Verse Novels I'm Looking Forward To

I don't usually do a Waiting On Wednesday type post, but I wanted to highlight two verse novels coming out later this year that I'm really looking forward to.  My next novel with Pendrell Publishing is written in verse, and I really love this form!

Author: Holly Thompson
Release Date: May 14, 2013

A nuanced novel in verse that explores identity in a multicultural world.
Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts, to stay with Emma's grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment.

Emma feels out of place in the United States.She begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance, and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return home early to Japan.

“With beautiful language and deep sensitivity, Holly Thompson explores the courage it takes to find your own voice.” —Patricia McCormick,author of National Book Award finalist Never Fall Down 
“Thompson’s eloquent novel speaks to us, carrying us along with Emma as she embarks on a life-altering journey from Japan to America. But it’s Emma’s inner journey that’s the true adventure—pulsing with pain and passion, with humor, heart, and hope.” —Sonya Sones, author of What My Mother Doesn’t Know and To Be Perfectly Honest

Add it on Goodreads here.

Author: Sonya Sones
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Can honesty lead to heartbreak if the truth is subjective? A compelling novel in verse from Sonya Sones.

Colette is a compulsive liar. She considers it storytelling, a fun way to make a boring life more interesting. Because when you’re stuck playing backseat to your beautiful movie star mother, and your promised vacation in France is exchanged for a middle-of-nowhere summer babysitting your little brother on location for your mom’s new movie, you’ve got to do what you can to liven things up.

Then Colette meets Connor. He’s gorgeous, funny, and totally into her. So what if she lied about her age and a few other pertinent details? Nobody’s really interested in the truth, are they? But when some of the details of Connor’s stories don’t add up, Colette begins to suspect that she’s not the only one skilled in the art of deceit. And as the dishonesty deepens, Colette will have to decide what kind of stories she really wants to tell about her life—and who she wants to tell them to.

Add it on Goodreads here.