Margin Notes

If you’re looking for a heartwarming, feel-good read that’s perfect for both high school students and teachers, The Getaway List by Emma Lord is a must-pick! From the author of Tweet Cute, You Have a Match, and Begin Again, Emma lords delivers another great YA novel with relatable characters and touching exploration of friendship, growth, and self-discovery. This novel captures the messy yet beautiful process of going out on your own and figuring out who you are.

The story follows two best friends, Riley and Tom, as they tackle an adventurous bucket list (Getaway List) the summer after senior year. Adventuring through NYC, they face the excitement and anxiety of approaching adulthood while balancing their evolving identities and relationships. Emma Lord’s signature wit and relatable writing bring these characters to life, making readers reflect on their own friendships, dreams, and the choices that define us.

For high school teachers, The Getaway List provides excellent opportunities for classroom discussions on themes like identity, friendship and the importance of self-reflection. The book also touches on complex family dynamics and expectations, making it a great resource for talking about empathy and resilience with students.

The Getaway List delivers a delightful blend of humor, heart, and insight. This coming-of-age narrative is heartwarming and celebrates all the ups and downs of being a teenager on your own for the first time. This is one that deserves a place on any high-school classroom & library shelf!

If you loved the mystery and secrets of the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, then you need to pick up The Reappearance of Rachel Price. Author, Holly Jackson, delivers another gripping, twist-filled mystery perfect for high school readers who are fans of thrillers and true-crime, as well as teachers seeking an engaging text that encourages critical thinking and discussions about crime, justice, and truth.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price will immediately draw you in with its premise: Rachel Price disappeared years ago with no trace, leaving her daughter Bea on the side of the road in their car. Sixteen years later Rachel reappears with a story that’s not adding up. However, as Bea grows more suspicious of her mom’s story and Rachel’s narrative begins to unravel, it becomes clear that there are dark secrets buried beneath the surface—secrets that some are desperate to keep hidden. Holly Jackson masterfully weaves suspense, keeping you guessing as lies and twists pile up.

If you’re searching for an engaging book to recommend or add to your classroom library, The Reappearance of Rachel Price is a great choice. It offers not only a suspense-filled narrative but also opportunities for meaningful discussions on trust, trauma, and the extent we will believe the truth. The novel’s suspense will captivate even reluctant readers, making it ideal for all of your students. Its themes of memory, deception, and trauma offer rich material for discussion and analysis. As well as the fast-paced, gripping story makes it ideal for independent reading or as part of a mystery-themed unit.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price is a compelling novel that will captivate high school readers and spark meaningful conversations in the classroom. Holly Jackson’s talent for building suspense and creating complex characters ensures this is a must-read for fans of mystery and psychological thrillers.

Calling all Swiftie teachers! Invisible Strings is a brilliant, engaging poetry anthology that brings together 113 different poets who each respond to the music of Taylor Swift. These poets all allude to the songs they were assigned, without using direct lyrics or titles, making it a fun puzzle that requires close reading to try and solve the mysteries of which poem is related to which song!

Whether you’re a die-hard fan of Taylor Swift or just someone who appreciates powerful writing and musical influence, this collection offers something truly special for your classroom. This book has a plethora of different ways it can support relevant learning & engagement in your literacy classroom. As Frederick-Daugherty states in her introduction, “Swift has taught her fans to read lyrics carefully, attending to syntax, symbol, and sound, just as poets learn to read literature.” (2024). Using these poems, we too, can hone these skills with our students using Taylor Swift’s musical genius, and these insightful poems.

