Poetry on life, family, identity, and more coexist in this bright collection. Hear from youth who feel lost or different, teen mothers, and those with big fears. Read about running, loving, and finding yourself.

— Simon Traub-Epstein, International Library of Young Authors

From the introduction by Alex Russell: “The Real Poets Writing Project pairs trained mentors- each of them practicing poets-with young people who have lived hard lives and who have a lot to say. It doesn't matter whether our young poets have written before. All that matters is the willingness to be real, which you can see in each of the poems you have in your hands. This book contains 35 poems from more than 120 our youth wrote this summer at Turning Point Community Programs in south Sacramento. This term, sixteen young poets joined us for a total of 46 sessions. The poets ranged in age from nine to 20 years old. Some had never written a poem before, but many had written a lot. In addition to one-on-one work some poets joined our new Master Class, a format designed for those who have written with us before. The two included group poems were written in our Master Class.”