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Keesha's House by Helen Frost

Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids gravitate to her house when they just can’t make it on their own. They are Stephie – pregnant, trying to make the right decisions for herself and those she cares about; Jason – Stephie’s boyfriend, torn between his responsibility to Stephie and the baby and the promise of a college basketball career; Dontay – in foster care while his parents are in prison, feeling unwanted both inside and outside the system; Carmen – arrested on a DUI charge, waiting in a juvenile detention center for a judge to hear her case; Harris – disowned by his father after disclosing that he’s gay, living in his car, and taking care of himself; Katie – angry at her mother’s loyalty to an abusive stepfather, losing herself in long hours of work and school.

Split Image by Mel Glenn

Everyone has an image of Laura Li, the most popular girl in school: "stone hearted", "warmhearted", "conceited deceiver", "humble achiever", "a virgin", "the hottest girl in the world".

Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?: A Mystery in Poems by Mel Glenn

When popular Tower High English teacher Mr. Chippendale is fatally shot, everyone's a suspect. The killer could be anyone— one of his students, a colleague, or even an ex-flame. Told in a series of interlocking poems, this suspenseful story will keep readers guessing who the killer is right up until the last page.

Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair by Steven Herrick

Jack's got a lot on his mind: He's trying to figure out the mystery of the opposite sex, he can't stop wondering about facial hair, and he won't let go of his mother's ghost, even though she died seven years ago. Jack knows he can't hang on to the past forever, but what he doesn't know is how to let go. Then he meets Annabel. She's beautiful, smart, and she gets him. Suddenly love makes sense, and the future seems hopeful. And for the first time, Jack feels ready to leave the past where it belongs.

The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

Weary of his life with his alcoholic, abusive father, sixteen-year-old Billy packs a few belongings and hits the road, hoping for something better than what he left behind. He finds a home in an abandoned freight train outside a small town, where he falls in love with rich, restless Caitlin and befriends a fellow train resident, "Old Bill," who slowly reveals a tragic past. When Billy is given a gift that changes everything, he learns not only to how forge his own path in life, but the real meaning of family.

Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Roadtrip by Linda Oatman High

Laura Crapper, a seventeen-year-old combat-boot-wearing poet with spiked red hair, renames herself Sister Slam and hits the road with her best friend, Twig. On the way to a slam poetry contest in New Jersey, they hit a pig, get pulled over by the cops, fight with one of the judges, lose the contest, get into two more fender benders, fight with each other, and finally land on the front page of a New York City newspaper for their amazing impromptu performance at the famous Tavern on the Green. The girls and their fresh style of poetry take the city by storm, but when Laura's father back in Pennsylvania has a heart attack, she must face her fears about home and the still-raw loss of her mother.

The Brimstone Journals by Ron Koertge

The Branston High School Class of 2001 seems familiar enough on the surface: there’s the Smart One, the Fat Kid, Social Conscience, Bad Girl, Good Girl, Jock, Anorexic, Dyke, Rich Boy, Sistah, Stud . . . and Boyd, an Angry Young Man who has just made a dangerous new friend. Now he’s making a list.
The Branston High School Class of 2001. You might think you know them. You might be surprised.

17: A Novel in Prose Poems by Liz Rosenberg

The first day of Stephanie’s junior year is a step into the underworld. Led into desire, depression, and alienation by the intoxicating yet strangely distant figure of Denny Pistill, Stephanie must cope with a series of fears and crises. Denny and Stephanie are drawn to each other through writing and reading poetry, and author Liz Rosenberg’s own poetic sense gives truth to Stephanie’s ability to make art out of the darkest things. Stephanie’s passage through an emotional winter, which echoes the myth of Persephone, ultimately brings her into a budding sense of life and hope. Written in short chapters in the style of prose poetry, this is an exquisitely crafted, emotionally honest novel for young adults from a prize-winning author.

Boris by Cynthia Rylant

Boris is a big gray cat who loves sleeping and playing and exploring and hunting. And his owner loves him for all of his simple cat ways.  But Boris, typical as he may be, is part of a much larger story in this moving exploration of love, longing, compassion, and most of all, the continuous give-and-take of companionship.

I Don't Want To Be Crazy by Samantha Schultz

This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities -- freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she revelled in the independence ... but as pressures increased , she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated. Thus began a hard road of discovery and coping, powerfully rendered in this poetry memoir.

The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith
The Geography of Girlhood is a raw and powerful novel about a girl navigating the unknownthe difficult limbo between youth and adulthood. Written in verse, the novel follows a girl from ages 14 to 18, exploring first crushes, first dances, first kisses, and the many other dangers of growing up. Kirsten Smiths writing bursts with painfully accurate and sharply witty observations, evoking supercharged emotions with just a simple phrase or two.

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Sophie describes her relationships with a series of boys as she searches for Mr. Right.

Something About America by Maria Testa

Narrated by the young daughter from Kosova, this nuanced and deeply moving immigration tale was inspired by true events. In October 2002, the mayor of Lewiston, Maine, wrote a letter to the elders of the local Somali community, asking them to turn future refugees away because the town was "maxed-out physically, financially, and emotionally." Seizing the opportunity, a racist group staged a rally that drew thirty people, only to be met by some six thousand residents in support of the Somalis – people of all cultures and backgrounds who knew something about America.

Jinx by Margaret Wild

Do not get to know me. Do not ask me out. Do not love me. Be warned! I am Jinx. Jinx doesn't start out as Jinx -- at first she's dull, safe, boring Jen. Jen who always hands her homework in on time, Jen who never stays out late, Jen who can always be counted on. When Jen's first boyfriend dies, she thinks she's unlucky...until her second boyfriend dies too. Jen is Jinx now -- a curse, a promise of bad luck, a girl who's angry and alone, who can't get close to people anymore. Can Jinx find her way back to being Jen again?

Escaping Tornado Season: A Story in Poems by Julie Williams

Allie Benton's summer at her grandparents' house in Minnesota is the same as it's always been: northern lights and pine trees, family gossip and root beer floats. She's come here to escape Nebraska's tornado season every summer for as long as she can remember. The only difference is, this time no one's coming to take her back to Nebraska when fall rolls around. With her father dead, her mother run off to heaven knows where, and her twin brother, seven years buried, just a ghost in her memory, Allie settles in with her grandparents for a cold Minnesota winter. But it's hard to fit in at a new school when her family can't afford to buy her a pair of blue jeans. And, in an ethnically divided community, Allie isn't even allowed to choose the friends she wants-handsome Joey Redfern and Lidia, the beautiful Ojibwe girl who calls Allie my niijikwe, "my friend."

LitLinks: Poetry

Find links to a variety of sites listed by the poet's name.  For example, if you are using a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, click on the link for her name and you'll find a list of links about her and her poetry.

Norton Websource to American Literature

A list of American authors by name; click on your poet's name to find their place on the literary timeline and to get biographical info and links

Modern American Poetry

Resources on Modern American Poets; an online and multimedia companion to the book Anthology of Modern American Poetry.

The Internet Public Library: Literary Criticism

A huge number of links to lit crit resources on the web.  You can look them up by the author's name or the title of the work.  This site isn't just for poetry, but for all kinds of literature.