A tragic love story in verse loosely based on Orpheus and Eurydice. It's set in middle school (which, weirdly, included recess and a playground). The girls take turns telling the story from their own perspectives. Olivia is a poet and Eden is a musician.

The writing was good. I don't generally like angsty poems about heartache and crushes, but this wasn't too cheesy or cliche for me. The romance is what I would consider appropriate for 13-year-olds. There's some kissing and a shocking hickey (I think meant to stand in for the snakebite that kills Eurydice?).

The girls' home lives are pretty sad. Olivia's mother is severely depressed and Eden's father is a villain. Olivia, thankfully, has great friends. And there are some supportive grown-ups at the school. The story is not about anti-gay bullying, but Eden definitely feels scared to be herself with her friends and her father.

Overall, this is a quick read that squeezes in good character development. It doesn't have a very strong plot, especially if you know that Orpheus and Eurydice were doomed. Still, this is emotionally satisfying and well written. ( )

The Song of Us is a middle grade, novel in verse about love at first sight for seventh graders Olivia and Eden. Olivia is capital P, Poet and started a Poetry Club at her school, and Eden is the new girl in school who thinks she wants to be a musician. When Eden walks into the Poetry Club one day, everything changes.

Eden isn’t out and there are rules Olivia needs to follow: don’t call, don’t tell her friends, and don’t let anyone know.

But when jealousy waves its ugly head, Olivia’s words are what push Eden away. As Eden tries to find herself in this new school, Olivia begins the journey of getting back to Eden - using her most powerful weapon; her poetry.

This book is aimed for Middle Grade readers, but I’m 31 and I absolutely devoured it a single day in two settings (the curse of work).

I’m not usually one for romance stories in YA, yet alone Middle Grade, but this one was super cute and about your first crush/love. The novel even touches on the fact that they are seventh graders, and yea, most likely relationships won’t last, but it doesn’t mean the feelings being felt aren’t real. Even though the sections were shorter than your typical prose novel, the author was still able to develop both characters well and through their verses, you were able to connect with them. The pacing was good and everything felt realistic.

Overall, this is an amazing, tender debut novel-in-verse about first love and finding the right words that I can see everyone who’s looking for a sweet romance would enjoy.

*Thank you HarperCollin/Tegen and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ( )