poetry Archives - Page 139 of 293

The Magical Imperfect
by Chris Baron (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Etan has stopped speaking since his mother left. His father and grandfather don’t know how to help him. His friends have given up on him.

When Etan is asked to deliver a grocery order to the outskirts of town, he realizes he’s at the home of Malia Agbayani, also known as the Creature. Malia stopped going to school when her acute eczema spread to her face, and the bullying became too much.

As the two become friends, other kids tease Etan for knowing the Creature. But he believes he might have a cure for Malia’s condition, if only he can convince his family and hers to believe it too. Even if it works, will these two outcasts find where they fit in?

Snippet:
Shyness
Shyness
is the swirly
part of a glass marble,
all those colors,
a tiny universe
trapped inside
the smallest space.
I’ve never tried to crack
a marble, but if I did,
I bet the inside
would explode into stars.

A 2021 Cybils Poetry nominee

Me (Moth)
by Amber McBride (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.

Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.

Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors.

Snippet:
Maybe moving forward in this car
will help fill in Sani’s emptiness.

Sani adjusts the rearview mirror.
We are leaving the First World,
the world of darkness (Ni’hodilhil)
where the Diné start their journey to the present.

A 2021 Cybils Poetry nominee