Today we are excited to welcome Cordelia Jensen to Cynsations to talk about her latest verse novel Lilac and the Switchback (Holiday House, 2025). Cordelia who is a Vermont College of Fine Arts alumnx has published lyrical and accessible verse novels for a decade. She teaches at the Highlights Foundation and has written blog posts on “Crafting an Image System” and “Auditioning Poetry Devices for Voice” when crafting a verse novel. Cordelia discusses Lilac and the Switchback’s themes of “friendship, grief, and change” on this Middle Grade Matters podcast; and her writing on The Children’s Book Podcast.

Congratulations on the release of Lilac and the Switchback, your fourth verse novel since Skyscraping (Penguin Random House, 2015). As writers, we often weave traces of our life into the fiction we create—what personal truth do you want to share through this new book with young readers?  

Lilac and the Switchback features a few personal truths that I fictionalized and “gave” to Lilac’s story. With the risk of a spoiler, Lilac’s Aunt Truly undergoes a significant health trauma during the birth of Lilac’s twin cousins. She experiences a severe atypical preeclampsia called HELLP syndrome. Years ago, I did publish a creative essay about my own life-threatening experience with this, but I thought it might be important to see this condition through a kid’s point of view as many kids deal with the fear of watching a parent or guardian undergo high-risk pregnancy and birth trauma.

Another aspect I plucked from my own life and gave to Lilac is that when I was in my 20s, I found out that I am genetically half-Jewish. I always wondered what it would have been like if I had known about this as a kid. I had Lilac explore Judaism a bit in this story as she learns and connects with her Jewish father.

Parental loss is also something I experienced as a teenager; I also unearthed many family secrets throughout the years and so my writing usually circles around secrets, grief, and complicated family dynamics. Overall, I am interested in the ways parent’s choices impact kids’ lives and have great empathy for kids and teens that struggle (or thrive) in the wake of parental decisions which change the trajectory of the kids’ story.

There are other lighter aspects of this story that I am personally connected to. First, I spend a lot of time with my young niece and so a core aunt/niece relationship is an important part of my life. Second, though I live in Philly now, I lived in Central Pennsylvania for many years and although Lilac takes place in the Lehigh Valley area, I hope I capture and pay homage to the beauty of the Pennsylvania countryside. Third, I also spent a lot of time at the Philadelphia Zoo with my own twins when they were little and with my niece now, and I have always wanted to incorporate it into a story. Given the winding paths in a zoo, I think it also worked well thematically with this story. Last, Lilac’s cat London is very much based on my own grey cat Lyle! (How’s that for some alliteration?)

Lilac’s story is penned in wonderfully short poems, each one is an emotional moment accessible to young readers. How different was the process of crafting verse for this age group compared to your young adult novels?

I try to always be mindful of the age of the narrator. Lilac’s voice (and actually her whole family) came to me almost fully formed—many of the poems at the start of the book did not go through much revision as I always heard her chattering to me! She is a character who also emerged directly from her setting.

I was on a tour of Lehigh University with my own twins, which sits nestled in a hillside between river and mountain, and I saw Lilac. She was looking up. This question of whether she was a “river rambler” or a “mountain climber” came to me quickly and was firmly rooted in something emotional.

In middle school, kids are undergoing the (perfectly healthy) psychosocial crisis of Identity Versus Role Confusion. This is why they try on so many identities: you could be a “jock” one day and a “theater kid” the next. Trying to figure out your identity and how that relates to your family’s and friend’s identity is the work of a middle schooler.

Because I have worked with a lot of seventh graders and remember this time so sharply in my own and my kids’ lives, I knew that this question of being a rambler or a climber would fuel Lilac’s identity search. Therefore, I wanted the poetry (Lilac’s voice itself) to emerge as a searching voice.    

 Although the poems aren’t divided by page breaks, in the final version of Lilac, I do use more blank space play than in my other stories. I wanted to use the push/pull of the page to reflect a kind of curiosity and longing that comes with this age. I also wanted the imagery in the story to center around this theme of what is my path? Where do I belong?

