Reading: A Verse Novel

When I write, I write fiction. Novels and short stories are my specialties. Sometimes, I write poetry. It’s a form that I absolutely love, but at heart I’m storyteller and I’m constantly thinking of new, fictional stories to tell. Writing fiction through poetry is something that boggles that my mind. I don’t know how to use my words sparingly and in verse when it comes fiction, so I have always been in awe of writers like Lisa Schroeder, who are able to tell a story through verse. There is something about a verse novel and the shorter, yet perfect descriptions contained within that can make a story more gut-wrenching or heart-breaking or romantic. It’s the simplicity of the storytelling and it’s absolutely beautiful.

I have always thought that there should be more verse novels out there, so I was delighted to discover Audition, by Stasia Ward Kehoe, which debuted last year. And when I learned that this novel combined two of my favorite things–verse and dance–I was thrilled. I was able to get my hands on a copy right before the holidays but with family and the rush of the season I wasn’t able to start it right away.

Last week I finally had a chance to pick it up and once I started reading, I was hooked. Audition tells the story of Sara, a high school junior who wins a scholarship to a ballet school and leaves her family and friends behind for the chance of a lifetime. She catches the attention of Rem–a choreographer–and soon becomes his muse.

It didn’t take long for the novel to draw me into the novel. The novel doesn’t reveal anything groundbreaking about the ballet world, but it is a beautiful tale of a teenager who sees this world through the eyes of a shy girl who has left everyone and everything in her life behind to focus solely on dance. It’s a gorgeous tale of a girl who finds herself, though not exactly in the way she imagined she would. The novel ended perfectly–I couldn’t imagine it ending any other way. As soon as I read the last line, I wanted to start over again. I’m sure I will pick this book up again one day in the future.