Novels in Verse Reading Challenge Update & My Take on a Star Rating System

I've been remiss over the past few months in posting my progress in the Novels In Verse Reading Challenge. While I have been reading, I've failed to write and post my reviews. Here are my abbreviated thoughts, and my take on a star rating system, for  The Firefly Letters, All the Broken Pieces, What My Mother Doesn't Know, What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know, and Waiting.

Photo courtesy of George Schick

The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba
by Margarita Engle
When Fredrika Bremer visits Cuba from Sweden in 1851, Cecelia, a young slave who longs for home, becomes her guide. She introduces her to the people, the customs, and the magic of the island. In a time when women do not have the freedom to roam, the journey they make together creates a bond that breaks cultural barriers.
This book is beautifully written, with characters and setting that are richly drawn. I give it this gorgeous purple, finely textured starfish.

Photo courtesy of Mary R. Vogt

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Born in war-torn Vietnam and then living with a loving adoptive family in the United States, twelve-year-old Matt Pin cannot forget what he left behind: his mother, his brother, and a terrible secret. But Matt learns through the people around him - his piano teacher, baseball coach, and his classmates at school, that everyone has been affected by the war.
I give it this lovely star that illustrates what we can do if we come together.


What My Mother Doesn't Know
and
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know
by Sonya Sones
Although I enjoyed the author's writing, these two stories weren't for me. A lot of "lusty crushes", raging hormones, and very little else. I've heard plenty of good things about these books, so I imagine teens can relate. Perhaps I'm just too far removed from those teen years to appreciate these two. I'm giving each of them this sparkly star shoe, because they obviously appeal to others, they just weren't a good fit for me.

Photo courtesy of J. Durham

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams  

Photo courtesy of Scott Liddell

This is the story of a missionary family shattered by the tragic death of a beloved brother and favorite son. After distancing herself from her friends and boyfriend, sixteen-year-old London finds herself broken and alone, trying to cope with the loss while living with a mother who ignores her, a father who is distant, and a house full of blame.

I love Carol Lynch William's writing. Her previous novel in verse, Glimpse, is one I've read and re-read. She really knows how to make readers feel. I cried my way through this book and I'll probably read it again.

I give it the starfruit because there was a lot below the surface in this story, and once you've taken one bite, you can't stop. 

What was the last novel in verse that you read?

Novels in Verse Reading Challenge Update

This month I read two novels in verse as part of the Reading Challenge hosted by Amanda at Born Bookish: Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Let me tell you a little bit about them. . .

Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister
Went Crazy

By Sonya Sones

This book is based on the true experience of the author and her own girlhood journals.

At the age of thirteen, Cookie witnesses the frightening changes in her older sister as she has a mental breakdown. From that point on, everything in her life changes. Not only does she lose her sister, best friend, and confidante to a lengthy hospitalization, but also her mother and father become unrecognizable to her under the pressure of their grief and their inability to comfort each other through the loss.

Cookie finds herself lonely and longing to talk to someone about what’s going on, yet she’s afraid of losing her friends if they find out.

I felt the honesty of Cookie’s emotions, from her own fear of being crazy, to her admission that she often didn’t want to visit her sister in the hospital. Although she desperately missed her, most times she found that she didn’t recognize the girl who looked back at her. It's heartbreaking to watch Cookie try to navigate through the changes alone. But there is also hope and deep joy as she finds a true friend, and  her family begins putting their life back together.

I borrowed this book from the library, came home and thought I’d just pick it up and read the first page or two before starting lunch. But I couldn’t put it down. I read the first third of the book standing in the kitchen. Finally, I stopped long enough to fix lunch, then sat down, and read the rest of the book. I heartily recommend Stop Pretending. At just under 10,000 words, it’ll take you on a short but powerful journey.

Out of the Dust

By Karen Hesse

 I had heard of this book before but never picked it up. I’m not sure why. Maybe I was put off by the cover, which I find quite drab. But after reading several wonderful reviews, I put the cover out of my mind and got the book.

This is the story of Billy Jo, a fourteen-year-old girl who grows up in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the great depression.

We watch her farming family struggle through drought and loss with a constant shroud of dust that covers everything from Billy Jo’s mother’s beloved piano to the very food they eat.