Along with a lot of actual trail imagery, there are a few times Lilac uses the subtle action of tracing maps with her fingers. A subtle action that reveals a kind of quiet desire to move forward. At times this is less subtle like when Lilac receives her hiking boots for Christmas, and she wears them all the time so she’s always ready “to walk.” (pg. 203). I hope a kid reading this will be able to access the double meaning in this: Lilac is actually walking but this is also symbolic. Lilac is “walking towards” reconnecting with her father, reclaiming what has been abandoned (like the trail they work on in Trailblazers club) and, therefore, getting to know herself better, who she is and where she belongs.

I think it is important when writing for a MG audience that the imagery shows double meanings in a way that is accessible to the age group. Because in doing this we ask the reader to think about themselves, their place in the world, their search. So, I do think about that a lot.

I also think about breaking the line in terms of the natural voice of the narrator and using blank space to highlight emotion but that would be for any verse novel, not specifically middle grade.

 I am currently writing a story with three middle grade characters in free verse, and I am having fun changing the style for each kid—the more artistic kid has more format and visual play, the angrier kid uses shorter lines and the outsider longer detailed lines as she’s immersed in understanding this new place. Basically, I think picking and choosing poetry styles based on character and age are essential to writing a successful verse novel. There are so many tools to choose from!

You have an affinity for developing image systems in your verse novels. ‘Hiking Trails’ is visibly strung in this book from the structure—use of section headings, throwback to Lilac’s father’s question from early childhood, and my favorite coinage “Tramily” which stayed with me the most from this book length metaphor. Could you elaborate on the tools you use to develop these image systems and how you integrate them into the revision process?

Yes! Image systems are one of my favorite verse novel tools. Skyscraping’s image system is celestial. The Way the Light Bends (Viking Books, 2018) focuses on photography. In Every Shiny Thing (Abrams, 2019) which was co-authored with Laurie Morrison, Sierra uses colors from a kaleidoscope. And as you said, hiking/trailblazing forms the backbone of Lilac and the Switchback.

Building on a metaphor family is one way to create a stronger emotional arc for your main character, one the reader can feel. As I mentioned, Lilac’s image system came with her setting. Sometimes, this isn’t the case. For example, Sierra’s in Every Shiny Thing came from an object given by her mother, Linc’s in The Way the Light Bends came from a hobby, and Mira’s in Skyscraping came from an academic class. But what’s true for all of these image systems is that they are vitally attached to the specific character and plot of the story.

I often use the imagery to frame the emotional arc. So, for Lilac, the trail markers that denote the story sections also reveal what is going on with Lilac emotionally. Part Three, “Spur Leading to Another Trail,” section is where Lilac goes most firmly off her original path and takes the most emotional risks.

The idea of a switchback also forms the skeleton of the story. Lilac defines a “switchback” on pg. 248: “My hiking book says / the safest way up / a steep mountain / is often by switchback, / a path with alternate / ascents and descents.” This occurs when they are on the way to the hospital to see Aunt Truly. But there is another time a switchback appears in her dream, and the Trailblazers end up naming their trail “The Zig Zag path.” Also, the idea of a switchback might imply going back to the past. Lilac’s journey includes asking questions of her aunt and uncle that help her better understand her past and, therefore, her present. This is also a metaphorical switchback.

Hiking metaphors are scattered through the story, such as: “Callie & I were on the same trail, / but somewhere there was a spur / and one of us went off-path.” But there are also actual hiking/trailblazing scenes that show the peace and joy Lilac finds in the woods. Lilac finds a home there, along with eventual reconnecting with her aunt, uncle and cousin. The image system for Lilac is figurative but is also tied to the story itself both in terms of Lilac’s setting and new passion.

I have several craft  posts about image system creation and advice for those wishing to create their own; an earlier one on Stacked Books and a recent one on School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox.

The secondary characters, especially Charla, Lilac’s older cousin full of teen angst comes alive on the page in these two evocative lines:

“Charla eats me and Callie’s cookie dough.” (page 74)

“I take the rest of my crackers to our room. / Pry myself away from her jaws.” (page 82)

We glimpse Charla through the protagonist’s eyes in this book including in the revelatory poem “The Other Charla” (page 126). Tell us how you build a well-rounded cast of characters, especially in a verse novel where word count is such a premium commodity?

I love this question! I’m so glad Charla felt like a fully realized character to you. First, I come from a place of empathy and understanding of my secondary characters.

