Verse Novel
Under the Broken Sky
“Nobody chooses to be a refugee.” That is the last line of the afterword of Mariko Nagai’s verse novel, Under the Broken Sky. In a few quick paragraphs, Nagai reminds us that although her…
No Matter the Distance
No Matter the Distance by Cindy Baldwin left me with such a mix of emotions! I almost didn’t finish the book because the middle was a little draggy. But verse tends to keep me…
Full Cicada Moon
“Where are you from?” Sometimes, this feels like such an innocuous question. But often, it isn’t. For Mimi Yoshiko Oliver, growing up in 1969 Vermont, it feels like a particularly loaded question because her…
Punching the Air
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Verse can do what prose cannot. I cannot imagine a book as powerful as Punching the Air being written in prose. It is stark and…
Lion of the Sky
I love historical fiction, and I love novels in verse. A middle-grade work of historical fiction in verse? I knew I wanted to read it. And Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemnani didn’t…
If Elephants Could Talk
Temple elephants. I’ve always hated the fact that they exist. I remember during a dance tour once, when everyone lined up to be blessed by the elephant. I stayed away. And like Meenakshi in…
