Not so long ago, the only verse novels available were by Ellen Hopkins and Francesca Lia Block. Now their works are joined by countless diverse titles that center young people’s coming-of-age in the accessible format. The following are excellent middle grade and YA titles that use poetry to get at the heart of kids’ experiences.

Middle Grade

It’s All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango. Random. 2025. ISBN 9780593810927.
Gr 5 Up–Seventh grader Valentina (Vale) Camacho Gutiérrez is a nationally ranked fencer and the superstar of her gym. Gym mates accuse her of being too competitive to be a friend, but athletic success is her top priority. A serious leg injury took her out, but she is finally back to do what she does best. Vale is devastated when the return to her sport is painful and uncertain, and she is left questioning her own identity. Arango’s fans will celebrate the opportunity to read another poignant story told in verse; it packs a punch and is brimming with love and optimism.

Deer Run Home by Ann Clare LeZotte. Scholastic. 2024. ISBN 9781339021904.
Gr 4-9–Effie’s first language is American Sign Language (ASL), but no one in her family takes the time to learn it. When she and her sister move in with their dad and her two best friends leave for a residential school, Effie is alone and unable to communicate fluently with anyone around her. She mourns for her neighborhood deer, displaced by new construction, and wonders if there is a place in the world for her as well. When school starts and her ASL interpreter gets permission for Effie to live with her for a month, a whole new world opens up—a world where she is heard, valued, and worthy. What will happen when this month of bliss comes to an end? LeZotte’s novel in verse blends ASL grammar with English, infuses appalling circumstances with poetry, and elegantly weaves a heartbreaking story with hope.

Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. 2025. ISBN 9780593112502.
Gr 5 Up–Venkatraman’s latest novel beautifully captures the theme of finding love by letting go. Geetha, a young girl from Tamil Nadu, India, relocates to America with her mother after her parents’ divorce. Leaving behind her beloved patti, appa, and dog Dhurrie, Geetha struggles with sadness and adjustment in her new environment, where she faces bullies and cultural challenges. However, her life begins to change when Miguel, a boy her age, and Santo, a harp seal pup in need of rescue, enter her world. This novel offers a poignant exploration of emotional resilience and the bittersweet nature of change.

Unsinkable Cayenne by Jessica Vitalis. Greenwillow. 2024. ISBN 9780063314450.
Gr 4-8–An intensely readable novel in free verse, Vitalis’s latest is set in 1985 and introduces Cayenne, 12, who is trying to fit in after a life lived on the road. Cayenne and her family have been traveling the country in their van, and she aches for a normal life where she doesn’t have to compete with her six-month-old twin siblings for her mother’s attention or with depression and marijuana for her father’s. When they settle into an old house in Montana for a fresh start, Cayenne finally gets to attend a mainstream middle school. However, fitting in is not easy, and the town’s class and wealth disparities are very apparent. Readers will be exposed to thoughtful meditations on whether standing out or fitting in is the best option for middle schoolers in this excellent and accessible read for fans of Dan Gemeinhart’s The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury. 2025. ISBN 9781547605897.
Gr 5 Up–Sage is a Black girl living in New York City, and at 13, she’s an age her best friend will never be. Angel was killed in a hit-and-run accident on her way to Sage’s birthday party. Raw, honest emotions mark this novel in verse that explores Sage’s grief. However, she is not alone. Great Aunt Ini and new friends from her counseling group demonstrate how not all experiences with death look the same and how healing is not uniform or linear. New romantic interests also offer Sage a chance to redefine who she is and provide an escape from the heaviness of her feelings, which are tested as new challenges unfold. A heartrending story of grief and resilience with a surprising depth. Hand to readers looking for a good cry.

YA

Bridge Across the Sky by Freeman Ng. S. & S./Atheneum. 2024. ISBN 9781665948593.
Gr 9 Up–Digital artist, writer, and poet Ng’s verse novel illuminates the immigration process for Chinese immigrants to the United States in the 1920s after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Tai Go, 17, has no desire to immigrate to the United States, but he obediently goes with his father and grandfather. They make it across the ocean safely and are questioned and detained at Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. It is during this incarceration that Tai Go becomes a member of the Resistance, a group of detainees who protest how they are being treated—and discovers the poetry of fellow Chinese who were detained before him. This historical novel in verse is superb, conveying the magnitude of disrespect, hatred, and racist practices Chinese immigrants had to endure.

Light Enough to Float by Lauren Seal. Penguin/Rocky Pond. 2024. ISBN 9780593700143.
Gr 7 Up–Fourteen-year-old Evie feels like a toddler when her mom tries to coerce her to eat “just three more bites.” She is admitted to an inpatient facility specializing in disordered eating after her anorexia results in severe malnourishment. Evie struggles to find a sense of control in her new world of assigned calorie loading, therapy, and facing her own fears. Connecting with her inpatient peers is also a piece of her healing journey, which can look different for everybody. The novel-in-verse format is an excellent fit for Evie’s narrative. The storyline addresses the effect her mental health and eating disorder have not only on Evie herself but also on her whole family. Authentic and impactful.

A Second Chance on Earth by Juan Vidal. Holiday House. 2024. ISBN 9780823457113.
Gr 7 Up–Still shaken by the sudden loss of his father, Marcos first copes by playing basketball nonstop. But after discovering an old copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude, he is inspired to write poetry. Soon after, he travels from Miami to Cartagena, Colombia, alongside his mother and younger sister to scatter Papi’s ashes in his hometown. There, Marcos befriends Camilo, an 18-year-old cab driver with a dark past, and the two bond over their love of Gabriel García Márquez while cruising the city in Camilo’s dented taxi. The journey of a second-generation teen connecting with his parents’ home country in his own right is underscored by ruminations on manhood and an ode to literature in Vidal’s profound YA debut.

(S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi. HarperCollins/Versify. 2025. ISBN 9780062888877.
Gr 7 Up–A contemporary YA fantasy novel in verse rooted in Caribbean folklore, specifically the myth of the soucouyant—women who shed their skins and consume souls by the light of the new moon. Zoboi intricately weaves the narratives of two young women residing in modern-day Brooklyn. Fifteen-year-old Marisol is an undocumented Haitian immigrant navigating life with her mother, Lourdes, who is also a soucouyant and her guide. Genevieve is a biracial American teenager living with her all-white family and struggles with her identity and how to fit in. An old family secret is unearthed, and the girls’ everyday lives become intertwined with the magic of the Caribbean folklore that will shape their future and families forever. The verse format offers a rhythmic and accessible read while challenging stereotypes, colorism, and racism.