In free verse, National Book Award finalist Gary Soto channels the voices of teenage boys and girls in love and sets their relationships against a backdrop of the seasons. One girl thinks of her boyfriend while eating alphabet soup; she spells out, "I love you," then drinks the sentence to find warmth on a "cold day, cold without you." A boy, longing for his girlfriend, scans the clouds for some semblance of her face. "Love," he reflects, "is like weather, cold or hot, / Nothing between."
Why stop at just a few? With this collection, you can double the literary rewards for young adult readers, ensuring a steady stream of fresh and compelling books each year. These selections provide a balance of humor, realism, and deep narratives that resonate with teen readers.