Blog

8 Powerful #OwnVoices Novels for Lovers of Poetry & GIVEAWAY!

We are so excited to present our #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2019 in conjunction with Children’s Book Council! This year we have 10 amazing authors with unique book lists to share. Each author is also doing a book giveaway!

Please welcome Renée Watson with her 8 Powerful Novels for Lovers of Poetry book list. We are also giving away a copy of her newest book, Watch Us Rise, co-authored by Ellen Hagan. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.

8 Powerful Novels for Lovers of Poetry

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

All eyes are on Xiomara Batista: the protective glare of her loving, strict mother, the gaze from boys on the block. But Xiomara wants to be seen for who she really is. She has something to say and poetry is the outlet she uses to let out everything she’s holding in. Written with vibrant, potent language, this debut novel-in-verse is about a girl who is determined to be seen past narrow expectations, a girl who refuses to keep silent. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

Swing by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess
A story about having the courage to speak up and speak out about the things that really matter—including professing true feelings about a crush and raising your voice against injustice. Swing is a lyrical novel in verse that puts into question everything the main characters Noah and Walt (aka Swing) know about love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

So many lovers of the Harlem Renaissance know the work of Langston Hughes but have you read the poetry of Georgia Douglas Johnson or Jean Toomer? This masterful collection introduces lesser-known writers of the Harlem Renaissance using the Golden Shovel method to create original poems that pay homage to literary legends. Each poem is paired with stunning illustrations from African American artists—including Pat Cummings, Shadra Strickland, Sean Qualls, and Chris Myers—creating a conversation with past generations to offer hope and wisdom. [middle grade, ages 10 and up]

The Moon Within by Aida Salazar

A much-anticipated debut by Aida Salazar. Celi Rivera’s life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend’s exploration of what it means to be genderfluid. But most of all, her mother’s insistence she have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. It’s an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community have reclaimed, but Celi promises she will NOT be participating. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be? [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

A one minute and seven seconds elevator ride is all Will has to make a life-altering decision. Will he live by The Rules and take revenge on the person who killed his brother? This gripping novel-in-verse is fast-paced and full of raw emotion. Reynolds’ captivating and poignant writing shines a light on the impact injustice, poverty and violence can have on a young person’s life. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

With tenderness and eloquence, Woodson shares what it was like growing up in South Caroline and New York in the immediate aftermath of Jim Crow. Each verse in Brown Girl Dreaming can stand alone as its own poem. Readers meet Woodson before she was the award-winning author, when she was a child who loved words and struggled with reading, when she was just a young girl learning the story of her country, her family, herself. [middle grade, ages 10 and up]

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A Pride and Prejudice remix. Zoboi’s retelling of Jane Austen’s classic features all characters of color and takes place in a gentrifying Brooklyn—Bushwick to be exact. Poetry is interspersed throughout and helps to weave a vibrant coming-of-age story that explores first love, family, and cultural identity. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission—they’re sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women’s Rights Club. They post poems and essays online, including Jasmine’s response to the racial microaggressions she experiences, and they go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls. When things escalate in real life, the principal shuts the club down. Not willing to be silenced, Jasmine and Chelsea will risk everything for their voices—and those of other young women—to be heard. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

Watch Us Rise GIVEAWAY!

We are also giving away a copy of Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan’s newest book, Watch Us Rise. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter. We can only ship to U.S. addresses.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Renée Watson is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, and activist. Her young adult novel, Piecing Me Together (Bloomsbury, 2017) received a Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Honor. Her children’s picture books and novels for teens have received several awards and international recognition.

 

 

Inlinkz Link Party