Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing

by Gary Soto

A poignant, humorous collection by acclaimed poet Gary Soto

The fleeting emotions of teenagers, as changeable as the weather, ring true in these emotionally resonant poems. Told from the point of view of both boys and girls, narrators of various ethnicities fall in love for the first time, pine over crushes, and brood over broken hearts. Tender, lighthearted, and surprising, this collection will capture teens, tweens, and anyone who remembers what it’s like to be a young person in love.

Genres: Poetry, Young Adult, Romance, Students, Coming Of Age, Teen, School

100 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Gary Soto is the author of eleven poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly, Poetry International, and Poetry, which has honored him with the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award and by featuring him in the interview series Poets in Person. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. For ITVS, he produced the film “The Pool Party,” which received the 1993 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence. In 1997, because of his advocacy for reading, he was featured as NBC’s Person-of-the-Week. In 1999, he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. He divides his time between Berkeley, California and his hometown of Fresno.

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

A charming compilation of poetry
for the younger teenage crowd.
I found it to be cute,
but nothing amazing.
I probably would have enjoyed this more
about a decade ago, when I could easily relate,
but I didn’t enjoy poetry then,
and this book didn’t exist anyways.

[L13F_Jana Wilkening · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this poetry collection by Gary Soto to be a perfect book for middle school students. I have always felt Soto did a great job writing books that were authentic to middle school students and this is no exception. Each poem in this collection is told from the perspective of an adolescent who is “in love.” The first half of the poems are written from the perspective of a girl while the second half of the poems are written from the perspective of a boy. The poems deal with puppy love, crushes, heartbreak, embarrassment, and everything else associated with those awkward first “romances.” The poems are short, engaging, funny, and heartbreaking. I believe middle school students of all cultures will be able to relate to these poems in an enjoyable way.

The main teaching idea that came to mind while reading this book would be to use these poems as performance pieces. I think this would be a great book to use around Valentine’s Day. Each student could be assigned a poem to practice and then perform for the class. The poems are short and written in language that would not be intimidating for 6th-8th graders. It would be a fun fluency exercise as well as a great way to hit the “Speaking and Listening” standard of the Common Core.

So many students leave elementary school loving poetry because their teachers used Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky. Then, in middle school, they are suddenly handed Emily Dickinson and expected to get it. This is a great way for students to see that poetry can still be engaging in middle school. I think students will giggle their way through some of these poems, but they will ultimately see how much fun poetry can be.

[Swanny]

Not my cup of tea from poetry. My favorite poem was the final one in the girl's half of the book. Most of the these read pretty shallowly and felt quite samey after a while. I see it was targeted to middle schools aged kids and teenagers, but . . . I still feel like younger audiences can get more value from a poem than what these tended to provide. The idea is fun, just didn't deliver a lot of variety.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crystal Hansen, LS 583. Soto, G. (2009). Partly cloudy: Poems of love and longing. New York: Harcourt. Genre: poetry. Print book. Selected from "Beehive Award" list nominees.

Gary Soto's book is divided into two perspectives. The first half of the collected poems are presented from the female point of view, and the second half are voiced from the male. All are vignettes, which capture something like a kiss, a moment, or a feeling. For example, one of the poems is about a girl pondering how people will react to her new interracial relationship. The last lines are " Who will understand us?/ Holding hands,/ I notice the color of/ Our skin becoming one/ In time." Another poem captures the way a young man feels after he is romantically rejected. He imagines walking into the forest to become a boulder so he can find peace. These poems aren't all serious though. There are definitely playful elements at work in poems such as "Vegan for Your Love," in which a boy gives up his carnivorous diet in order to impress a girl.

Gary Soto is masterful at creating an impression. Although most of the poems only cover one page and consist of no more than twenty lines, each one is a story. And not just any story—it's a story that makes you remember a time in your life when you felt the same way as the poem's speaker. This is not poetry that is coded or flowery, and for that reason it will most likely appeal to a broad audience of young people. It is straightforward, relatable, genuine, and touching. Another victory for Soto.

[Valerie Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gary Soto’s Partly Cloudy is a collection of moments. Each poem surrounds an idle thought, a feeling, a wistful emotion. They are brief and somewhat fleeting. All focus around the central themes of love and the desire for intimacy.
The first half of the book, subtitled “A Girl’s Tears, Her Songs” tells about love and longing from the female point of view. This section is filled with lighthearted emotion and secret thoughts. When many of these poems are beautifully phrased, some of the feelings seem a bit stereotyped; it is clear to the reader that these emotions are supposed and not experienced.
The second section, “A Boy’s Body, His Words” narrates from the male point of view. Here the feelings rise to the surface. There is more of an emphasis on visual imagery and less idle thought. The emotions seem a bit more natural, and are expressed in truer words.
The book as a whole has a widespread tone. Some of the poems, such as “Home Alone and Liking It” lean toward the humorous, while others, such as “Tree Bark” border on the morose. The collection strikes a nice balance between the two, with neither emotional set overpowering the other.
Much of the imagery in this volume focuses around metaphors of nature, such as comparing a girl’s chest with pink petals or a boy in spring to a bumblebee. These comparisons help to draw a clear picture for the reader in light of their commonality.
Overall, Soto has made a nice effort in this book of poetry. While it has its lower points, it is a worthwhile read.
This book is recommended.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book! In this book it details poetry throughout as a whole. This book would be recommended to any teenager that is feeling lost. I really enjoyed this book because it laced out poetry and was easy to understand. I believe any teenager going throughout a breakup or in love with someone should read this. However, I don't like how this book is so short and leaves you hanging on the edge of the end of the book. The poetry is easy to relate to and as you're reading the book you can almost picture what the author is saying. I will totally give this book 5 stars by the detailed poems of each page. This book also is very short, I believe this book should take and average of 4 days to read it.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have had the arc for 7 years and just never got around to it. Also haven't read any Soto in a long time. My middle schoolers would have loved the book.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book Partly Cloudy by Gary Soto was overall not a book I would usually read. I say this because I don't think I really care for poems. I also did not like how the book was not a whole story it was different poems on each page. I gave it three stars because I thought some poems were good but, some did not make sense to me. One of the poems was about a girl who loved a boy and she just could not find a way to tell him. Overall This genre was not for me and I think I will go for a different genre next time. I would recommend this genre to anyone who likes short reads or deep reads.