After a terrible accident takes her mother's life and leaves Billy Joe burned and scarred, she and her father drift through life on currents of their own quiet grief and Billy Jo dreams of the day she will leave. 


When Billy Jo finally jumps a train that will take her out of the dust bowl, she is able to come to terms with the past and the present, trading in blame for hope, and discovering something about herself in the process.


This is a wonderful book and it rises right to the top of my list as one of my favorite novels in verse.


For a peek into the story, have a look at this 10-year-old actress performing one of the most dramatic scenes in the book. It gives me goosebumps! 

If you haven't joined the Novels in Verse Reading Challenge yet, I encourage you to consider it. There's still time to join in, and at the least intimidating level you only need to read one book. I'm a big fan of the format and I've found that the challenge has pushed me to try more than just the authors I'm familiar with. And that's always a good thing.

Two Lyrical Reads to Transport You

This month, as part of the Novels In Verse reading challenge, hosted by Amanda at Born Bookish,  I read Inside Out & Back Again by Thanha Lai and Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. I didn’t realize it when I picked these two books out, but they had a lot in common. To start, look at the covers:

I must admit, it was the beautiful cover that first attracted me to Thanha Lai’s book. You know how I love trees ;)  Then when I learned that it was written in verse, well, there was no question. I had to read it right away.

Although classified as fiction, both of these books are based on the real experiences of the authors.

Inside Out & Back Again

From Amazon: 

"No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.

For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.

But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.

This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next."

Inside Out & Back Again  is beautifully told in free verse. Through the seamless flow of poems, we experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of Ha's journey as she, her mother, and her three brothers travel from Vietnam to America. Ha's fears, her curiosity, her guilt, her temper and her bond with her family, all make for a compelling tale and we hope beyond reasonable hope, right along with Ha and her family, that in the end they will be reunited with her father, who has been missing in action for years.

Under the Mesquite

From Amazon:

"When Lupita learns Mami has cancer, she is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit family. Suddenly, being a high school student, starring in a play, and dealing with friends who don't always understand, become less important than doing whatever she can to save Mami's life.

While her father cares for Mami at an out-of-town clinic, Lupita takes charge of her seven younger siblings. As Lupita struggles to keep the family afloat, she takes refuge in the shade of a mesquite tree, where she escapes the chaos at home to write. Forced to face her limitations in the midst of overwhelming changes and losses, Lupita rediscovers her voice and finds healing in the power of words.

Told with honest emotion in evocative free verse, Lupita's journey toward hope is captured in moments that are alternately warm and poignant. Under the Mesquite is an empowering story about testing family bonds and the strength of a young woman navigating pain and hardship with surprising resilience."

In Under the Mesquite, Lupita's story is told in rich, picturesque language. The author carries us, along with Lupita and her family to homes on both sides of the United States-Mexican border. And she makes us feel at home there too, successfully incorporating Spanish words and glimpses of Latino experiences.

Two Reviews for the Novels in Verse Reading Challenge

Today I'm posting two reviews as part of the Novels in Verse Reading challenge hosted by Amanda at Born Bookish. In January, I read the first two books towards my goal of 9-12 novels written in verse for the year.

May B by Caroline Starr Rose
Middle Grade

Synopsis (from Amazon)

I've known it since last night:
It's been too long to expect them to return. 
Something's happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose's fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.

My Review

I’m a big fan of novels written in verse, so I’d been waiting for this one to come out. When I finally got my hands on it, I read it in one sitting.

 I felt for May right from the start, as she’s told that she has to quit school, leave her family, and go live with strangers to work on their homestead. Talk about drama!

The author does an amazing job of creating characters and emotions we can relate to, even though the circumstances of May’s family are quite different from anything I’ve ever experienced. I felt the weight of her parents’ decision to send her away, not only as it affected May, but also as it affected her whole family.

Another thing that May struggles with is reading. Although her schoolteacher and her classmates ridicule May, she is determined to do better. One of the few things she brings with her when she leaves home is her reader.

When May is dropped off at their neighbor’s homestead she’s full of doubt. But as May adapts to her new circumstances, firstly getting accustomed to the family she’s been sent to help, and finally, being left alone to survive the winter, she finds her strength and her voice.

