Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers

Franco, Betsy (Editor).  2008. Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers.  Somerville: Candlewick Press.  ISBN 9780763634377

(Image obtained from amazon.com)

Summary

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers poetry anthology edited and compiled by Betsy Franco.  The poetry found within Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is written by teenagers regarding teenage romance.  The intended audience for this anthology is 9^th grade and up. 

Quality and Appeal

The poetry found page by page in Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is written by teenagers aged 12-18 and mostly in free verse.  Franco mentions that these poems were compiled mainly through email and she initially did not know anything demographically about these children.  The end result is a diverse group of teenagers from all sexual orientations and cultural backgrounds.  While the main theme is obviously love, the emotions are varying throughout this book.  Some of the poetry is intense and breathtakingly deep and some of it is humorous and slightly cheesy which creates a well-rounded end result.  While reading this I was transported back to my teenage years, feeling love for the first time, and I found it rather refreshing.  I was also thoroughly impressed with the talent and ability of these young readers!  Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is a perfect candidate for creative writers and reluctant readers simultaneously. 

It’s worth mentioning that yes, this book includes poetry with sexual undertones and about the physical manifestations of love.  While its usually guarded and implied, there are some poems where it is clearly spelled out and utterly obvious.  I still recommend this book – falling in love (or falling out) is a scary thing for youth.  By sharing this book of poetry written by the children for the children can somehow help others, why not share it? 

Spotlight Poem

Love Poem by Juan Nunez, age 15

I am

the flour

to your tortilla,

Baby.

This book can be used to introduce feeling, imagery, and metaphor into the beginning of a high school creative writing class.  

Books like Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers

A Maze Me by Naomi Shihab Nye

First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants by Donald R. Gallo

Poetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and Everything Else by Elise Paschen