The Novel-in-Verse: An Introduction

MG has great novels-in-verse in it's print and online collections (see right). We even have a number that offer "unlimited access." This means that you and your students / friends can read them at the same time. Check out the list of these titles at the bottom of the page.

Join (or start) a book club on GoodReads, 
GoodReads is a well known social platform for readers.  Share what you're reading, comment on books, and join groups centered around reading preferences or even a single book. 

Try out the new book club app!
BookClubz is an online platform that allows anyone  to organize and manage a book club online. And it's free! 

Set up a grade or school wide book club in Google Classroom!  The structure of high schools forces students to learn within a schedule that doesn't always include their best motivators (friends!).  An online book club can offer students an opportunity to students to engage with literature with those who they share other interests with.  Consider keeping it casual and fun (sans the assignments and grades).  Book club is a place to talk about the ideas we encounter in what we read!

The novels-in-verse listed below are available to everyone on the MackinVIA platform.  Just login and read.  You can download an app for MackinVIA to use on your smart devices, too.

• And We Call it Love by Amanda Vink 
• Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips 
• Dreams on Fire by Annette Daniels Taylor
• Family by Micol Ostow
• Fifteen and Change by Max Howard 
• I am Water by Meg Specksgoor 
• Little Pills by Melody Dodds
• Manning Up by Bee Walsh
• More than Anger by Lexi Bruce
• Not Hungry by Kate Kayrus Quinn
• One Too Many Lies by L.A. Bowen\
• The Same Blood by M. Azmitia
• Sanctuary Somewhere by Brenna Dimmig
• Second in Command by Sandy Van
• Some Girls Bind by Rory James
• Watches and Warnings by Ryan Wolf
• What If? by Anna Russell
• You and Me and Misery by Rayel Louis-Charles

This is a unit within the larger poem.  It presents as a group of lines often arranged in a recognizable number and pattern.  The stanza may have meter or rhyme scheme. 
 

Rhymes schemes are repeated sounds that may be 

• rhyming words at the end of given lines within a pattern
• the repetition of the same sound in a group of words, known as alliteration
• the repetition of a consonant sound in a group of words, known as consonance
• the repetition of vowel sounds in a group of words, known as assonance.
   

Rhythm is established through a meter ror a pattern of repeating stressed and unstressed syllables. Pauses are also important in establishing rhythm. These can be presented as

• enjambment (when a line is broken in th e middle of a sentence or phrase)
• the line break (where a line stops and another begins)
• the end-stop (a breaking point at the end of a sentence or phrase.that features standard punctuation, such as period or a semi-colon)

Narrative poetry pre-dates writing, allowing humankind to use rhythm and rhyme to commit important social texts to memory.  The recent popularity of verse in Young Adult literature emerged as authors tapped in to the teen's typical interest in beat-based music and lyrics.

 Whether presented in stanzas or free verse, novel-in-verse is a hybrid genre that blend characteristics of both poetry and the prose-based novel.  Common elements include:

• a series of poems linked by character and plot
• a linear narrative, delivered by singular voice, dramatic dialogue, or. multiple voices (perspectives)
• an intense inner focus (inner voice) 
• attention to the elements of poetry that will allow for descriptive action and everyday speech patterns (unlike formal poetry).
• white space that allows the reader time to contemplate and interpret what they are reading.

Reynolds, Jason. How Poetry Can Help Kids Turn a Fear of Literature into Love. December 15, 2017.