The definition of verse novels according to Wikipedia is: A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voices, dialogue, narration, description, and action in a novelistic manner.
Verse novels are different. And by different, I mean they're different from regular books AND they differ from each other. It seems every verse book I read is different in style from the last. Even the chapters vary. For example, Ellen Hopkins, who is a master at verse, uses different styles to differentiate the character voices in her books. They're all in verse, but the styles of the characters' voices are so different it's amazing to me. She differentiates the sentences, the wording and the stanzas, assigning a particular style to each character. Some of the sentences are choppy and short and bounce around, while some are normal sentences, just divided and moved around the page in paragraphs that vary in size.
Personally, I love verse novels. I find them interesting. What do you think about verse compared to 'regular' books?
Can you connect with characters? As easily as with 'regular' books?
Can you feel the emotions?
Can you feel yourself in the moment?
Do you 'get' the scenes?
Can you see/feel/understand the settings?
What do you like/love about verse?
What don't you like?
Does it annoy you?
What genre works best for verse? Middle Grade? YA? NA? etc.
What theme/mood works best for verse? Dark? Sad? Happy? etc.
What is / are your favorite verse book(s)?
What are some of your favorite lines from verse books?
What if we took awesome books and turned them to verse? Like The Fault in our Stars? Would it work? or Wonder? Duff? Twilight? haha Grown up books like All The Light We Cannot Sea or Astonish Me or Gone Girl (if shortened, I almost think it could work).
Okay, so not all books would work in verse. Thankfully, there are some kick ass verse authors out there. I'm working on a verse novel right now. I guess we'll see if I can get the flow right. The funny thing is...who's to say if my flow is right or wrong or good or bad? That's the beauty of verse. It's like a beautiful disaster that makes sense.
Can't wait to hear what YOU think of verse novels. Below are some great examples. Feel free to add to the list!
~missy <3 <3 <3
Lists of Novels in Verse
This blog post is old, but it has a link to some cool verse novels:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/mar/20/top10s.verse.novels
Goodreads has a great list of verse novels: Goodreads Novels in Verse
Young Adult
Psyche in a Dress, Francesca Lia Block (2006)
Because I am Furniture, Thalia Chaltas (New York: Viking Juvenile, 2009)
Frenchtown Summer, Robert Cormier (New York: Random House, 1999)
Heartbeat, Sharon Creech (New York: HarperCollins, 2004)
Keesha's House, Helen Frost, (2003)
Dark Sons, Nikki Grimes (New York: Hyperion Books, 2005)
Downtown Boy, Juan Felipe Herrera (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999)
By the River, Steven Herrick (Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, 2004
Kissing Annabel, Steven Herrick (New York: Simon Pulse, 2009)
The Wolf, Steven Herrick (Honesdale: Front Street, 2007)
Cold Skin, Steven Herrick (Honesdale: Front Street, 2009)
Aleutian Sparrow, Karen Hesse (New York, Simon & Schuster, 2003)
Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse (New York: Scholastic, 1997)
Witness, Karen Hesse (New York: Scholastic, 2001)
Crank, Ellen Hopkins (New York: Simon Pulse, 2006)
Glass, Ellen Hopkins (New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007)
Impulse, Ellen Hopkins (New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007)
Burned, Ellen Hopkins (New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007)
Identical, Ellen Hopkins (New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008)
Tricks, Ellen Hopkins (New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2009)
Perfect, Ellen Hopkins (2011)
Tilt, Ellen Hopkins (2012)
Rumble, Ellen Hopkins (2014)
My Book of Life By Angel, Martine Leavitt (2012)
Realm of Possibility, David Levithan (New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2008)
Street Love, Walter Dean Myers (New York, CarperCollins, 2007)
The Weight of the Sky, Lisa Ann Sandell, (New York: Viking, 2006)
Song of the Sparrow, Lisa Ann Sandell, (New York: Scholastic, 2008)
I Heart You, You Haunt Me, Lisa Schroeder (New York: Simon Pulse, 2008)
Far from You, Lisa Schroeder (New York: Simon Pulse, 2010)
The Day Before, Lisa Schroeder (New York: Simon Pulse, 2011)
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, Sonya Sones (New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2001)
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, Sonya Sones (New York: HarperTeen, 2001)
What My Mother Doesn't Know, Sonya Sones (New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2001)
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know, Sonya Sones (New York, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2007)
Orchards, Holly Thompson (New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2011)
Love and Leftovers, Sarah Tregay (New York: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2011)
Jinx, Margaret Wild (New York: Simon Pulse, 2004)
One Night, Margaret Wild (New York: Random House, 2006)
Glimpse, Carol Lynch Williams (New York: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2010)
Make Lemonade, Virginia Euwer Wolff (New York: Scholastic, 1994)
True Believer, Virginia Euwer Wolff (New York, Simon Pulse, 2002)
This Full House, Virginia Euwer Wolff (New York: HarperCollins, 2009)
Lonesome Howl, Allen & Unwin
Johnny and the Seven Teddy Bears of Sin, James Venn (Toronto, 2012)
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