For example, for Charla, I tried to imagine what it might feel like to be seven and have your cousin be adopted by your parents and how resentment might then develop—especially if your mom was suddenly in some ways closer to your cousin than to you. I also had a lot of empathy for Lilac’s best friend Callie, who is eager to try on the fun changes that go with seventh grade, as this was partly how I felt at that age. So, I guess, first I advise having a deep understanding of the secondary characters—maybe free writing from their point of view or imagining them reflecting on the main character can help.

Next, I think in contemporary verse novels it can really help to incorporate character voice through text messages, emails, letters and not just in dialogue, which can weigh down a poem. This “primary source material” helps the reader hear/see the secondary character come alive.

I also think being as specific as possible with character details can help so much. For example, Callie “gulps the air” before she says something “big,” Charla can be moody and acerbic, but she also surprises family members by sewing craft projects for them, Uncle Mack is quiet but he also belts Taylor Swift songs, Eli thinks Lilac is more interested in soccer than she is and peppers her with soccer facts, Lilac and Callie like to “make stuff” like slime and soap. Lilac’s mom Belinda was a zookeeper who was obsessed with strange animal facts, and on…Essentially, I think drafting and character development specifically can sometimes feel like dreaming. You close your eyes and picture a character, and details come floating in from your imagination. Let those details float in and use them!

As I read Lilac’s story, many poem endings remained in my memory: “I inhale the smell of the bacon. / For dinner. / An upside-down day. / In more than / one way.” (“Upside Down day” page 51)

“and I try and hold on / to that. / It helps me / way find my route / through this haunted, / tangled-up day.” (“Way finding” Page 132)

How intentional are you about the volta in your poems? What considerations do you keep in mind when crafting endings for poems that are strung together in a verse novel?

The “volta” is something I explored a lot in my poems as an undergraduate studying poetry at Kenyon College. I think leaving readers with a strong emotional feeling, image, or surprise—a turn—is something I love generally about poems. In verse novels, I think the end of the poem can be particularly important in terms of linking poem to poem. It also helps to accentuate and emphasize a feeling, thought or image before the reader just skips to the next one. In a verse novel, there are specific strategies that ask a reader to sit and stay in a moment with the main character. A strong poem’s end is certainly one of these.

When we read, we see images; whitespace in a verse novel is an integral part of this vision—a breathing space that allows for extension and contemplation of the words being read. When I received the ARC for Lilac and the Switchback I wondered about the continuous formatting of the poems and their impact on pacing. How did you relate to your story in this layout? What are the reasons for publishers opting for this design?

I think it is common these days for verse novels to be published where the poems run together as this helps to cut publishing costs. That said, I also think it is sort of nice for the younger reader to move through the story more swiftly, getting into the action a little quicker than with the style of a poem per page. I also played a lot more in Lilac (especially in the final version as opposed to the advanced reader copy) with using the whole page, the middle, the right side, in order to more effectively use the space and, as mentioned above, to reflect her curious, exploring nature. This use of the whole page can also really work to emphasize certain emotions, images and details.

It is refreshing to see two consecutive concrete poems appear on their own standalone pages—the whitespace a counterbalance to the shaped text allowing the reader to soak in these poems. “Only Good Part” on page 207, shaped like an outline of a hill, and “After-School Tea” on page 209 where the shaped teacup, full of text, is a great mirror to the preceding poem. Tell us about creating these concrete poems.

I love concrete poems! (Speaking of which, everyone should check out the beautiful braid poem in Aarzu All Around. There are the two you mentioned in Lilac and the Switchback as well, as a heart-shaped poem “Holiday” (pg. 231) and “Cut Strings” (pg. 243) a balloon poem. For each of these moments, I wanted the reader to pay attention to different feelings. In “Only Good Part” and in “Deflated” I wanted the reader to feel Lilac’ loss and emptiness and the concrete shape reflect this. Alternatively, in “After School Tea” and “Heart” she’s feeling “filled in” and joyful! Therefore, these shapes are full of words as opposed to empty. I wanted the reader to feel that energy.

