More Than Friends: Poems from Him and Her

by Sara Holbrook, Allan Wolf

Teenage love explored from his and her points of view. From the first furtive looks across the classroom to the blossom of new romance and the final flameout, teenage love is loaded with awkwardness, uncertainty, dreams, conflict, and pure bliss. Poets Sara Holbrook and Allan Wolf combine their considerable talents to explore these feelings and struggles by creating the voices of a girl and boy in the throes of affection. As they experience the giddiness of love, the poems' two characters also face obstacles (parents) and distractions (friends) while learning to respect each other's interests and needs. Can this relationship survive? In sonnets, tankas, villanelles, and other poetic forms, Holbrook and Wolf examine the efforts of two teenagers who dare to be more than friends.

Genres: Poetry, Young Adult, Romance

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jessica Hanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book on teenage love. It is written from the points of view of both sexes on a variety of topics on all levels of love. The writing used is very accessible and advocates the idea that poetry does not have to be a scary and remote thing, but rather more closely related to lyrics and music than many teens think. A really nice feature of the collection is that each poem is labled with the type of poem it is, which will make great teaching examples. One of my favorite poems, that I will use in my classroom, is "I Hope She Likes the Way I Wear My Tee". This poem talks about a boy dressing for a girl he likes, even though he won't admit it. Most people can relate to an idea like this, and my teens will like the conversational tone and the slang used. This collection will bring a smile to your face and transport you to a younger time in your life.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

These didn't really work for me. It's a poetic dialogue between him and her, where she is a fashion aware, shopping loving girly girl and he's a jock struggling with calculus. I've never really known kids like this -- maybe my niece? But I wasn't anything like this girl and the kids I hung out with weren't anything like this guy (or the girl). So the poems didn't resonate with me at all.

Yet I saw from afar many girls and boys who do resemble these types of people, so I bet this book would work for a lot of them. I liked the variety of poems, I always like to see some good sonnets, and even some of the free verse worked. It didn't do much to make me resonate to emotions and situations I never encountered, but the few times my experience did overlap with the situations I felt a real connection. Not for me, but probably for many other people!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book of poetry . . . a relationship from his and hers perspective. This book is a quick but poignant read - it put a smile on my face more than once. There is always two sides to everything, including love.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting development of two friends in "he said, she said" poetry.
Liked the explanation at back of book that identified poetry forms.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the poems were interesting. But for the most part, this was an alright read.

[Diane Omari · Rating 4 out of 5]

“More Than Friends” is an anthology with poems written by Sara Holbrook and Allan Wolf. It is composed of several kinds of poems, including sonnets, tankas, and free verses. The anthology does an impressive job demonstrating the differences in thoughts of teenaged girls and boys. On a general level, it shows that girls will concern themselves more with tiny details, and neglect greater ideas. Boys, on the other hand, will be oblivious to small things, and be more drawn to the large idea at hand. For example, in the poem, “Relax”, the girl’s side says “Vanilla candle.| Cruising a mind-skate daydream”, and so on. The boy on the other hand, summarizes their idea of relaxation in a few words including “Eat. Nap. Call you up. Nap. Eat.” The effectiveness of this is that the poems show the varying perspectives, rather than telling them. The idea of young people falling in love may seem unrealistic to many adults, but this anthology shows that this may not be true. Also, there is one poem that is particularly appealing within the collection. Entitled, “Anger”, it represents that boys will mask their more “feminine” feelings with rage, rather than showing how they are truly affected. Girls, on the other hand, are shown to be angry often, but keep their anger to themselves. “Sometimes I will lie| and say it doesn’t matter| when, of course, it does.” This is relatable in real life, because there are several occasions where boys, or men, choose to cover their true feelings, and girls, or women, think show strength by keeping theirs in. This anthology is refreshing, as it shows the silly, awkward, cute, and amusing experiences that teenagers go through. The fact of the matter is that to them, these issues seem a lot bigger than they are seen to be. These poems’ exposing of this idea is what make them enjoyable to older and younger audiences.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com

Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl become friends. Boy and girl start to wonder if there's something more. Whether or not we've had a more-than-friends relationship, I'm sure most of us have felt like we'd like to be more than friends with someone we know.

