Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and writing by teenage girls

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Franco, Betsy. Things I Have to Tell you: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2001. Print.

ISBN 9780763610357

2. Evaluation

a perpetual struggle

between honesty and composure,

between realness and masks

a perpetual struggle

excerpt from Song For a Girl by Jessie Childress

Things I Have to Tell You is a collection of very real, very frank poems written by teenage girls. The poems are individually very striking and honest, but as a whole share the struggles, diversity, and honesty that each person feels.

The collection is put together in no particular order; much like a journal of poetry might be kept by a middle school girl. This lends to the collection’s authentic feeling, which brings more power to each of the poems. The collection consists of 31 poems. Because of this the book does not seem over whelming and becomes more approachable to young adult readers.

The poems are also accompanied by stunning black and white photography by Nina Nickles.  Her photography is very expressive and powerful without taking away from or over shadowing the poetry. She seems to shed a light on the emotions of the poetry and compliments the vehemence of the writer’s words.

3. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

“The voices in this collection have so much to question, so much to grieve. They have so much to celebrate, so much to rage against. They’re ready to speak up and begin the conversation — with you and with the world. More than thirty uncensored poems are accompanied by Nina Nickles’s masterful photographs, which sensitively capture the moods and essence of adolescence. Here, painted in the words of teenage girls, is a portrait of their dreams and desires - a record of hope, disillusionment, anger, joy, sadness, and most of all, strength.” – Goodreads.com

"With more urgency than many YA novels,...many teens will recognize their search for themselves..." --Booklist

4. CONNECTIONS

This is a great book to use in any middle or high school ELAR classroom to introduce poetry and show students that people from all different backgrounds, experiences, and ages write poetry, not just adults.

Other books that could be included in a collection that emphasizes the importance of young adult poets:

You Hear me?: Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys   Edited by Betsy Franco

Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems from WritersCorps  by Bill Aguado and Richard Newirth

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers edited by Betsy Franco