We’ve spent the last week evangelizing* about the awesomeness of novels in verse, in case you haven’t noticed. Since we’re sure we’ve convinced you that you have to pick up your first novel in verse righ now, we thought we’d give you a few suggestions about where to start.

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Love & Leftovers was Laura’s introduction to novels in verse and you really cannot go wrong with this one. It’s a fantastic story and the writing is spectacular! I dare you not to love it.

{Sarah’s Review}

{Buy it at Amazon | Book Depository}

{Add it on Goodreads}

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

To be honest, any Lisa Schroeder would be a great novel in verse first read, but this one has a different take a ghost story and is very, very readable if you’re nervous about trying verse. It’s also very short, which can be nice when you’re trying something new.

{Buy it at Amazon | Book Depository}

{Add it on Goodreads}

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Sandra adored this middle grade novel in verse for its honest, heart wrenching depiction of a child’s experience coming to the U.S. from war-torn Vietnam. This one’s an award-winner, and deservedly so.

{Sandra’s Review}

{Buy it at Amazon | Book Depository}

{Add it on Goodreads}

Audition by Stasia Ward-Kehoe

This is actually one of the tougher reads in terms of the verse (its structure is a bit different). However, the story is absolutely killer and hard to put down. The dance elements blend perfectly with the verse in this one.

{Sarah’s Review}

{Buy it at Amazon | Book Depository}

{Add it on Goodreads}

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge

This one was recommended by Gabrielle on Thursday and it lead me to discover that there are a ton of baseball-themed novels in verse, which made me pretty damn excited, since I’ve recently gotten really into baseball. (Go Mariners!)

{Buy it at Amazon }

{Add it on Goodreads}

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

If you’re a fan of historical fiction, Laura recommends this novel in verse as very approachable and a good read.

{Buy it at Amazon | Book Depository}

{Add it on Goodreads}

*True story: this week caused me to have a bizarre dream/nightmare that Laura & I were writing a post-apocalyptic novel in Haikus. I woke up in a panic trying to count out the 5-7-5 rhythm. I also may or may not have sent Laura an email which included a free verse poem about Goodreads, Reggie Miller and locusts.