A worthy entry in a children’s literature trend

Several weeks ago, I was at a retirement celebration for my English education professor (and academic advisor) at my private college. It just so happened that one of my mentor teachers from student teaching was there—she and I fell into a terrific conversation about teaching, life, and books. Always books. An observation K had made (and I agree with, now that I notice it) is that young adult literature is kind of in a lull right now. Dystopian fiction has been the big trend, but many of the books coming out are starting to feel like copycats (case in point: I’m currently listening to Red Queen on audiobook, and it just feels like a Hunger Games knockoff, though I’m willing to hear it out). That said, I do think a trend is emerging in children’s and middle-grade literature: the novel in verse. Or, to be less fancy, fictional books written in poetic form. Somewhere, Among is part of this new canon. I give recommendations for other children’s novels-in-verse in my full review and stack up Somewhere, Among‘s spot in the canon.