What happens when we finally become something more? How do you balance new love and old friendships? Will your love last? If it doesn't, how do you go back to being just friends?

Poets Sarah Holbrook and Allan Wolf decide to try and answer some of these questions through poetry. They each take turns writing poems, first one from him and then one from her. They explore the beginnings of a relationship, crushes, and all the ups and downs that come from falling in love.

The poems are all written in various formats, from free verse to couplet, sonnet, and tanka. Some of the poetry forms were new to me, so I was happy to see that the authors included a glossary in the back explaining how each form worked and then encouraging readers to write their own.

This is a short, quick read, and these beautiful poems are worth checking out.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors here are two performance poets, and I was lucky enough to hear them perform some of the pieces in this book. They take two friends, a boy and a girl, and lead them through becoming 'more than friends.' They show the exhileration of first love, and the discomfort of having to 'cleave' to only one...they show the first meeting with HER parents, and the petty arguments. They show it all. AND they do it in lovely complicated verse! Sonnets, villanelles, tanka, and something called terza rima. I can see so many ways to use this in the classroom! Sharing one of these sonnets about love as you teach Romeo and Juliet will demystify the form, I would think.

The evolution of a friendship into 'more than a friendship' into the inevitable break up is handled well by two observers of life who happen to be talented poets.

[Renae · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the heels of reading Wolf's luminously beautiful "The Watch That Ends the Night," this was sort of....

Meh.



Granted, there are moments of brilliance. The format, featuring an assortment of different forms, as well as an explanation of them in the back.

Add a few absolutely lovely villanelles, a reference to Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night," and I had some things to be happy about.



But ultimately, it lacked the beauty and grace of Wolf's other work. Left me feeling a bit...abandoned.



I suppose my expectations had been slightly inflated.

[Jody Bachelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book belongs in every high school English teacher's curriculum! Sara Holbrook and Allan Wolf have packed a wallop in a tiny package. Sara wrote the girls' poems and Allan wrote the boys' poems. It starts with a look, and the friendship progresses to a relationship, then a falling out, and back to friendship. They really capture the teen experience and the teen voice, and the pictures enhance the poems. Best of all, they have written the poems in different poetic formats, from quatrains to sonnets to free verse to a Vietnamese form call Luc Bat (and many more), and they explain these at the end of the book. I need to go back and read it again to appreciate the different styles. Highly recommended for all teens and would be a great read-aloud for class.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two authors wrote this book of poems told from two different points of view, as the two young people fall in love and move through a relationship, which eventually sours. I enjoyed reading about the same event or conversation from two different viewpoints. I particularly liked how the poetic form is identified for each poem, and the additional information at the back of the book about the poetic forms used. Great idea, and I hope they do another book like this. Too bad I couldn't really relate to the subject, which is why it didn't impact me like it might have. Nevertheless, recommended.

[Akilah Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book more than friends give so much examples in being in a relationship with your girl or a side chick or just a boy you currently talking too or just a mess around this book give you a great impression on how you would react to a asking a boy out or a girl out in the write way. me personaly i loved the book cause most of the poems was like a hit in face like wow she does that and wow he does that,its just crazy but read the poems you will be pleased!

[Olivia Cornwell · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this is where young adult literature is headed, it needs a major re-examination. I didn't read all of the poems, and I don't think it's worth it. I'm sure there are plenty of better quality love poems than ones about two young people worrying over how to act, how to dress, what she thinks of guys, what he thinks of girls, etc. This one won't be staying on my shelf.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a major disappointment. The poems were so cliche and full of stereotypes. Ugh! I had such high hopes for this book too. Maybe it is because the authors are slam poets. Maybe these would be better as performance pieces. Maybe. In any case, it was total cheese and very unoriginal.

[London · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty lame and somewhat offensive in that the male and female characters were totally stereotypical. What My Mother Doesn't Know does a much better job of portraying first love.

[Cindy Minnich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 12/23/13 - and I love it just as much the second time. :)

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a book of poetry about a boy and girl who are discovering love and all the trials and tribulations that teens go through with parents, pressure,friends, etc.

[Jerry-Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13290541

[Marina]

i could relate alot to it its a really good book

[Nerissa Austria · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is awesome
i love it so much :)