Books in Verse
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
NONFITCION. FIC CHA
Anke’s father is abusive. But not to her. He attacks her brother and sister, but she’s just an invisible witness in a house of horrors, on the brink of disappearing altogether. Until she makes the volleyball team at school. At first just being exhausted after practice feels good, but as Anke becomes part of the team, her confidence builds. When she learns to yell “Mine!” to call a ball, she finds a voice she didn’t know existed. For the first time, Anke is seen and heard. Soon, she’s imagining a day that her voice will be loud enough to rescue everyone at home—including herself.
One by Sarah Crossan
NONFITCION. FIC CRO
Grace and Tippi. Tippi and Grace. Two sisters. Two hearts. Two dreams. Two lives. But one body.
Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything, and they are everything to each other. They would never imagine being apart. For them, that would be the real tragedy.
But something is happening to them. Something they hoped would never happen. And Grace doesn’t want to admit it. Not even to Tippi.
How long can they hide from the truth—how long before they must face the most impossible choice of their lives?
House Arrest by K.A. Holt
NONFITCION. FIC HOL
Stealing is bad./ Yeah./I know.
But my brother Levi is always so sick, and his medicine is always so expensive.
I didn’t think anyone would notice,/ if I took that credit card,/ if, in one stolen second,/ I bought Levi’s medicine.
But someone did notice.
Now I have to prove I’m not a delinquent, I’m not a total bonehead.
That one quick second turned into/ juvie/ a judge/ a year of house arrest,/ a year of this court-ordered journal,/ a year to avoid messing up/ and being sent back to juvie/ so fast my head will spin.
What could go wrong?
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
NONFITCION. FIC HOP
In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank.
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
NONFITCION. FIC VEN
Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.