[Kate Lo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and cute little book for younger readers that long for a romantic relationship. Describes the innocence and excitement as well as the heartbreaks that come with first love. This book starts off in a young girl’s prospective then switching to a boy’s prospective halfway through. I feel moved by the different types of emotions as the love grows deeper. How one would move on and learn, the effects that come with sorrow and heartache. I’d highly recommend for teenagers or kids of my age group to read Gary Soto’s poems for longing love.

[Sam Vogel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read. Hard to forget that every poem is from a different persons perspective. The poem printed on the back cover is the most memorable of the book. It's interesting to see half be from female perspective and half male, but most poems were pretty similar in feel. I guess I wish some of the poems had more feeling or more "story" to feel connected to this character writing this poem and feeling those feelings. There were moments of poems that I enjoyed, but overall it was very common types of love poetry.

[Ashley Kang · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehhh felt very "young love" overall; did remind me of some sweet and cringey high school moments, but also felt overdone
the initial half (written from the perspective of girls) is very docile, sweet, and soft, but the second half (guys' perspective) are all about the appearance of girls, falling in love with another while you have a girlfriend, having to deal with a "girl saying no", etc. felt very stereotypical. also makes me skeptical of how the poet views the autonomy of girls in romantic settings

Rough Hands, Obsession, and The Big Chill were okay.

[Alyssa Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a book compiled with different love poems. Many of them are about two lovers being attracted to each other, but many are also about couples on dates. Many are also about breakups. This book would probably work better for a middle school or high school classroom, simply since some of the topics are a little too mature for younger kids. Many of the poems are definitely too advanced for younger readers as well. If I were teaching older students, this book could be a great independent read, or good for a poetry unit.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading poetry was a nice change of pace. It's like reading someone's mind. Except, the poet has shared it with everyone who would read it. It's not a secret that Gary Soto has yearned for many and learned from a few. I really just liked the title "Partly Cloudy", but there were a handful of poems I created a digital bookmark for.

[Sage Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neither great nor horrible. It was well done and convincing conveyed that the poems were meant to come from a teenage mindset.
I just didn't connect all that well to the work, and none of the poems seemed to truly stand out to me. But I can totally understand why others might enjoy them more, I just found it middle-of-the-road in terms of writing.

[Jennifer Son · Rating 3 out of 5]

The love and relationship poems in this book mostly represents teenagers’ impulsive love or crushes rather than real and true love. As a teen, I could relate to many of them but it doesn’t carry an important message or theme.

[Andy Crane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing in the voice of a thirteen-year-old is tricky, I imagine. However, many of these poems felt trite and/or condescending. It just didn't do it for me.

[Heather Layne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Gary Soto's realness and bluntness. This captures teenaged love very well. I liked another of his poetry books, A Fire In My Hands, better, but this was a cute little read.

[Sue Doherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for middle/high school poetry collections.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read poems on teen love. Would guess target audience is actually pre-teens as the poems are not very complex. I longed for more depth in places.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretentious and clichéd. Nothing like the simplicity and colorful vividness of Neighborhood Odes.

[Nav · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just because the intended voice and audience is juvenile doesn't mean it has to be entirely devoid of interesting language or complex ideas.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few surprises and some very nice turns of a phrase. He does understand young love.

[Nicky Enriquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for unrequited love and teenage angst.

[Tania Murcia Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it a lot

[Emma Grzyb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, I feel all of these poems are relatable, especially for teens. I highly recommend this book if you like poetry or if you're a slow reader and want a shorter book to read.

[Leslie Roque · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite poetry book ever

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute love poems centered around young, teen love. Will be good for my classroom.

[Jada Golden-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say that this is a good poetry book about love but it was not my favorite. It was not my favorite because I wasn't sure if it was the same person every time or if they were all different. I enjoyed it because many of the poems were relatable. I give it a 3/5. This book is poetry.

[Nathan Bartos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just...couldn’t. It’s definitely for a middle/high school audience. Just not for me. DNF

[Grazyna Nawrocka]

I think this was an awesome, very refreshing poetry. Reading it was a pleasure. Girls' poems are a little better than boys'.