I would highly recommend this for teens or an adult attempting to "get inside the mind of a teen". Overall enjoyable. ( )

Our school librarian had put this on display on top of the shelves in the library in honor of National Poetry Month. I was immediately attracted to it and could tell that this would have some relevant poems to share with my 8th grade students.

UPDATE
After having read them, I feel so LUCKY to have found them! There are some EXCELLENT poems in here! I particularly recommend "The Ice Cream Vendors" (about the cycle of poverty), "Maggot Memories" (about someone who is not successful in our society and feels it won't get much better), "Waste of Time" (about a relationship going nowhere as one partner is cold & distant), "Zombies" (about so-called "friends" seemingly out for your "blood"), "The Hand" (self-centeredness, pride), and by far the best poem (my new favorite poem of all time), "Following Directions"; a 14-year-old captured the essence of what is wrong with public schools and their adoption of standardization and how its cost has been creative thought and originality.


It's appeal to students? SCORE! In one of my classes, a few students were finished early with their poetry analysis work, so I told them that they can choose a poetry book from which to read for the remainder of the class period. I handed this book to one of my male students who definitely thought poetry was uncool, and he sighed when I placed it in his hands. Get this.....after class, he stayed behind until the other students were out the door, and he nonchalantly asked if he could borrow it until tomorrow or Monday..."These poems really do have some good points, actually," he said.

One point for poetry! One point for reading! YES! That's all I can say. These are the moments I live for. ( )

This is a book of original poetry by and for teens. Some of the poems are better than others, but all of them capture the mixed-bag of emotions that teenagers face and feel. These poems were collected by artists Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd with help from React and Seventeen magazine editors. There are beautiful illustrations to accompany the poetry. Mark Todd illustrated the boys' poems, and Esther Pearl Watson illustrated the poems written by girls. ( )

Have you ever used poetry to express your thoughts and feelings? This collection of raw, honest, and straightforward poems gives a personal glimpse of the authors. Read these creative verbal portraits of the quest to establish self-image, feelings of alienation, love, fitting in. Illustrations are also given with no rules and free expression.