Twelve short stories in verse by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the highs and lows of love – romantic, platonic, familial, and self-love.
Love can be many things – all-consuming, fleeting, vengeful, selfless, toxic, uplifting, and always, a core part of the teen experience that leaves an indelible mark. This enchanting, genre-crossing anthology delivers something for every reader with unique characters, global settings, and a dazzling mixture of myth, historical, speculative, and contemporary fiction.
With the turn of a page, get swept away by unexpected love blooming between two princes from enemy Mesoamerican nations in the 15th century, who'd rather make music rather than war; cheer for a timid bearded lady who was shunned by her family and runs away to find belonging and safety at the circus during the 1800s experience the heartbreak of saying goodbye to a beloved pet; breathlessly watch a myth unfold as a siren bound to the water falls in love with a winged forest spirit, their love seemingly impossible from the start. Root for a girl who emerges from grief and battles with chronic pain to discover how to love herself and life again.
Love is complicated, and this anthology embraces the messiness and the joy of all kinds of love. Contributors include:
Download and start listening now!
"[T]his sweeping collection of short stories in verse is wonderfully varied and unique…[It] explores … manifestations of love …platonically between friends, in the form of communication struggles and successes with parents, love for animals, romantic connections, and, importantly, love for oneself. Each author’s interpretation of the concept of love is creative and well crafted. An all star list of poets including David Bowles, Margarita Engle, and Padma Venkatraman tackle the subject in forms that are flowing and expansive, short and staccato, and everything in between. Quick, big hearted, and well curated, this is an anthology of stories about love, but not love stories."
— School Library Journal
A celebration of love through 12 unique stories in verse. Beloved and award-winning young adult authors explore different forms of love across time and a variety of places. The evocative writing in different verse forms connects the narratives in this timely, relatable collection with a diverse cast of characters. The variety of themes and points of view offers something for every reader. Love wins in this enjoyable, well-executed anthology.
— KirkusIn this collection of stories by 12 powerhouse authors, a variety of teen experiences are explored and captured in a neat novel-in-verse format. Great for readers interested in bite-size bits of love and an admiration for the many ways it transpires.
— BooklistBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Laura Ruby is the author of books for adults, teens, and children, including the Printz Award-winning and National Book Award finalist Bone Gap, the Edgar-nominated mystery Lily’s Ghosts, the Book Sense Pick Good Girls, and the acclaimed novels York, Play Me, and Bad Apple. She is on the faculty of Hamline University’s MFAprogram in writing for children and young adults.
Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American poet, novelist, and journalist whose work has been published in many countries. Her books include the critically acclaimed The Poet Slave of Cuba, which was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Bank Street College of Education Best Book, and a Bulletin Blue Ribbon book, among other honors.
Jasmine Warga is the New York Times bestselling author of Other Words for Home, a Newbery Honor Book and a Walter Honor Book for Younger Readers; The Shape of Thunder; and A Rover’s Story. Her teen books, Here We Are Now and My Heart and Other Black Holes, have been translated into over twenty-five languages. She lives in the Chicago area with her family. You can visit Jasmine online at jasminewarga.com.
Eric Gansworth is a professor of English and Lowery Writer-in-Residence at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. An enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, he was born and raised at the Tuscarora Reservation in Niagara County in upstate New York. His short stories, poetry, and nonfiction have been printed and reprinted in many literary magazines and anthologies, and his dramatic work has appeared at the Public Theater in New York City.
David Bowles es un autor y traductor mexicanoamericaco del sur de Texas. Entre sus múltiples libros premiados se encuentran Serpiente emplumada, corazón del cielo: Mitos de México y Me dicen Güero. Su traducción de Cuentos sagrados de América obtuvo el premio de honor Batchelder y fue finalista del International Latino Book Award. En 2017, David fue iniciado en el Instituto de Letras de Texas.
Christina Moore is an actress and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is best known for her roles in the television series That ’70s Show, Hawthorne, and 90210. She is a founding member of Bitches Funny, an all-female sketch group that has performed in New York City and Los Angeles.
Kip Wilson is the Poetry Editor of the Young Adult Review Network and has a PhD in German Literature. In 2017, she won the PEN/New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award, and her work has appeared in several children’s literary magazines. She lives in Boston.
P. J. Ochlan is an Audie Award–winning, multiple Earphones Award–winning, and Voice Arts Award–nominated narrator of hundreds of audiobooks. His acting career spans more than thirty years and has also included Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival under Joseph Papp, critically acclaimed feature films, and television series regular roles.
Amy McFadden has narrated more than two hundred titles in many different genres. She is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner and has been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has acted on stage throughout Michigan for more than twenty years and in commercials and film for ten years. She is a founding member of Dog Story Theater in Grand Rapids, Michigan.