In these thirty-five interviews with verse novelists from Australia and Aotearoa–New Zealand, Linda Weste explores the uniqueness of storytelling through poetry and the genre of the verse novel. Her subjects are notable representatives of a region where verse novels for Adults, Children and Young Adults thrive; among them is Steven Herrick, winner of the prestigious Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2019; and what they have to say enriches our understanding of the verse novel across each of its publishing categories.

There's an empty notebook lying on the table in the moonlight. It's been there for an age. I keep on saying that I'll write a journal. So I'll start right here, right now. I open the book and write the very first words: My name is Mina and I love the night. Then what shall I write? I can't just write that this happened then this happened then this happened to boring infinitum. I'll let my journal grow just like the mind does, just like a tree or a beast does, just like life does. Why should a book tell a tale in a dull straight line? And so Mina writes and writes in her notebook, and here is her journal, Mina's life in Mina's own words: her stories and dreams, experiences and thoughts, her scribblings and nonsense, poems and songs. Her vivid account of her vivid life. In this stunning book, David Almond revisits Mina before she has met Michael, before she has met Skellig. Shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie Medal.

Kumiko and the Dragon's Secret continues the fantasy adventure of Kumiko, a young Japanese girl who is guarded by the dragon, Tomodo. Danger surrounds Kumiko's family. The sinister shadow catchers kidnap Kumiko's sister, Arisu, seeking to absorb the dragons' magical powers through the royal human bloodline of Kumiko's family. Kumiko is the only one who can defeat the shadow catchers. She alone has the power to rescue her little sister and to restore order to the magical world of the dragons. But can she get there in time?

Kumiko doesn't like going to bed. She can't sleep, and the reason she can't sleep is because of the giant dragon that sits outside her bedroom window, every single night. So one night she plucks up the courage to ask the dragon to leave, not knowing that the truth she is about to discover is more thrilling than anything she could ever have imagined. This delightful story will take the young readers on a soaring dragon adventure, as Kumiko discovers a strength she never even knew she had.

For graduates of Junie B. Jones, the “genuinely compassionate” (Kirkus Reviews) third novel in the Meena Zee series follows lovable Meena as she tries to keep her best friend, Sofí​a, from moving away. Everything is going Meena’s way. Her seizures are under control, she’s started the Finders Keepers Club, and she’s trying hard to be a better friend. So when Sofía’s cat, Oriol, goes missing, Meena is the first to help her look. But when Meena learns Sofía’s family might be moving far away, everything starts to fall apart. Worst of all, Sofía seems more worried about finding her cat than leaving Meena behind! With a little help from her trash collection, Meena sets out to locate Oriol and keep Sofía close. But what if being a good friend means losing what she loves most?

A remarkable story about the power of tolerance from one of the most important voices in contemporary Muslim literature, critically acclaimed author Randa Abdel-Fattah. Michael likes to hang out with his friends and play with the latest graphic design software. His parents drag him to rallies held by their anti-immigrant group, which rails against the tide of refugees flooding the country. And it all makes sense to Michael.Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart -- and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents' politics seem much more complicated.Mina has had a long and dangerous journey fleeing her besieged home in Afghanistan, and now faces a frigid reception at her new prep school, where she is on scholarship. As tensions rise, lines are drawn. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Soon to be a major motion picture "Jon Swift + Witches of Eastwick + Kelly 'Get In Trouble' Link + Mean Girls + Creative Writing Degree Hell! No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled! O Bunny you are sooo genius!" —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter "A wild, audacious and ultimately unforgettable novel." —Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times "Awad is a stone-cold genius." —Ann Bauer, The Washington Post The Vegetarian meets Heathers in this darkly funny, seductively strange novel from the acclaimed author of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Rouge "We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. We very nearly did, didn't we?" Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision. The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination. Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Vogue, Electric Literature, and The New York Public Library

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Enjoy family-friendly recipes that are ready in no time, when you've got no time, from New York Times bestselling author, online phenomenon, and TV star Ayesha Curry. Ayesha Curry knows what it's like to have so much on your plate you can barely think about dinner. But she also knows that finding balance between work and family life starts with gathering around the table to enjoy a home-cooked meal. The Full Plate brings the best of Ayesha's home kitchen straight to you, with 100 recipes that are flexible and flavorful and come together in less than an hour. You'll find sheet pan dinners and crowd-pleaser pastas, hearty salads and healthy updates to takeout favorites, and fresh spins on classic dishes-plus kid-friendly meals, desserts, and sides (and a few beverages just for the adults). Recipes include: Mushroom Tacos with Avocado Crema Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches Crab Bucatini Sheet Pan Pork Chops Guava Ginger Ice Cream Spicy Margaritas, and more