The Free Verse Society

This deluxe paperback edition will feature gorgeous sprayed edges!

A tender hate-to-love YA romance about two teens who connect through their high school poetry club, where the power of the written word tears down the walls they’ve built around their hearts.

No one in Delray knows Jae Aƒenyo’s story—that she’s a teen mom who placed her baby for adoption—and she intends to keep it that way. After moving in with her uncle, Jae is looking for a fresh start. But an accidental run-in with the school’s delinquent, Derek Patel, is not exactly what she had in mind. She soon finds a haven in the poetry club—at least, until Derek joins.

Derek Patel is desperately clinging to his old life—where his dad was alive, his mom was healthy, and they lived in an oceanfront estate instead of a run-down pink bungalow. He’ll do anything to hide his problems from his friends, including breaking into his old house to keep up the charade that he still lives there. But the house now belongs to the school’s lit teacher, who offers him the chance to join the poetry club as a penance.

As the newest members of the club, Jae and Derek are tasked with planning the end-of-semester poetry reading. While Derek is hell-bent on keeping his broken family a secret, Jae is desperate to prove to her uncle that she’s more than a walking statistic—which means guarding her heart against Derek, who her uncle thinks is no good.

A poignant exploration of love, loss, and the power of words to draw people together, The Free Verse Society announces the arrival of an important new voice in YA romance.

Perfect for readers who love Forced Proximity, Forbidden Love, Opposites Attract, Hate to Love, the Misunderstood Bad Boy, Opposite Sides of the Tracks, and Reading/Literature Club Bonding!Adjoa’s debut is as emotionally rich as it is narratively layered. Jae and Derek’s relationship is built with care and realism; their eventual trust is rooted in understanding, a love of creativity, and the shared experience of having non-white fathers who didn’t fully pass on their cultures to their children. . . . A touching, vulnerable romance navigating gut-wrenching conflict to deliver the ultimate relief of catharsis.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Sharply rendered poems by various characters are interspersed throughout the protagonists’ compelling and unique alternating narration, and Jae and Derek’s electric chemistry leaps off the page.
—Publishers Weekly

Adjoa’s debut has developed complex characters in Jae and Derek and deftly creates empathy for their situations through poetry.
—School Library Journal

Characters’ layers are revealed, their complexity captivating readers with empathy as secrets on both sides unfold and an enemies-to-lovers romance ignites. Secondary characters bring humor into heavy situations. Prose with periodic engaging free verse, this debut pairs brilliantly with Hannah V. Sawyerr’s Truth Is (2025).
—Booklist

The prose itself takes on a lyrical cadence—every line feels as if it was written with meticulous care. The focus on teen autonomy grounds the novel, which manages to avoid becoming preachy as characters, both main and secondary, learn to respect others’ needs and make their own decisions. Hand this to readers looking for a deep and meaningful romance that doesn’t shy away from tough issues.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksDelali Adjoa was born in Togo to Ghanaian parents but grew up in Canada, where she traded sunny cottons for wool tuques and snowsuits. She has been chasing warmer weather ever since. Delali writes fiction centered on identity, freedom, and family, and loves the American South for the stories it has buried. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Georgetown University. Instagram: @DelaliWrites.