteen-year-old Kevin is sidelined from his position of MVP first-baseman with Mono. He is confined to bed and out of sheer boredom reads a book of poetry that his writer-father had in his study. He begins his own poetry journal which in turn, tells us a lot about Kevin, who is more than a dumb jock. Koertge is good at writing blank verse novels as well as novels. I really liked his blank verse, Brimstone Journals and traditional novel, Stoner
and Spaz. |
| Rylant, Cynthia |
God Went to Beauty School
In spare, brilliant and touching imagery, Cynthia Rylant imagines a curious God. One who adopts a stray dog, weeps at a sad movie, climbs Mount Everest and wonders what "killed" means. |
| Rylant, Cynthia |
Boris
Rylant pays homage to one of her cats in a sweet, evocative series of poems. Cat lovers will have reason to smile in recognition. I liked the book but wonder why Boris' sister didn't earn herself more attention. |
| Sandell, Lisa Ann |
Song of the Sparrow
This blank verse retells the story of the Lady of Shalott with some revisions which are explained in the author's note. Elaine of Ascolat was a member of King Arthur's court who was in love with Sir Lancelot. Unfortunately, Lancelot was in love with Lady Gwynivere, who was betrothed by her father to Arthur.
All is not romance and crushes however, as Arthur is in the middle of a war against invading Saxons and Picts. Elaine is the only female in camp and considers all of Arthur's men-at arms brothers as she has grown up in this camp. She is also an accomplished healer and during and after battle the men look to her for her abiity to heal.
Fans of King Arthur stories will love this addition to Arthurian lore and fans of blank verse novels just might become interested in King Arthur legends as a result of reading this lovely book.
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| Testa, Marie |
Becoming Joe DiMaggio
Papa Angelo has a new grandson in 1936 and he is named Joseph Paul in honor of the Yankees new center fielder, Joe DiMaggio. This slim novel is told as a series of verse. It is a quick read, at times touching, but not one that I would tell you that you MUST read. |
| Turner, Ann |
Hard Hit
Tenth grader Mark Warren seems to have it all, a family that gets along, a dog, friends, baseball. He's a great pitcher thanks to talent and demanding coaching from his dad and his baseball coach. He even has a crush. So he's a hard hit with his pitching, but he and his family take a hard hit when one phone call turns his life upside down and he and his family learn that his dad has pancreatic cancer.
Every word counts in this slender novel as Turner packs the details and emotions of the rollercoaster that is life with a cancer patient.
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| Yeomans, Ellen |
Rubber Houses
In this spare, blank verse novel, Kit shares the events of what should be one of her most exciting years; spring of her junior year to spring of senior year. Instead, she divides her year into five parts corresponding to the rhythms of baseball, her favorite sport and a passion she shared with her brother, Buddy, eight years her junior.
In April, Buddy is diagnosed with cancer and is dead by August. Kit and her parents each retreat into their own worlds of grief. To their credit, her parents send Kit to a group assisting young people who have lost a sibling. By the following spring, Kit has begun to heal.
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| Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn |
reaching for sun
Seventh grader Jane Wyatt narrates this lovely blank verse novel that spans one year in which she reflects on her lack of friends, her loneliness, her mother's absence and her love of her grandmother. Jane was born with Cerebral Palsy and is treated as though she is slow witted when the only thing slow about her is her speech.
When Jordan moves into one of the mansions being built on Josie's grandmother's farmland, they strike up a friendship that endures through their school mates' ridicule.
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| Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn |
42 Miles
JoEllen is about to turn 13 and wants to make some changes in her life. She has been splitting her time between her parents' houses for as long as she can remember and basically has two separate lives and names. Her dad calls her Joey and her mom calls her Ellen. On the weekends she lives on her dad's farm and during the week, she lives with her mom in an apartment in Cincinatti. Neither ask about her life at the other residence and she is beginning to feel unhappy and torn.
This is an interesting blank verse reverie accompanied by black and white mixed media illustrations. I would've preferred that the publisher spring for color illustrations.
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Documentary/ Other Forms
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| Avi |
Nothing But the Truth:
A Documentary Novel
Ninth grader Phillip Malloy
has a bit of a smart mouth and a lot of track talent. However,
he is failing English and this is jeopardizing his position on
the track team. He blames his English teacher by stating that
she doesn't like him.To make matters worse, he is transferred
into her homeroom during mid-year switch and his humming of the
Star Spangled Banner, instead of respectful silence gets him
sent to the vice-principal's office and ultimately suspended.
The truth is often difficult to discern, especially when communication
is poor; whether it is between parent and child, student and
teacher or between adults. Events spiral out of control as the
issue of his suspension becomes one of free speech and the national
media gets hold of the story and puts their spin on it. |
| Fleischman, Paul |
Seek
High-school senior Rob Radkovitz
is assigned to write an autobiography. Instead he creates a sound
portrait of his life which centers around his single mother,
grandparents, aunts, opera and his search on the radio-waves
for his absent DJ father. It is written in a play format with
different voices weaving in and out of Rob's life and telling
an interesting story of someone who marches to a different drummer. |
| Walter, Virginia |
Making Up Megaboy
The format of this book defies
classification. Thirteen-year-old Robbie Jones shoots the elderly,
Korean owner of a liquor store and other than admit that he committed
the crime, offers no other explanation about why. Everyone else
weighs in with an opinion, however, from the local news reporters,
through his parents, best friend and the girl he had a crush
on. |
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