Free Verse

Free Verse
By Sarah Dooley

This is another book that I saw while browsing the local library. I like to browse the shelves and bring home interesting books to share with you. I read the inside cover and related to the story because I used poetry as teen myself as...well...kind of a stress/emotional release. Writing has always freed my mind as well as reading. I found this in the Young Adult section so I would recommend this to teens.

Goodreads Summary:
"When her brother dies in a fire, Sasha Harless has no one left, and nowhere to turn. After her father died in the mines and her mother ran off, he was her last caretaker. They’d always dreamed of leaving Caboose, West Virginia together someday, but instead she’s in foster care, feeling more stuck and broken than ever.

But then Sasha discovers family she didn’t know she had, and she finally has something to hold onto, especially sweet little Mikey, who’s just as broken as she is. Sasha even makes her first friend at school, and is slowly learning to cope with her brother’s death through writing poetry, finding a new way to express herself when spoken words just won’t do. But when tragedy strikes the mine her cousin works in, Sasha fears the worst and takes Mikey and runs, with no plans to return. In this sensitive and poignant portrayal, Sarah Dooley shows us that life, like poetry, doesn’t always take the form you intend."

The Ninja Librarians Series

The Ninja Librarians Series
The Accidental Keyhand
By Jen Swann Downey

I was browsing through my local library and saw this and thought it was cute. I haven't read it, but maybe you could and tell me how you like it! Perfect for middle grades!

Goodreads summary:
"Just a little story about your average sword-swinging, karate-chopping, crime-fighting ninja librarians

Dorrie Barnes had no idea an overdue library book would change her life. When Dorrie and her brother Marcus chase her pet mongoose into the janitor's closet of their local library, they accidentally fall through a passage into Petrarch's Library -the headquarters of a secret society of ninja librarians who have an important mission: protect those whose words have gotten them into trouble. Anywhere in the world and at any time in history.

Dorrie would love nothing more than to join the society. But when a traitor surfaces, she and her friends are the prime suspects. Can they clear their names before the only passage back to the twenty-first century closes forever?"

Don't forget book #2 - Sword in the Stacks!