I like to use concrete poems in verse novels in reflective moments where the main character is feeling particularly emotional. Related, there is only one poem in the book where there is one word per each line of the poem and that is “Was” (pg. 240) which occurs during the “All is Lost” moment of the story. Again, I would hope the kid reader could understand the double meaning of this: the one word per line technique reflects the loneliness and sorrow Lilac is feeling in this moment.

One of the other times I played with space very intentionally, was in Hyacinth’s first dialogue lines to Lilac that are shaped in a winding path (pg. 61). She’s introducing the Trailblazers to Lilac which, in turn, shows her an exciting new world. I hope young readers pick up on the high energy of this page as well!

Some of my favorite lines in this book are: “…I just breathe in the fake lemon, / try and clean that Insta post away.”  (Page 72) This is a neat throwback to the poem “Sideways” that appears right before this one.

And “Before I can say anything, / our teacher has us / turn our attention to the board / to calculate questions / that have defined answers.” (page 88) which signals with childlike clarity that in math there is no ambiguity unlike in relationships. Any favorite lines or a poem in this book that holds special significance for you?

Thank you!

There are a few poems that hold special significance to me. The first “Scratching the Surface” (pg 35) is one of the very first poems of Lilac’s I wrote, and it never went through any revision! This was also the working title of the manuscript for a little while. I think this is a good example of an age-accessible image. In the poem, Lilac learns about her aunt’s twin pregnancy. She is sitting there in shock, and she makes a scratch on the varnish of the table with her nail “and then one more” this metaphorically represents their family of four becoming a family of six and I think it also shows her helpless shocked feeling emphasized by all the blank space on the page with the only left justified words being “but” and “instead” which highlights the uneasiness Lilac feels in this moment.

The second poem I really love in the book is called “Sunshining” (pg 274) and in it Lilac feeds a bottle to her new cousin Lindy. She sings her a song her mom sung her and shares with her one of the strange animal facts her mom told her when she was young. Because I lost my dad when I was young, I often have great joy seeing parts of him in my children and I have found joy in singing little songs he used to sing to me or using some of his catch phrases. The idea that people who leave us are still with us and “still matter” (Lilac’s words) is meaningful to me and I know it would be to so many kids who have lost parents. Lilac cares for Lindy the way Lilac remembers her own mother caring for her.

Last, I love the poem “Extra II” (pg 288) which explains that being an “extra” member of a family doesn’t need to be “something bad.” It can be “something bigger./ A spur in the path. A surprise switchback./ Something good,/ unexpected,/ and new.” This is Lilac’s epiphany, but I hope it could help any kid in kinship care. This poem often makes me cry when I re-read it. I think maybe we all need the reassurance at times that we are needed, that we belong, even if we have landed somewhere unexpected and new.

What hobbies or writing adjacent activities inspire you? Do you have an anecdote to share where something helped you move past a mental block especially in the middle of drafting a verse novel?

I love to watercolor and paint generally, so this is a writing adjacent activity that helps me when I’m stuck. When I’m painting, I am usually less “in my head” then when I’m writing. I also paint for fun and relaxation, so I am less critical of my creations. Usually though, it is talking through the story with VCFA author friends Laurie Morrison and Laura Sibson that help me solve story issues.

I don’t tend to feel creative block as much as I do story confusion! This confusion can sometimes cause creative paralysis. But I tend to loop and loop on a story problem until I solve it. I also sometimes simply write out the confusion. Since I was very young, I have also journaled, and this other kind of writing also brings me a lot of comfort, joy and release.

In our conversation you said that coaching other authors has been a big part of your writer life. Which books, apart from your own, have you helped bring into this world?

Along with having taught many verse novel specific classes for Highlights Foundation for the past four years (this Nov-Dec I will be teaching a Revising the Verse Novel class) and therefore having the great honor of teaching hundreds of verse novelists, I also work as a freelance editor and book coach for MG/YA verse novelists.

I have worked on some wonderful new (and forthcoming) verse novels including: National Book Award winner Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safidi (Penguin Random House, 2024) and her forthcoming verse novel Snow Alone; Nadine Pinede’s When the Mapou Sings (Candlewick, 2024), Marzieh Abbas’s Aarzu All Around (Simon & Schuster, 2025), Suzanne Hood’s Lifeboat 5 (Simon & Schuster, 2024), Suzanne Purvis’s forthcoming Swimming With Dolphins (Owl’s Nest 2026) and Karen Krossing’s upcoming 2027 verse novel. I have also worked privately with many students who are just now getting agents and so I hope to see their books on the shelves in years to come!

