Posts Tagged novels in verse

Telling Immigrant Stories Through Verse Novels

Did you know that novels in verse have super powers?

  • These stories, told in lyrical narratives, are immersive.
  • They appeal to young readers looking for shorter books.
  • The visual qualities of the text on the page often evoke the meaning of the words.
  • Many novels in verse have won literary awards.

Using blank space, line breaks, shapes and inventive forms, authors give readers x-ray vision straight into the hearts and minds of their characters.

Now, more than ever, is a good time to empathize with immigrant characters.

Novels in verse have a super power. Author use of blank space, line breaks, shapes and inventive forms give readers x-ray vision straight into the heart and mind of their characters.

Check out these recent stories about young immigrants who are faced with typical middle school challenges such as crushes, friendship, fitting in, and bullying while trying to belong in a country where they are not always made to feel welcome. The main characters in these novels also face the difficulties (and joys) of living between two cultures. The lens of lyrical language allows readers to understand and empathize with an immigrant character.

Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqui

Ping pong is Adnan’s passion. After many exciting matches, he and his family go to Florida for his championship where a tragedy occurs. This story portrays how one boy’s loving Pakistani Muslim family deals with grief.

 

 

 

When Clouds Touch Us by Thanhha Lai

In this sequel to the award winning Inside Out and Back Again, Vietnamese-American Ha and her family are moving again – from Texas to Alabama. Ha is determined to make money to help her family out. She shows resilience and humor as she tries to make new friends and is confronted with prejudice.

 

 

 

 

Aniana del Mar Jumps In by Jaminne Mendez

Dominican American Aniana is at home in the water, but her mother, whose brother drowned during a hurricane, forbids her to be a part of the swim team. Ani sneaks off to swim practices, with the help of her dad, until she is prevented by her stiff swollen joints. Mendez’s poems describe Ani’s journey with her chronic illness and the growing understanding of her family.

 

 

 

 

 

I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera

Kavi worked hard for the scholarship that takes her out of her poverty stricken village and into  a fancy school in the city. It’s 1998 and this young Sri Lankan girl is affected by the country’s Civil War. She’s also at war within herself trying to fit in at her school, decide between right and wrong and discover where she belongs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabel in Bloom by Mae Respico

Moving from the Philippines to California isn’t easy for Isabel. She has to make new friends in a new country and she has to get to know her mother all over again since they have lived separately for years. Her grandmother and her green thumb come to the rescue. The special garden project creates builds a community where she belongs.

 

 

 

 

Kareem in Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi.

The story of how Kareem, a football-loving Syrian American stuck between two cultures, is riveting and poetic. This boy is desperate to make the team and new friends. When the QB makes a proposition, Kareem has to decide between right and

wrong. His family problems revolve around trying to get his very ill grandfather out of Syria during the 2017 Muslim Ban.

 

 

You also won’t want to miss these award winning novels in verse, written prior to 2023.

Red White and Whole by Rajani La Rocca

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhan Lai

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga.

 

Jen Kraar grew up chasing lizards in India, making up stories about the residents of the spirit houses in Thailand, and riding retired racehorses in Singapore. Jen explores themes of finding home in the middle grade novels and picture books she writes. As a manager at Pittsburgh’s beloved City of Asylum Bookstore, she builds a diverse collection of books and talks about kid lit with customers young and old.

South Asian Storytelling: Author Interview with Rajani Narasimhan LaRocca, and Giveaway

              

Today, I am delighted to welcome Rajani Narasimhan LaRocca to Mixed-Up Files to talk about her experience writing RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE ( Harper Collins, 2021).

  1. Tell us about your latest book, “Red, White, and Whole”. What inspired you to write this book?

Red, White, and Whole is set in 1983 and is about 13-year-old Reha, the child of Indian immigrants, who is torn between the worlds of her parents and immigrant community and her friends at school and 80s pop culture. But then her mother becomes seriously ill, and Reha is torn in a different way. The book involves the interplay between heritage and fitting in, science and poetry, 80s pop music and Hindu mythology. It’s about being caught between here and there, before and after, and finding a way to be whole.

The idea for Red, White, and Whole came to me as a metaphor: blood, and all that it means in terms of biology, heredity, and community bonds. I wanted to explore the immigrant experience from the inside—especially the personally resonant feeling of wondering whether you truly belong anywhere. The title refers to red and white blood cells and whole blood; the connotations of the colors red and white in Indian and American culture; and the colors of the American flag.

  

  1. How does your professional experience as a doctor inform you in your own writing?

Because of my background in science, I love incorporating STEM topics into my writing. My debut picture book, Seven Golden Rings (Lee & Low, 2020), features a math puzzle and an explanation of binary numbers. My second picture book, Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers (Charlesbridge, April 2021), involves very early math—pattern making. Another forthcoming picture book, The Secret Code Inside You (Little Bee Books, September 2021), explains the basics of DNA. And my third middle grade novel, Much Ado About Baseball (Yellow Jacket/Little Bee Books, June 2021), features kids who must solve math puzzles that may or may not be magical.

As I’ve already mentioned, the concept of blood is a major element in Red, White, and Whole. In the story, Reha’s mother is diagnosed with a blood cancer—acute myeloid leukemia, or AML. I did a lot of research into the disease and the treatments available in 1983, and I worked hard to make sure the medical aspects of the book were understandable to non-medical people. But the story doesn’t only explore illness. It also considers the normal functions of blood—to nourish, to heal, to protect—as a metaphor for Reha’s relationship with her mother.

  1. What was your writing process like for this story?

The writing process for this book was different from any of my other novels. I knew the general outline early on. I wanted to write this story in verse because that format, with its layers of imagery, sparse language, and use of metaphor, would allow me to tackle emotional topics without being too heavy-handed. I hoped that leaving more white space on the page would allow more room for readers to process what happens.

