The Verse Novel Shelf
Cover of Radiant

At a glance

Published
2025
Publisher
Dutton Books for Young Readers
Subgenre
Historical
Words
21,148
Section
Middle Grade

In 1963, fifth grader Cooper Dale is a Black girl growing up in a mostly white community near Pittsburgh. Amid bullying, family tensions and national upheavals like the Birmingham church bombing, she struggles to figure out who she is and what it means to shine.

  • NCTE Notable Verse Novel 2026
  • ALSC Notable Children's Book 2026