Each manuscript is different because verse novel writers come from different places; most often someone is either more comfortable with story creation OR poetry. The editorial process is usually first about getting the story as strong as possible and then getting into the nitty gritty of the “poetry side” of the verse novel, working with line breaks, lyricism, blank space. Pacing is a huge concern during revision for me.  I pay close attention to that when I review a manuscript. Book coaching is a bit different, because then you are beginning at the very start of an idea. Together, we work through Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book (Tree Farm Books, 2021) and then I assign a series of writing exercises, which is an expanded version of those listed on the Highlights blog.  We then start from the beginning!

I love teaching about verse novels, but I enjoy one on one work even more. I think mostly because I have a counseling degree and generally just prefer the one-on-one connection. Having worked on so many manuscripts I also find that I am quick to see both strengths and places for improvement. I tend to ask a lot of questions almost always about backstory and emotional arc as I do think that is a strength of mine (and maybe also a curiosity)—finding sub-text and theme and helping the author pull that out and make the reader feel more connected to the emotion behind the story.

Having worked with kids for many years as a counselor and creative writing teacher, I also think I have strong understanding of voice and age and what might make “sense” for a given kid or teen character’s voice. Here are some testimonials on my editing/coaching work from my website. 

You have been publishing stories for young readers for a decade, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing children’s-YA creators right now?

I think it is harder at the moment for emotionally heavy books to find a home as there is a bit more appetite for lighter stories right now. I get this—I think the world is such a heavy place currently, we all want some escapism. But there is also real beauty and—more than that—real need for kids to see themselves and learn about others through reading. Our world needs more empathy and putting yourself in another character’s shoes is a terrifically experiential way to cultivate this. Also, it is so important not to “write to the market” as the market will likely change by the time you are done with your manuscript!

What first inspired you to write for young readers and how did the VCFA MFA experience impact your literary journey?

The Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program had an enormous impact on my literary journey. I started the program with the question: am I a writer? Should I move forward with this career or continue with counseling? I ended my experience with Skyscraping which was my creative thesis at VCFA. My advisors each had an enormous impact on my journey and on Skyscraping.

The book wouldn’t exist without Coe Booth who introduced me to the verse novel form. Mary Quattlebaum helped me decide to fictionalize the story and figure out the structure. Julie Larios helped me with my critical thesis – a craft piece that centered around image systems and crafting the appropriate image system for the age of your main character/reader, something I obviously still think a lot about today! An Na helped me heighten the emotions in Skyscraping and finish the entire manuscript.

I also loved the whole experience of being at VCFA around so many people who take writing for kids and teens so seriously. I made many strong friendships and connections there with my “Secret Gardeners” and from other classes as well. I mentioned Laurie Morrison before; we also wrote a book together Every Shiny Thing that is dedicated to VCFA!

Cynsational Notes

Cordelia Jensen has an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has published four verse novels: Lilac and the Switchback, Skyscraping, The Way the Light Bends, and Every Shiny Thing, co-authored with Laurie Morrison. Her books have received starred reviews, state award list nominations, and NCTE Notable Verse Novel recognition. Along with being a certified book coach, Cordelia has taught creative writing in a variety of settings, including Bryn Mawr College, Germantown Friends School, The Writing Barn and The Kelly Yang Project, and currently teaches verse novel classes for The Highlights Foundation.

Mitu Malhotra holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. A finalist for the 2024 Lee & Low New Visions Award and the winner of the 2021 Katherine Paterson Prize for Literature for Young Adults and Children, Mitu has won scholarships from the Highlights Foundation, Tin House, and a writing residency at the Djerassi Program. Her short story “Toxins” is part of ELA curriculum. Her writing has appeared in Hunger Mountain, Thin Air Magazine and elsewhere. In previous avatars, Mitu was a textile and fashion designer, and has taught in India, the Middle East and the US. Mitu is an active member of CBIG: Children’s Book Illustrators Group, NYC and NJ SCBWI. More on www.mitumalhotra.com. Follow her on Instagram @mituart or Bluesky @mitumalhotra.