This was a lovely, captivating story. I’m glad I purchased the book, because I know I’m going to want to read it again!

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
Young Adult

Synopsis (from Amazon)

My Wish 

is to fall 

cranium over Converse 

in dizzy daydream-worthy love. 
(If only it were that easy.)

Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer--from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She's left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. 

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "summer vacation" has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you've lost it? 

Love & Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl's journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

My Review

Okay, I’ll say it again: I love books written in verse. And Love & Leftovers is no exception. It’s like getting all the good parts without any “filler” to slow things down. Which is probably why, even at 432 pages, I couldn’t put this down. I read it in one sitting.

When Marcie’s dad leaves her mother for another man, it affects not only her family, but her other relationships as well.  Marcie begins to question everything in her life. Why didn’t her father love her enough to stay? When will she be able to go home to her friends? Why doesn’t her boyfriend show the extent of his feelings for her? What does being in love really feel like?

Far from home, her friends, and her musician boyfriend, Marcie is lonely. So when a boy at her new school starts showing interest, she rationalizes a new relationship even as she sees it crossing from friendship to something more. Will this be true love?

Although Marcie’s story is not as sweet & innocent as I like teen romances to be, the author creates characters you’ll really care about. 


I'd also like to thank Amanda for posting my review of Gayle Forman's Where She Went. Look for it here.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Sequel to If I Stay
YA










What book are you currently reading and what do you like most about it?

Time for a Little Fun

Last week I received The Versatile Blogger Award from new blogging friend, Fiona J. Phillips over at Fi's Magical Writing Haven. Thanks, Fi. I'd also like to thank C. Lee McKenzie from The Write Game, for bestowing this honor on me several months back.

The rules insist that I tell you seven things you don't know about me, and pass the award on to five other bloggers, so here goes:

1.  I'm keeping all of the chocolates I received for Christmas (coconut wreaths, cordial cherries, thin mints, assorted cremes, etc.) on my desk. I've been spending an inordinate amount of time in my office this month. Any connection? I'll let you decide ;)

2.  I also received a gift card to our local independent book shop. Stacked in a very satisfying pile on the corner of my desk (next to the cache of chocolates) are North of Beautiful, by Justina Chen Headley, I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, Second Sight by Cheryl B. KIein, and May B. by Caroline Starr Rose. I am in readers bliss.

3. I love to bake, but hate to cook. Give me Toll House cookie bars over pork chops any day!

4. I never learned to dress like an adult. I wear jeans, t-shirts and sneakers every day. (Although I recently went on a shopping spree in preparation for attending a writers conference later in the year.) I almost don't recognize myself all dressed up.

5.  Figuring out what to make for dinner is my least favorite part of each day. Sometimes I just want to scream, "Really, I have to cook every day?"

6. Although I swore this would never happen to me, I sometimes forget how old I am.

7. I was once asked if my (older) sister was my daughter. This happened only once and I tell myself that the room was dimly lit, the woman who asked was elderly and surely she had some sort of vision impairment. It wasn't. And to my knowledge, she didn't. But I tell myself this anyway.

And now I'd like to pass this award on to five of my blogging friends. I hope you'll click on over and check them out.

1.  Mirka Breen shares wonderfully honest posts on her own blog and is a faithful commenter on so many others. Thanks, Mirka!

2.  Susanna Leonard Hill runs a truly versatile blog. She's always got something going on: challenges, contests, polls, prompts. There's never a dull moment.

3.  Janet Sumner Johnson because she is awesome! See this post.

4.  Sarah Pearson has an addicting blog feature called Musical Stories. If you haven't already, you're going to want to check them out. 

5.  Rosalind Adam because she's one of the nicest people I've met since I started blogging.

Now, to celebrate the fact that I'm going to be diving into the query process with my YA novel in verse this week, I'm joining a reading challenge. My daughter, Amanda, is hosting a Novels In Verse Reading Challenge over at Born Bookish.

I've signed on at the Sonnet Level to read 9-12 novels in verse before the end of the year. I hope you'll consider joining as well. And if you've never read a novel in verse, you may be surprised to find how many of them there are. She's got lists of both MG and YA titles here.