Why novels in verse are highly accessible

They're not just for poetry nerds

Hi friends,

Mari in the Margins releases in just over two weeks (!!!), and I’m over here freaking out just a little bit. I just love this book so much, and I want you to love it too. But I try to remind myself what I often tell kids at school visits: It’s okay if someone doesn’t love my books. I don’t like every book I read, so why should I expect everyone who reads my books to be crazy about them?

I understand that novels in verse are kind of niche. They generally appeal to a very specific kind of reader, at least as adults go. Adults who don’t read much poetry or who think they don’t “get” poetry might not be excited about a novel in verse. And they might not immediately see how a novel in verse can be exactly the right kind of book for all sorts of young readers. But the thing is, even though poetry (verse) can seem daunting, novels in verse are highly accessible. Here are some reasons why:

• Novels in verse are shorter than their prose counterparts, and therefore can be good options for kids who are reluctant to read novel-length manuscripts. It can feel like quite an achievement for a kid to read a whole novel so quickly! Mari in the Margins is only about 15,000 words long, but I’ve read plenty of middle grade verse novels that are even shorter.

• The use of white space in a novel in verse (and poetry in general) is often an intentional poetic choice, but it also serves to make the writing on a page feel less overwhelming to a young person (or adult) who might be intimidated by pages and pages filled with blocks of text.

• Novels in verse are immersive. They strip away all but what is most essential to the story, drawing the reader into the heart of the narrative right away.

• Though not always illustrated, novels in verse can be very visual. Not only with the use of white space like I mentioned above, but in the way the poems are formatted. A verse novelist may use line spacing, line breaks, font sizes, arrangement of words on a page, and various poetic forms in order to add impact and visual appeal to the text. Like in this example from Mari in the Margins:

• Novels in verse can tell any kind of story. Though often they are historical or contemporary fiction, they can be ghost stories, dog or cat stories, fantasy, adventure—there’s no limit! So really, there’s something for everyone.

• Shorter, younger novels in verse can be a great first step into the world of novels for those who are beyond the easy reader stage, but may not be ready for or interested in chapter books. A couple examples are Pearl Verses the World and Gone Fishing.

In summary, you don’t have to be a poetry nerd to enjoy reading a novel in verse! I hope that this helps you to see that novels in verse can be a great, accessible option for readers of all ages and interests.

Book trailer news

Mari in the Margins has a book trailer, and my newsletter readers will be the first to see it. Watch for a special message from me tomorrow!

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A great blue heron. Spring is here, which means more walks at the lake and opportunities to see birds and other wildlife out doing their thing.