Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit
by Smith, Colby Cedar
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Nominated by: Alyssa Colman
Call me Athena is an enchanting verse novel in multiple voices that captures the reader into the tumultuous time period of the 1930s in Detroit as well as World War I. The different time periods and voices are woven together with lyrical and well-crafted verse. Part love story, part historical fiction, this verse novel is paced perfectly to reveal each character’s story.
Everywhere Blue
by Fritz, Joanne Rossmassler
Holiday House
Nominated by: Chad Lucas
Everywhere Blue draws the reader into the complicated dynamics of family. When Maddie’s brother disappears, she is forced to grow up and see things in her life through a new lens. Musical imagery enhances the lyrical emotion of the poetry throughout this complex story.
Me (Moth)
by McBride, Amber
Feiwel & Friends
Nominated by: Laura Gardner
Me (Moth) is a profoundly lyrical YA verse novel that explores the complexities of grief and cultural identity. When Moth loses her family in a car accident, she becomes a shadow of her old self, unable to move on. It takes meeting another lost soul and encouraging him to pursue his passions for Moth to find her own way toward healing. This moving story is sure to stay with the reader long after they’ve turned the final page.
Red, White, and Whole
by LaRocca, Rajani
Quill Tree Books
Nominated by: Darshana Khiani
Indian mythology meets 80s pop music in Rajani LaRocca’s historical novel in verse RED, WHITE, and WHOLE. As a first generation Indian American, Reha lives in two different worlds. This thirteen-year-old girl’s worlds collide in the emotional verse as she faces the impact of her mother’s leukemia.
Snow Birds
by Hall, Kirsten, illustrated by Desmond, Jenni
Harry N Abrams
Nominated by: Bridget Wilson
SNOW BIRDS is a beautifully written and illustrated poetry collection that deftly integrates lyrical poetry and wonderful information for a wide audience of readers, including parents who are reading aloud to their children. Panelists enjoyed the focus on a particular and varied group of birds, the high quality of the poetry—wonderful rhythm, rhyme, and inventive language—for readers and read-alouds, and the quiet, peaceful feel of the book as a whole. The book is appropriate for read-alouds in early childhood settings and for readers through at least 3rd grade.
Starfish
Fipps, Lisa
Nancy Paulsen Books
Nominated by: Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Starfish, a novel-in-verse by Lisa Fipps, describes how Ellie, a fat pre-teen feels when she “starfishes” in her pool: “I starfish/ There’s plenty of room / for/ each/ and/ every/ one of/ us…” Despite mean girls, she learns to love herself for who she is and who she is becoming. Each verse is its own poem and takes the reader into the pre-teen mind.
You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves
Diana (Editor)
Workman Publishing
Nominated by: Carol Coven Grannick
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE EVERYTHING is an illustrated poetry collection for young adults identifying as female and contains a wide variety of wonderful verse by many different voices. The poetry and illustrations address an immense cross section of young adult issues. Every reader will find at least some verses that address familiar experiences that help the reader feel “seen”. A much needed collection for 13 year olds and up, it offers a to-date unique and beautifully crafted collection that fills a great need in the YA genre and is a resource for many years in a young adult’s life.