As in Bull (2017), Elliott employs numerous poetic forms and a full cast to bring to life an old story. This time Joan of Arc commands the narrative. As she awaits her execution, Joan recounts her story in candid, musical verse, remembering the life she abandoned when she heard God calling her to lead an army into war for a country that eventually turned on her. Joan's words are woven through with a quick internal rhyme that underscores her strength and cleverness. Interspersed are testimonies not only from people but also objects (her sword, her armor), the saints themselves, and even concepts (victory, virginity). In an ending note, Elliott explains the poetic forms he used, many of which were popular during Joan's time. The object poems are given concrete form on the page: the fire that takes Joan's life builds and consumes itself throughout the book. An elegant, spirited introduction to classical poetry and to a woman fighting not just for a cause but for a place in a world that undervalued her voice.

This collection of poems, each told from the perspective of Joan of Arc and the people and objects central to her life, creates a remarkable portrait of a person whose legend continues to fascinate. The narrative begins from Joan-s perspective as she stands bound to the pyre, awaiting her death: -And I will burn. But I have always/ been afire. With youth. With faith. With/ truth. And with desire.- Employing poetic forms prevalent during Joan-s era-ballades, rondels, sestinas, and villanelles among them-Elliott (Bull) builds the story of her visions and mission -to lift the siege at Orléans,- reactions to her wearing men-s clothing (-I was, they said, an/ aberration-), and sentencing. Concrete poems voiced by inanimate objects-candle, needle, sword, tunic, fire-reflect their speakers- physical shapes. Also included are the voices of Joan-s accusers and defenders in direct quotes from the transcripts of her two trials: the first, in 1431, which found her guilty of heresy, and the second, which revoked that verdict more than two decades after her death. With stunning lyricism, these poems fashion an enlivened, gripping narrative that addresses themes of gender identity, class and vocation, and innocence and culpability, bringing fresh nuance to an oft-told story. Ages 14-up. (Mar.)

A multivoiced verse retelling of the last day of Joan of Arc's life.Interspersed with snippets from the transcripts of the Trial of Condemnation and Trial of Nullification are monologues in verse from the individuals surrounding Joan, in actuality or in memory, on the last day of her life. The expected characters are there—Charles VII, her mother, the saints who guided her—but also other, unexpected, choices—the fire, the arrowhead that pierced her shoulder, her hair, her virginity. The title cleverly alludes to both the voices that guided Joan and the cacophony of voices in the book, all of whom take various forms that heighten their individual personality. There is concrete poetry as well as poetic forms popular during and after Joan's time: the villanelle, the sestina, the rondeau, and the ballade. Joan herself is ethereal, wondering, and poignant. The conceit works; the variety of voices and compelling verse bring the story to life and heighten the pathos of Joan's death. Among her last words: "…the penetrating / pain will be my ecstasy in / knowing I was true; there is nothing / I have done that I would alter / or undo." Compelling for pleasure reading, this will also be a valuable addition to language arts lessons.An innovative, entrancing account of a popular figure that will appeal to fans of verse, history, and biography. (preface, map, author's note, list of poetic forms) (Historical verse novel. 13-adult)