Browse our recommended reads of novels in verse or poetry! These books are aimed at young adults, but adults will enjoy them too!
You can discover more poetry eBooks on Borrowbox, and find out about National Poetry Day on the official website!
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated.
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal Shahid’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?
The Dark Lady by Akala
Henry is an orphan, a thief and a genius. Raised by a powerful witch, Henry is a master pickpocket and spends much of his time reading at the magical apothecary.
But Henry’s extraordinary gifts haven’t gone unnoticed and when caught stealing, he’s forced to work for an influential duke and his secret society of intellectuals.
Working hard to fulfil the duke’s relentless pursuit for knowledge, Henry finds solace and a friend in his idol, the young playwright, William Shakespeare. But it’s his mother Henry longs for most.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Xiomara has always kept her words to herself. When it comes to standing her ground in her Harlem neighbourhood, she lets her fists and her fierceness do the talking.
But X has secrets – her feelings for a boy in her bio class, and the notebook full of poems that she keeps under her bed. And a slam poetry club that will pull those secrets into the spotlight. Because in spite of a world that might not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to stay silent.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people. In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Papi’s death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.
Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann
When Amber runs, it’s the only time she feels completely free – far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby.
Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more – and she’s ready to fight for it. It’s time for a revolution.
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
‘With a bolt of lightning on my kicks. The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering’ raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court.
But Josh has more than basketball in his blood – he’s got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it’s all on the line.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
After Will’s brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don’t cry. Don’t snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn’s gun, determined to follow The Rules.
Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will’s friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he’s doing. This haunting, lyrical, powerful verse novel will blow you away.