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Bronx Masquerade is a YA novel by American author Nikki Grimes, published in 2003. Wesley Boone writes a poem for his high school English class and reads it out, poetry slam style, kicking off a passion for verse in his fellow students. One by one, in weekly poetry sessions, eighteen students from all different backgrounds reveal themselves and their lives in their own voices. Through these sessions, the students learn more about each other, build up a bond, and grow to overcome some of their problems and insecurities. The novel uses the structure of poetry to tell stories of selfhood, cultural identity and the realities of the everyday life of teenagers. Bronx Masquerade was well reviewed. Kirkus called the novel 'rich and complex', and Booklist praised the 'lively, smart voices that talk bravely, about real issues'. It won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2003.
