It's time again for my favorite weekly meme, Top Ten Tuesday.  If you're up for some bookish fun this morning, join in.  Click on over to The Broke and the Bookish for more information, then make your own list, and bop around the blogosphere to get some great reading recommendations.  Easy peasy. 

I feel like I'm always talking about the same beloved authors and genres around here, so I decided to change things up a little for Top Ten Tuesday.  Today's topic is: Top Ten Favorite Books in X Genre.  Not gonna lie—I considered dystopian, British crime lit, family secrets novels, etc.  In the end, though, I decided to talk about a genre that I enjoy but don't actually read that often.  So, here's my list of my Top Ten Favorite Books-in-Verse:

1.  Death Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe—This award-winning haiku novel about the Vietnam War is set here in Arizona.  It touched me deeply.

2.  Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson—I'm a big fan of Woodson's YA and MG books, so I was excited to read this memoir-in-verse.  It's a lovely, National Book Award-winning contemplation on race, identity, and discovering one's voice.  

3.  The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf—This haunting, evocative novel is about the Titanic tragedy, a subject I find endlessly fascinating.

4.  Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill—The Salem Witch Trials are another historical topic that is always interesting to read about.  Hemphill manages to tell a very rich story despite the limits of a verse structure.

5.  Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate—Applegate's novels always seem to hit me right in the feels.  It's been a while since I read this one, but in my review I called it a "quick, touching story."

6.  Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse—I read this impactful, atmospheric novel about the Dust Bowl recently and it has definitely stayed with me.

7.  Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham—This one isn't based on historical or world events, but it is a compelling novel that tells an interesting Soul Surfer-ish story.

8.  Crank; Glass; Fallout; and other novels by Ellen Hopkins—Hopkins' YA novels in verse are so graphic and raw that I have a hard time labeling them "favorites."  Still, they're powerful in their unflinching examination of contemporary issues like illegal drug use, prostitution, sexual abuse, etc.

Okay, I'm going to cheat on the last two (actually, three) and share a couple novels-in-verse that are on my TBR pile mountain mountain chain:

9.  Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank—This novel about two very different girls who share an illness and a hospital room sounds intriguing.

10.  Witness by Karen Hesse—After Out of the Dust, I'm definitely up for another Hesse book.  This one is about a small town in Vermont and how it changes when the Ku Klux Klan moves in.  Set in 1924, it's another historical novel-in-verse, a subgenre I usually enjoy.

11.  Sonya Sones—I have several of this author's novels-in-verse on my TBR list.  I'm intrigued by Saving Red; One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies; and Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy.

There you have it.  What do you think of my list?  Have you read any of these?  What are your favorite books-in-verse?  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!