Room Enough for Love

"A month ago/ in biology lab/ you sat close to me/ knee touching mine/ your sweet smell/ almost drowning out/ the formaldehyde stink...." Sound familiar? Ralph Fletcher's poems perfectly capture the intensity of teenage love--the thrills, the heartbreak, and the healing--taking place in everyday locales like the classroom, an aunt's house, the prom, and the beach. Room Enough for Love is a compilation of the complete poems from Fletcher's critically acclaimed volumes I Am Wings and Buried Alive. Exploring the many facets of falling in love, falling out of love, and love itself, Fletcher reveals a keen understanding of the peaks and valleys of romance and attachment. It is his use of language that is perhaps most remarkable, precisely because it is so understated and vernacular ("This is not a love poem no way/ you need big words for that/ like 'luminous' and 'eternity' "). With his understanding that small words do not translate to small emotions, Fletcher offers teens a book of poetry that speaks directly to them. (Ages 12-15) --Brangien Davis