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Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Genre Freebie: Books Written in Verse
One of my favorite types of books has been books written in verse ever since I was in middle school. I still vividly remember when I found my first of these books in my middle school/high school library and reading it as soon as I was done with my homework that night. That book is in this list.
As a poet, I was obsessed with the idea of writing a book through poetry. Someday I hope to write my own. This year, I am going to be working on a blog series where I read/talk about 26 books in different categories. The first of these posts is books written in verse that I'm reading throughout this year.
Here is a list of some of my top favorites from over the years.
1. Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
- Amber & Clay has an intricately woven format with a mix between prose and verse. The story focuses on Rhaskos and Melisto, whose story is narrated by the Greek Gods, their mothers, Sokrates, many other people in their lives, and also themselves. Along with the prose and verse, there are illustrated artifacts preceding a section of the story. Laura Amy Schlitz gives more historical context in her author's note at the end of the book. I highly enjoy her explanation about Greek Verse and how she used it throughout the entire book. This is such a wonderful story.
2. Death's Country by R. M. Romero
- R. M. Romero's novels written in verse are some of my absolute favorites, especially this beauty. She blends magical realism with a realistic world to retell the myth of "Orpheus and Eurydice" in the present day. Many of my favorite myths deal with the Underworld. Romero does a brilliant job taking the original myth and breathing new life into it with the characters of Andres, Renee, and Liora. I also love how important music is in the novel.
3. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
- This was my first book written in verse, which I read for the first time back in eighth grade (2007/2008). I have read and loved many of Sonya Sones's books over the years. The story focuses on a teen named Ruby, who moves in with her father after her mother passes away and how it uproots her life. It has been a very long time since I picked this up (reread it in 2016) but I remember how much it touched me at both times in my life.
4. Bull by David Elliot
- I've read all of David Elliot's novels in verse and this is my favorite of them. This is based on the myth of the Minotaur in the Labyrinth on Crete, which is one of my all-time favorite Greek myths. My favorite aspect of this was how David chose to have each of the characters in the book speak in different types of verse. He goes into detail about this at the end of the book. It is one of the most beautiful examples of books written in verse that I have ever read.
5. Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen
- A heartbreaking and heartwarming story about a young orphaned girl who finds the meaning of family in modern-day China. I love how the book is in Kara's voice. It is a stunning middle grade book that I highly recommend.
6. Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge
- A young adult biography about Mary Shelley and how she created Frankenstein, told through verse and over 300 illustrations. Lita Judge used Mary Shelley's journals to write this book. It's perfect for fans of the novel and anyone wanting to find out more about the author. A fabulous book inside and out. What I really loved about this book, was the fact of seeing where all of Mary's ideas came from to create Frankenstein. She became the mother of science fiction for a reason. The fact that she started writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen years old, just amazes me.
7. Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
- Enter the Body was an interesting take on many of Shakespeare’s plays and heroines. I really enjoyed the way Joy used verse and also dialogue between Juliet, Cordelia, Ophelia, and Lavinia. Though, I do wish that Lavinia would have been given some way to voice her opinions, I think that it was powerful to see her silencing throughout the entire book. Speaks volumes.
- One of my favorite aspects of this book was the fact that we got the original versions of the plays told in the words of each of the characters. Then, in the second half we got the versions that the girls wish they would have gotten. This was a beautiful book with deeply heavy messages that hit hard.
8. Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
- One of the most beautifully heartbreaking novels I have ever read. I love how this book was written in ZJ’s voice, through verse. There are so many lines that stood out, especially from ZJ’s daddy. Not only was this book heartbreaking, but it was also heartwarming. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Guy Lockard does an incredible job creating ZJ’s voice and giving emotion to such a hard subject. This had me in tears multiple times.
9. Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron
- Both this and the final book on this list were two of my favorite books from last year. They both made it on my top 20 of the year. Octopus Moon is a book I didn't know I needed in my life, but I'm so glad I found it. It is about a young girl named Pearl who is dealing with many changes in her life as she starts fifth grade. She is having a difficult time finding the energy and the willpower to do what she needs and wants to do. The story is written from her perspective in verse as she navigates her life and deals with depression.
- I cannot recommend this book enough. It will be great for the middle grade readers in your life, but I also believe adults should read it too. Pearl's story is one I'm sure many people will relate to and one I think needs to be read. Definitely, one of the best middle grades I have read in my life.
10. Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld) by Nikita Gill
- Nikita Gill is my favorite poet and Hekate is a character that I enjoy quite a bit from mythology since she is the Goddess of Witches among many other things. I did not know much of her backstory before she becomes the formidable Goddess I have come to love in stories. Nikita uses her beautiful lines of verse and prose to tell Hekate’s story.
- We see Hekate from a young girl and see her coming of age story in this book. It was interesting to read another book about a daughter of Titans from their own perspective, there aren’t many of them. Many Greek Myth stories focus on the Olympians. Hekate’s story includes many famous events we have come to know from Greek Mythology, such as: the Titanomachy (the war between the Titans and the Gods), among so many others. I enjoyed reading about these from Hekate’s perspective as she comes into her powers. This is a wonderful book for fans of Greek Mythology, novels written in verse, and powerful female stories.