Why you will love it for your classroom:

• Literary Analysis Meets Pop Culture: Use the poems as mentor texts to explore intertextuality, metaphor, tone, and theme. Students can analyze how each poet was inspired by a particular Swift song and then compare it to the original lyrics, making it an instant mentor text goldmine!
• Creative Writing Inspo: Encourage students to write their own response poems to their favorite songs, Taylor’s or otherwise. It’s a fun way to connect music and poetry in a way that feels personal, and relevant.
• Swiftie Scavenger Hunt: Since each song inspiration is not actually revealed in the book, Taylor Swift fans will love the challenge of decoding the easter eggs to figure out the inspiration. Each poem is a puzzle that you can use to challenge your students. This adds a fun and interactive element that builds engagement and encourages close reading and listening skills. If your students aren’t die-hard Swifties, you can pick out which poems correspond with her most popular songs using the cheat sheet linked at the end, to ensure that students will be able to make connections with the easter eggs.
• Discussion-Ready Themes: From heartbreak to empowerment, friendship to fame, this collection covers a wide range of emotions and experiences, perfect for classroom discussion and quickwrite prompts.

Whether you’re teaching middle schoolers looking for creative expression or high school students ready to dive into deeper literary connections, Invisible Strings offers a great entry point. For those of you who need to have the answers (myself included) to see if you got them right, Penguin Random House & Kristie Frederick-Daugherty did publish the list of songs that inspired each poem. You can find that list here. Use it to help you pick poems that correspond with songs that you know your students will have heard before or use it as a scaffold and give them the song right off the bat, so that they can make connections if they aren’t huge Swifties. This collection really is the perfect way to show students that poetry isn’t stuck in the past. It shows them that it’s alive, current, and set to a beat they already know & love.

Are you looking for a book that will inspire both you and your students to fall in love with poetry this April? Kwame Alexander’s Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets and Poetry is a vibrant, creative resource that belongs in every teacher’s library. This beautiful collection, co-written with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth and illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is not just a celebration of poetry—it’s a gateway to helping students connect with language, creativity, and the art of expression. Not to mention, it is the dream text for teaching looking to teach poetry through mentor texts!

Out of Wonder features original poems that pay homage to famous poets such as Pablo Neruda, Langston Hughes, and Mary Oliver. It’s an excellent way to introduce students to a variety of poetic voices and styles and it shows students how they can use mentor texts to help create their own unique piece of writing. The book is separated into three parts, one that emulates the use of famous poets’ styles, the next about emulating themes & feelings, the last about responding to the poets with our own work. Just check out how he introduces these things in a way you can take and instantly put in your lesson!

This book is the perfect way to show students how we can use mentor texts in many ways and is chocked full of examples that the authors demonstrate for us! It is accessible for grades 4 & up and for subjects beyond just literacy, as you could use this book to discuss the lives and works of the celebrated poets and the historical and cultural contexts they represent. Out of Wonder isn’t just a book to read—it’s a tool for teaching, creating, and celebrating the beauty of poetry. Add it to your shelf & your poetry lessons and watch your students’ love for the genre grow!

From the same author as The Selection series, A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass is a captivating story that combines romance, adventure, and thought-provoking themes. Set in a beautifully crafted world of royalty and rebellion, this novel explores the intertwining fates of two characters from very different walks of life—Annika, a princess, and Lennox, a soldier. These two characters set out on opposing missions to protect and serve their people, but when their paths cross, they can help but be drawn together.

Cass always does a great job of writing fantasy and romance in a way that is accessible and exciting for teenage readers, and still appropriate for their age group. This novel is no different and delves into complex themes like loyalty, identity, love, family and power struggles—perfect for analysis and engagement with students. Cass’s writing style is ideal for high school readers, even those who may be reluctant to pick up a book. Though this book is 500+ pages, the fantasy world building element is clear and easy to follow, and the plot moves quickly sure to engage all readers!

For students, A Thousand Heartbeats is more than just a love story. It’s an epic journey about finding one’s place in a world full of conflict, making it relatable for young readers navigating their own transitions into adulthood. Annika’s personal growth and Lennox’s moral dilemmas offer reflections on self-discovery and making tough choices—an experience many will be able to relate to. For teachers, the alternating viewpoints from each of the characters and the heroic journey they go on, will allow for deep thinking and deep discussions around narration, point-of-view and plot.

A Thousand Heartbeats is an excellent addition to a high school classroom library and is one I would recommend to any students looking for a fantasy or romance novel that is accessible and addicting! (Bonus points if they’ve read The Selection and loved it!)