The Invitation of Brevity: Ten Novels in Verse That Will Hook You

I imagine the average person’s introductions to poetry involved phrases like, I don’t understand! What does it mean?! And eventually, much later in life, landing on, It’s so pretentious! A fair assessment when most of us were introduced to poetry in school after lunch on a random Wednesday. It was probably Shakespeare or Frost (who, to be clear, are brilliant poets), but perhaps not when you are 15 years old.

When you are 15, the complexity and nuance of a 400-year-old sonnet is written off as simply boring and you are not interested in what road is taken on a snowy evening. Maybe that slight annoyance with poetry stuck—it became something that had to be deciphered and not felt. I think novels in verse (for adults and young adults) offer an inviting reintroduction to poetry. One with more context, a plot, character development. One that could eventually lead readers to engaging with poetry collections and classics with a new perspective.

I think novels in verse aim to articulate a feeling instead of a thesis; more the moment goosebumps appear instead of the science of why they happen. Which means it is not the ideal vehicle for every narrative. The marvel of verse is what it can pack in with an economy of language. Plot, rising action, falling action, character development all in 20,000 words or less, but it is also why many novels in verse are character driven. They sit in the turmoil, joy, confusion, or pain of the characters.

My first published novel in verse Me (Moth), is about a girl named Moth who feels invisible after her family has passed away in a car crash—a boy named Sani arrives and they go on a road trip. We watch Moth phase through the life cycle of a moth; moving through grief into revelation.

My second verse novel, We Are All So Good At Smiling, tackles clinical depression through a loose retelling of Dante’s The Inferno, except a haunted garden with hidden fairy tales. In this story we stay close to two characters again, Whimsy and Faerry.

In my most recent novel in verse, The Leaving Room, we follow Gospel, who is the Keeper of something called a Leaving Room, which is a room all young people must move through when they die. The problem? Gospel’s internal world, she is not sure how she became a Keeper and she doesn’t know why her room is glitching.

Surely a Goldilocks metaphor works here—in the busy world we live in today, a complicated 400-page novel can feel overwhelming, a poetry collection might feel a tad bit disjointed and intimidating, but a novel in verse might be just right! Careful, there is a very real chance that you will become addicted to the brevity and nuance of verse.

Extended metaphors linking stunning images so that in less than 20,000 words you feel like you intimately know a character. Verse breaks boundaries and asks the reader to feel; it’s the wonder of looking at a skeleton in a museum. There is something awe-inspiring about sitting with the bones of a story.

*

Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red

I come back to this novel in verse every year as soon as the air becomes crisp again. Queer, haunting and lyrical, Carson’s coming of age novel in verse is partly inspired by the Ancient Greek myths of Geryon and the labors of Herakles. The marvel of this verse is in its vulnerability in expressing sorrow, lost love and despair—under the seams runs the pain. Carson crafts a sparse and reflective modern reimagining that deals with abuse, love and ultimately growth into adulthood. The plot appears simple, which is often the trick of verse; Geryon who is metaphorically and perhaps in reality a monster is infatuated with Herakles, but the internal world of Geryon is so thoroughly inspected. The detail of his sorrow is so carefully and artfully documented that by the end we are both breathless and wanting more.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo, The Perfect Nine

We come across another retelling in Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo novel in verse which recounts the Gikuyu creation story. This novel was nominated for the Booker prize in 2021 and was praised for being genre-bending. This is an epic poem you easily get swept away in and easily lends itself to verse. The perfect nine represents the nine daughters who have ninety-nine suitors to pick from. The vastness of the narrative is packed into compact poems that are propelled forward with stunning imagery and dialogue.

Jane Yolen, Finding Baba Yaga 

Who doesn’t love a story about a witch? Especially when that witch is perhaps the most notorious one in history. Yolen crafts a Babay Yaga retelling in verse that offers new characters and brings some softness to the mythical witch. The verse taunts, You think you know this story. You don’t. A girl runs away from an abusive home and finds solace in a cottage in the woods that is held up on chicken legs. This is a re-telling with a feminist edge to it!

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself 

When I think of classics which startle the line between epic poem, poetry collection and novel in verse Whitman’s reflective, Song of Myself, is always included. Do I have a line from this tattooed on my body? Yes. Is this poem still quoted in pop culture? Also yes! Epic in its attempt to understand nature and its connection to self, these words feel like they crawled out the dirt. The accessibility of the verse despite being written in 1855 is a testament to its continued relevance. Whitman’s verse is dripping in imagery influenced by nature as he reflects on what it means to be a living being. Song of Myself is divided into 52 sections which reflect the weeks in a year. The line, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you, sums up the essence of the verse.

Nikita Gill, Hekate

A young adult verse novel that hit number one on the New York Times Bestseller List, Hekate is another retelling. Hekate is the goddess of fate and the night, who is grossly misunderstood throughout history. In this re-telling she is not a goddess yet, she is fleeing persecution. To keep her safe Hekate’s mother leaves her in the underworld with the goddess Styx and Hades. The action-packed verse leads us through Hekate’s transformation into a feared and respected goddess. It is a story about stepping into your power and highlights the versatility of verse.

Tony Keith Jr., How The Boogeyman Became A Poet

Quick and direct, this young adult novel in verse about a closeted Black boy who overcomes fear and shame through the power of poetry reads almost like a journal entry. The verse in this novel is meant to be read aloud; the internal rhyme throughout is addictive and intimate. The narrator is in search of finding his true reflection in a world that often seems overwhelming. An achingly intimate novel in verse that is almost an ars poetica speaking on the saving grace of poetry.

Ibi Zoboi, S(KIN) 

When I think of writers who can write brilliantly for young adults in prose and verse, Ibi Zoboi comes to mind! Her young adult novel in verse S(Kin) tells the story of two girls living very different lives in New York city; one sheds her skin every full moon and drinks the life force of others to sustain herself. It pulls from Caribbean folklore and reads like a fever dream. Zoboi’s book is a contemporary fantasy, once again highlighting the diverse nature of verse and the topics it can cover.

Hannah V. Sawyer, Truth Is: A Novel in Verse 

This is another young adult novel in verse that comments on the healing nature of poetry! A teen from Philadelphia becomes pregnant during her senior year of high school and decides to take the abortion pill. When Truth writes and performs a poem about her ordeal it is posted online for the world to see. The story that unfolds is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Swayer is a spoken word poet and this is clear in her verse that is melodic on the page. Stories like Truth’s need to be told and offer a wonderful entry point into the verse.

Jasminne Mendez, The Story of My Anger

Yuileta Lopez, a teen growing up in Texas, decides to turn her anger and outrage into activism. She starts a guerilla theater club to fight against book bans on her high school campus. This novel in verse is timely, fast paced and important. An aspect of the novel that is particularly creative is that it also utilizes text messages and scripted scenes to tell the story. It is unique and engaging.

Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down

Told in the time it takes to go down an elevator this young adult novel in verse is already a favorite among high school students. Shawn, Will’s brother, has been shot and killed. Our main character, Will, knows the rules: No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s what Will is thinking about as he takes the elevator down to the first floor with a gun in his waistband. The elevator stops at each floor and a new ghostly guest arrives offering some insight into Will’s plan. The story questions why we keep following the rules. Fast paced from start to finish.

BONUS:

Layla Martinez, Woodworm

A horror novella with such concise prose it feels like poetry, this was originally published in Spanish. The translation squeaks and spooks with imagery of haunts and death. The novella is a haunted house, dual point of view ride where the metaphors from the top down are consistently delivered. It also pushes against classism and patriarchal systems. Just make sure you read it during the daytime.