I had never written a novel in verse, so I read every verse novel for young readers that I could get my hands on. And in February 2019, I was lucky enough to attend a novel in verse workshop taught by Elizabeth Acevedo at the NY SCBWI conference. She gave the attendees some great tips, and we spent time analyzing excerpts from verse novels and doing a writing exercise. And a line from that exercise made it into the final version of my book!

Red, White, and Whole spent a long time in my head before I really got down to writing it. It became my “Friday night date” when I allowed myself to think about it while I worked on finishing another other novel.

Once I started writing Red, White, and Whole in December 2019, the story poured out of me in about six weeks. I was obsessed: I woke up thinking about it, and got flashes of inspiration in the middle of the night or when I was driving and had to dictate into my phone before the ideas disappeared. I had some topics that I knew would be poems from the beginning, and then I thought of other images and ideas that I wanted to explore, so I made a big list and wrote the poems as inspiration took me. Over time, I went back and put them in an order that made sense and filled in spots as needed. I asked a few trusted readers give me feedback. And then in mid-February 2020, I felt the novel was done and sent it to my agent.

  1. You have written for many different age levels from picture books to middle grade. Is there any age group you have most enjoyed working on the most? If so, why?

I’ve always been an omnivorous reader—even as a kid, I loved novels, nonfiction, comic books, comic strips . . . nearly everything. So it’s no surprise that now I’m an omnivorous writer, writing fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, poetry and prose.

I particularly love middle grade because the books I read from those years are the ones that have stayed in my heart. Middle grade readers are at such an important point in their lives: they seek connection with family and friends, strive to make a difference in the world, and care deeply about fairness and justice.

But I also love writing picture books—which are for children, of course, but also for the adults who read to them. And the final product, when a gifted artist illustrates your words, is nothing short of magical.

  1. What has writing this story taught you about yourself?

I knew Red, White and Whole was an ambitious project, and there were times when I was full of doubts. Did I know how to write a story in verse? Was it okay to set the novel in the 1980s? I’d put my heart and soul into this book, but would anyone else be interested in reading it?

But I couldn’t help myself—I had to write this story. And so I persevered through my doubts and allowed myself to be more vulnerable than ever before in my writing. Reha’s story is fictional, but some of the situations and many of the emotions in this book came straight from my own life.

And when I sent this book to my agent and we then sent it to editors, it became clear that this story did resonate with others—even those who don’t share my background or experiences. At its heart, this story is about love and family, friendship and belonging, and feeling pulled in different directions—and these are universal feelings, especially during adolescence.

So what did writing this book teach me? That it’s okay to be ambitious about a project. That I have the right to tell stories that are deeply meaningful to me. That baring my heart on the page can translate so that others feel it, too.

  1. What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they’re good enough, or if their voices and stories matter?

There are stories that only you—you, with your own experiences, perspective, and skills—can write. So write them. Write them first for yourself, and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Because the more specific and emotionally true a story is, the more universal it can become. And there are people who need your stories, even if they don’t know it yet.

 

Enter the giveaway for a copy of RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE by leaving a comment below.  You may earn extra entries by blogging/tweeting/facebooking the interview and letting us know. The winner will be determined on Monday, February 8th, 2021, and will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (US/Canada only) to receive the book.

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning novels and picture books. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks. To connect with Rajani and learn more about her and her books visit her at https://www.rajanilarocca.com/ or TwitterFacebookInstagram or Linkedin

 

Free verse choice reads for middle grade readers

I come across a lot of free verse novels for teens in my work as a librarian, but fewer for middle grade readers, especially in recent years. Then I had the good fortune to read Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen, which recently won the Washington State Book Award for Middle Grade Books, and I was again hooked.

What’s the appeal of novels in free verse? Some readers (often adults) will tell us it’s the imagery, the pacing, the sparseness of writing that requires restraint and specificity of words. Teachers and librarians know that there’s another kind of reader who may be a perfect match for a novel in verse: the reluctant reader.

Opening a book written verse and seeing all that air, all that white space, can be inviting on its own. The books may have 200 or more pages and look long, but have half the number of words as a traditional prose piece. In addition, “novels in verse can be especially appealing to reluctant readers because they use so much vivid imagery,” says Dorie Raybuck in this excellent Horn Book piece “This Is Too Much!” Why Verse Novels Work for Reluctant Readers.”

When trying to find a free verse book for your readers, search the library under the subject heading “novels in verse” (makes sense!) and then filter to the age range and type of book you want. In the meantime, a few recommendations to get readers started.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
2015 Newbery Medal Winner and 2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner. “With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I m delivering,” announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he’s got mad beats, too, that tell his family’s story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.

Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle
When Tony’s mother is sent to jail, he is sent to stay with a great uncle he has never met in Sierra Nevada. It is a daunting move Tony’s new world bears no semblance to his previous one. But slowly, against a remote and remarkable backdrop, the scars from Tony’s troubled past begin to heal. A Kirkus Reviews best books of 2013.

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes
School Library Journal says: “Grimes’s latest is a sensitively written middle grade novel in verse that takes its syllable count from Japanese tanka.  Garvey is an overweight boy who is teased at school and whose father constantly prods him to be more like his athletic older sister, Angie. But Garvey has a best friend (Joe), an open heart (which leads him to a new friend, Manny), and, as readers learn midway through the book, a talent for singing, which lands him a coveted solo in the school’s chorus concert.”

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại
Winner of the National Book Award and also a Newbery Honor Book. Inspired by the author’s childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child’s-eye view of family and immigration.

Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen
A young orphaned girl in modern-day China discovers the meaning of family in this “heartbreaking, heartwarming, and impressive debut” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) told in verse. 2016 Washington State Book Award winner.