In her gut-wrenching yet uplifting 2023 debut, All the Fighting Parts—a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor book—Hannah V. Sawyerr wrote about a teenager who was raped by her pastor. Her second verse novel, the powerful and nuanced Truth Is (Amulet/Abrams, September 23), follows high school senior Truth Bangura. She has a complicated relationship with her Sierra Leonean immigrant mother, whose teen pregnancy derailed her law school plans. When Truth accidentally becomes pregnant, she confidently chooses the abortion pill, expressing her feelings through slam poetry. Sawyerr answered our questions by email.

Who were the most influential poets of your teen years—and your more recent favorite discoveries?

I grew up reading and listening to poets like Jasmine Mans, Anis Mojgani, Staceyann Chin, Warsan Shire, and Maya Angelou. That list has expanded to include Elizabeth Acevedo, Ari Tison, Fatimah Asghar, Candice Iloh, and Sadiyah Bashir.

Truth’s slam coach repeatedly says that “writing is revision.” How did this novel evolve as you revised it?

Revision is my absolute favorite part of the writing process. Truth Is became more experimental with each pass. I call it my “funky” book because of the creative risks I was able to take thanks to a design team that was willing to bear with me as we passed the text back and forth many times to get it right.

The writing exercises embedded throughout really draw readers in.

I wanted Truth Is to feel interactive, and I thought, How cool would it be if the reader was able to take a pen to the page and answer these prompts as they read! They grew to be a favorite part of the book for me.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

Much of it focuses on Truth’s life after she takes the abortion pill. I structured the novel this way to show young people that there’s more to Truth’s story—and more to their stories—than one decision. I also want adults to consider the limitations we sometimes unknowingly put on young people. Truth is a dreamer, and her circumstances make her dreams feel impossible, but she finds a support system that makes her dreams feel more within reach. I want Truth’s story to show readers that they’re allowed to dream big and be big.

What was it like being Baltimore’s youth poet laureate? Did you draw on that experience for this book?

I’m so grateful to the youth poet laureate program. It brought my work to stages and screens I’d only dreamed of—as a young person who struggled with self-doubt, their support was a true gift. I also drew inspiration from my high school years participating in the NAACP’S ACT-SO program, where I competed in oratory and poetry, as well as my time on the Baltimore City Youth Poetry team. The dynamic of the slam team in Truth Is was inspired by the friendships we still share.

Are there any books coming out this fall that you’re especially looking forward to reading?

So many! I’m particularly excited for Sonora Reyes’ The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar, Tiffany D. Jackson’sThe Scammer, Jasminne Mendez’s The Story of My Anger, and Colby Cedar Smith’s The Siren and the Star.

Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.