The Free Verse Society
(A YA High School Romance about Forbidden Love, Opposites Attract, Hate to Love, Family Secrets, and Grief for Teens Ages 14 and Up)
$34.17
- Paperback
336 pages
- Release Date
24 March 2026
Summary
This deluxe paperback edition features gorgeous sprayed edges!
A tender hate-to-love YA romance about two teens who connect through their high school poetry club, where the power of the written word tears down the walls they’ve built around their hearts.
Named to the National Book Awards Longlist for Young People’s Literature.
No one in Delray knows Jae Aƒenyo’s story—that she’s a teen mom who placed her baby for adoption—and she intends to keep it that way. After movi…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781682638781 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1682638782 |
| Author: | Delali Adjoa |
| Publisher: | Peachtree Publishers,U.S. |
| Imprint: | Peachtree Publishers |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 336 |
| Release Date: | 24 March 2026 |
| Weight: | 312g |
| Dimensions: | 16mm x 134mm x 203mm |
| Audience Age: | 14 |
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Critics Review
Adjoa’s debut is as emotionally rich as it is narratively layered. Jae and Derek’s relationship is built with care and realism; their eventual trust is rooted in understanding, a love of creativity, and the shared experience of having non-white fathers who didn’t fully pass on their cultures to their children… . A touching, vulnerable romance navigating gut-wrenching conflict to deliver the ultimate relief of catharsis.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Sharply rendered poems by various characters are interspersed throughout the protagonists’ compelling and unique alternating narration, and Jae and Derek’s electric chemistry leaps off the page.
—Publishers Weekly
Adjoa’s debut has developed complex characters in Jae and Derek and deftly creates empathy for their situations through poetry.
—School Library Journal
Characters’ layers are revealed, their complexity captivating readers with empathy as secrets on both sides unfold and an enemies-to-lovers romance ignites. Secondary characters bring humor into heavy situations. Prose with periodic engaging free verse, this debut pairs brilliantly with Hannah V. Sawyerr’s Truth Is (2025).
—Booklist
The prose itself takes on a lyrical cadence—every line feels as if it was written with meticulous care. The focus on teen autonomy grounds the novel, which manages to avoid becoming preachy as characters, both main and secondary, learn to respect others’ needs and make their own decisions. Hand this to readers looking for a deep and meaningful romance that doesn’t shy away from tough issues.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Delali Adjoa
Delali Adjoa was born in Togo to Ghanaian parents but grew up in Canada, where she traded sunny cottons for wool tuques and snowsuits. She has been chasing warmer weather ever since. Delali writes fiction centered on identity, freedom, and family, and loves the American South for the stories it has buried. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Georgetown University.
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