Franco, B. (2001). Things I have to tell you. Candlewick Press. Cambridge, MA. ISBN: 0-7636-1035-6
Between the words and the photographs, readers will gain a sense of empathy for all teenage girls. In Things I have to tell you, Betsy Franco compiled over thirty poems from the voice of various teenagers who would write to express their life, their feelings, and their circumstances.
Intertwined within the words of young adult females, is Nina Nickles’ portrayal of girls in their element of friends, school, and homes. Even though the photographs do not go directly with the poetry, they do represent the lives and feelings of the same age of the poets. Nickles states that “The girls I photographed had not read the poems beforehand, nor did I seek to illustrate the poems” (p. xii).
Betsy Franco went in search of poetry and prose from young girls all over the country. When she was a young adult, she experienced many depressing feelings of isolation and being overwhelmed. Were other young women just like her? While in search, what she found and received was letters from all over the world describing the trials and tribulations they faced day in and day out through their writing.
The poems are a “mixture of prose and poetry, the young women express their fears, dreams, relationships, and angst.” Since they are from the perspective and voice of actual teens around the world, they are realistic “And while the poems are triumphant in their realism, the book is elevated by the inclusion of gritty, unposed black-and-white photographs.” (School Library Journal).
Many young women can relate to the honesty that is brought out in this collection of poems. The authors of every poem did not hold back. It was pure raw material that fit their lives. Franco has edited a wonderful way for peers to share a message of struggle but with hope to overcome those challenges.
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