Books: Novels in Verse

So I've been working on this intro for a while now and I've decided there are two major reasons why Novels in Verse are great to read. First, their poetry format makes them easy to understand. I know that you may be thinking the exact opposite, but trust me on this. The emotion in these books in palpable and easy to undersand. Second, they're quick reads. This is good if you've got a short attention span, aren't really a book person or only have a little time to kill with reading. So get your hands on one of these books, and realize that poetry can be more enjoyable than the pieces forced upon you by English teachers.


Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

By Francesca Lia Block
Weetzie Bat
Witch Baby
Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys
Missing Angel Juan
Baby Be-Bop
Psyche in a Dress

All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg

Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell

Because I am the Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Splintering by Eireann Corrigan

After the Death of Anna Gonzalez by Terri Fields

Keesha's House by Helen Frost

By Mel Glenn
Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?: A Mystery in Poems
The Taking of Room 114: A Hosage Drama in Poems
Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems
Foreign Exchange: A Mystery in Poems
Split Image: A Story in Poems

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

By Stephanie Hemphill
Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Poems
Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath

By Steven Herrick
Love, Ghosts and Facial Hair
A Place Like This
By the River

Witness by Karen Hesse

Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Road Trip by Linda Oatman High

By Ellen Hopkins
Tricks
Crank
Glass
Identical
Impulse
Burned

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Street Love by Walter Dean Myers

By Cynthia Rylant
God Went to Beauty School
Boris

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

By Lisa Schroeder
I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Far From You
Chasing Brooklyn (Out 01/05/10)

By Sonya Sones
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
What My Mother Doesn't Know
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland

By Margaret Wild
Jinx
One Night

By Virgina Euwer Wolff
Make Lemonade
True Believer
This Full House


Know any Novels in Verse that I missed? Let me know in the comments.

Books: Stories Retold

Some stories we've heard a thousand times. The pumpkin that turns into a carriage, the kiss that wakes up the princess, the magic mirror on the wall. We've heard them over and over again since childhood and know exactly how everything happens. Usually. There are now many books which take those well-known stories of our childhoods and turn them on their heads. Often called fractured fairy tales, they can change a story's setting, tell the story from someone else's point of view or do any number of different things to change the way we view the childhood classics. This list contains not just fairy tale retellings, but retellings of Shakespearean classics, and the historical story of the the last royals of Russia. Everything is organized by story, in case you are looking for something in particular. Some books are listed more than once, as they are adaptations of multiple stories.

Arabian Nights
The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

The Ballad of Mulan
Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey

Beauty and the Beast
Belle by Cameron Dokey
Spirited by Nancy Holder
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli

Cinderella
Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer

East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
East by Edith Pattou

The Frog Prince
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
Water Song by Suzanne Weyn

The Little Mermaid
Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguié

Little Red Riding Hood
Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié

The Magic Flute
Sunlight and Shadow by Cameron Dokey

Rapunzel
Golden by Cameron Dokey
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Out of the Wild by Sarah Best Durst
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

Rumpelstiltskin
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn

The Six Swans
The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott

Sleeping Beauty
Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss

Snow White
Snow by Tracy Lynn

Twelve Dancing Princesses
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn

The White Bride and the Black Bride
The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder

Multiple Fairy Tales
The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Out of the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss

History
Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn (Anastasia- the last Grand Duchess)

Shakespeare
Romeo's Ex: Rosaline's Story by Lisa Fielder (Romeo and Juliet)
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors (Romeo and Juliet)
Ophelia by Lisa Klein (Hamlet)

Books: Faeries

Perhaps the most exciting things about faery books (or fairy, or faerie, or fae) is the multitude of ways in which authors interpret them. Some authors write faeries as the winged creatures of childhoos fantasies, others stick close to the Celtic mythology surrounding the creatures, and still others keep their versions somewhere in the middle or go off in completely original directions. This list keeps track of all the YA faery books I have read and recommend.

Modern Tales of Faerie by Holly Black
Tithe
Valiant
Ironside

I was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow

The Faerie Path Series by Frewin Jones
The Faerie Path
The Lost Queen
The Sorcerer King
The Immortal Realm
The Enchanted Quest (Out 1/26/10)

The Wildwood Books by Juliet Marillier
Wildwood Dancing
Cybele's Secret

The Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr
Wicked Lovely
Ink Exchange
Fragile Eternity
Radiant Shadows (Out April 2010)

The Chronicles of Faerie by O.R. Melling
The Hunter's Moon
The Summer King
The Light-Bearer's Daughter
The Book of Dreams

By Maggie Stiefvater
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie

By Maryrose Wood
Why I Let My Hair Grow Out
How I Found the Perfect Dress
What I Wore to Save the World

Books: Vampires

If you read YA and have an internet connection, you've probably been through countless book lists on this theme. Vampires. They seem to be the "it" theme for YA books at the moment, with hundreds published in the last year alone. I imagine most of you have read quite a few variations on this theme. I know I have. Most of you will read through this list and only find a few books you haven't read. That's okay. These are the YA vampire books that I have read an enjoyed.



Den of Shadows Quartet by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

In the Forests of the Night

Demon in My View

Shattered Mirror

Midnight Predator



Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine:

Glass Houses

The Dead Girls' Dance

Midnight Alley

Feast of Fools

Lord of Misrule

Carpe Corpus

Fade Out (Out 11/03/09)



House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Marked

Betrayed

Chosen

Untamed

Hunted

Tempted (Out 10/27/09)



High School Bites by Liza Conrad



Blue Bloods Series by Melissa De La Cruz:

Blue Bloods
Blue Bloods: Masquerade

Blue Bloods: Revelations

Blue Bloods: The Van Alen Legacy (Out 10/06/09)



Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey



Evernight Series by Claudia Gray

Evernight

Stargazer

Hourglass (Out 04/09/10)



Good Ghoul's Series by Julie Kenner

The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even

Good Ghoul's Do



The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause



The Blood Coven Series by Mari Mancusi

Boys that Bite

Stake That

Girls that Growl



Uninvited by Amanda Marrone



Goth Books by Katie Maxwell

Got Fangs?

Circus of the Darned



Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise



Sucks to be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) by Kimberly Pauley



The Colby Blanchard Series by Serena Robar

Braced 2 Bite

Fangs 4 Freaks

Dating 4 Demons



Vampire Kisses Series by Ellen Schreiber:

Vampire Kisses

Kissing Coffins

Vampireville

Dance with a Vampire

The Coffin Club

Royal Blood