Middle Grades Novels in Verse: Examining Stereotypes in Early Adolescent Characters

In this article, the authors share analyses of two middle grade novels in verse to demonstrate how pre-service and in-service teachers and librarians may engage in similar analyses themselves or with their students. Authors use Lesko’s confident characterizations and Sarigianides et al.’s youth lens (Rethinking the “Adolescent”) to analyze two middle grade novels in verse. The authors found that while stereotypes are present, they do not define the characters. Rather, the stereotypes illustrate the growth of the characters as they navigate adolescence. The final verses are not presented as endings, but beginnings of the characters’ journeys.