Free Verse
Free Verse by Sarah Dooley, published by Penguin on March 7, 2017, is a reprint edition comprising 368 pages in English. Set in a West Virginia coal-mining town, the narrative follows Sasha Harless, who grapples with the loss of her brother Michael, her only caretaker after their mother left and their father died in the mines. As Sasha navigates her new life in foster care, she discovers poetry as a means of expression and begins to uncover family connections she never knew existed.
Readers will find a poignant exploration of family dynamics and personal healing as Sasha confronts her grief and the challenges of her circumstances. The story delves into themes of loss, resilience, and the search for belonging, all conveyed through a unique storytelling format that incorporates stories in verse. As Sasha faces further tragedy, she must decide whether escaping her hometown will truly alleviate her pain or if she needs to confront her past to find peace.
Official synopsis Publisher
A critically-acclaimed tale for fans of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons. Set in a West Virginia coal-mining town, this is part One for the Murphys and part Locomotion.
When her brother Michael dies in a fire, Sasha Harless has no one left and nowhere to turn. He’d been her caretaker since their mother ran off and their father died in the mines. And before his accident, Michael made Sasha promise him that she would leave Caboose, West Virginia for a better life someday. Now, she’s in foster care, feeling more stuck and broken than ever.
Trying to cope with her brother’s death, Sasha returns to school and is introduced to poetry and finds it’s a new way to express herself when spoken words just won’t do. She even discovers family she didn’t know she had, including a younger Mikey Harless, who’s just as broken as she is. But just as she’s settling into her new life, tragedy strikes the mine her cousin works in. While fearing the worst, Sasha takes Mikey and finally makes her escape. But will running from Caboose really fix the pain in Sasha’s life, or will she have to discover a new way to heal?
Free Verse was the 2012 winner of the Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship through the PEN American Center
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