Some poems were nice. This was an okay collection of poems. But, sadly, for as much as I was concerned, none were remarkable. AndActual rating: 2.5 ⭐️
Some poems were nice. This was an okay collection of poems. But, sadly, for as much as I was concerned, none were remarkable. And I think that was because I couldn't relate to the great majority of poems.
But on the other hand I did enjoy the poems about social media, womanhood and body image....more
TW: mentions of suicide, death, racism, homophobia, depression, sexual assault, domestic abuse, war
Was I too dumb for this collection of poetry? AbsolTW: mentions of suicide, death, racism, homophobia, depression, sexual assault, domestic abuse, war
Was I too dumb for this collection of poetry? Absolutely. Did my dumbness prevent me from fully enjoying this collection of poetry? Absolutely. Was this collection of poetry simply stunning, moving and touching nonetheless? Absolutely.
What a masterpiece. A masterpiece that, for the most part, flew over my head. But even if I – your humble and ignorant rat – did not fully grasp the complexity and depth of these poems, I can tell you one thing: the ones that I did understand, they hit hard, my friend. They hit hard ...more
A whole lot of poems I really enjoyed, but also some that I found TW: anxiety, depression, police brutality, racism, gun violence
Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐️
A whole lot of poems I really enjoyed, but also some that I found average. All in all, though, this was. fantastic collection of poems and I will keep my eyes peeled for Rudy Francisco's next work!
Favourite Poem: Speak because your voice is currency,
Lovely but after a while the (superb) messages got ever so slightly repetitive. Still, this was a super enjoyable collection of poemsTW: domestic abuse
Lovely but after a while the (superb) messages got ever so slightly repetitive. Still, this was a super enjoyable collection of poems.
Favourite Poem: Your Torment Has Meaning
Everything that terrifies you these monsters that keeps you up at night that torment you that make you feel small breakable unable to breathe like you should not exist at all, you defeat them every day just by being alive, this on its own proves that you are enough, and you already have everything you need to survive....more
This was a visually stunning poetry book. The author is amazingly skilled and her art enriches her words and enchants me.
How Far You Have Come was beThis was a visually stunning poetry book. The author is amazingly skilled and her art enriches her words and enchants me.
How Far You Have Come was beautiful and truly touched me at times, but I found the overall undertones (i.e. nature and its beauties) to be ever so slightly cliché. Nonetheless, reading this collection was a pleasure and I will keep my eyes peeled for her next work.
Favourite Poems: Without knowing What comes next, You are still Flying west. And even the smallest steps Are marked by courage And grace
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I do not know why I am still here Or why I say anything at all. In a word spinning wildly with questions Water circling in a thousand directions, My tired heart still beats While I search for meaning, And I feel like an imposter On some hero’s journey. I will trust that I matter. I am here, I live, I breathe, and I speak with curiosity. Existence is a mystery, But I will live my life With intention.
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Ochre clouds Fill the sky. The sun is low, My hopes Are high. I do not Always stop And notice the light, But I will continue To try. ...more
This is it. This is the proof poetry is something incredibly personal. And you know why I say that? BecauseTW: anxiety, depression, mentions of suicide
This is it. This is the proof poetry is something incredibly personal. And you know why I say that? Because I can confidently say that Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is not the best poetry that has ever being published. Hell, it’s not even the best poetry I’ve ever read. But still these poems. These poems, mate. They killed me. So many resonated with me; so many hit close to home; so many were relatable and just…right. Wow, I was an emotional mess.
This was truly lovely and heartbreaking. But it also felt like I was being seen and understood. I needed this ...more
Wow, Giulia from the past. You truly were a douchebag. Needless to say, upon re-read I'm giving this book a very much deserFirst re-read: February 2022
Wow, Giulia from the past. You truly were a douchebag. Needless to say, upon re-read I'm giving this book a very much deserved 4 stars.
This truly is a touching and incredible collection of poems. Sure, it is very much religious-heavy, but a bit of faith (in general, it doesn't even have to be towards a specific religion) never hurt nobody.
Beautiful collection.
Favourite part of a poem: It takes courage to live through heartbreak. Breathing is no small feat.
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How could I properly express my opinion without sounding like an absolute douchebag? 2020 truly is a challenging year, huh?
All Along You Were Blooming was both incredibly touching and incredibly alienating. Some poems hit so impossibly close to home I had to pause and just stare at nothing for a while so to contain my emotions. Some other poems were so impossibly redundant I had to pause and just stare at nothing to contain my annoyance.
And I think the frustration and alienation came from the same source: at times, this collection of poems was overly religious.
Do not get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against faith in general. Simply because I do not believe, does not mean that I do not agree with the overall messages of kindness and symphony and empathy and self-love and hope. Quite the opposite, actually.
Hence me saying that these poems hit home in an almost painful way. But I also could not help but feel as if these poems were too faith-heavy, and made the experience of going through this poetry became more like reading a sermon than an actual collection of poems.
It’s a catch-22 type of situation. I loved the messages but I did not particularly like how overly religious and preach-y they were. So giving this a three (3) stars seems like a good compromise.
Honestly, though, my reservations should not stop you from giving these poems a try. This was a beautiful book with a very lovely collection of poems and, if you manage to overlook how faith-heavy and preach-heavy this was (or precisely because of that!), you will definitely enjoy the bare messages of courage, hope, self-worth, self-love and self-improvement All Along You Were Blooming shared....more
"How can you lose an entire person, only to gain a part of them back in someone entirely new?"
TW: harassment, grief, sexual assault, attempted rape
Thi"How can you lose an entire person, only to gain a part of them back in someone entirely new?"
TW: harassment, grief, sexual assault, attempted rape
This was my third novel by Elizabeth Acevedo and I can say it was my second favourite. The Poet X maintaining unquestionably its first place, and With the Fire On High conquering the bronze metal.
Clap When you Land was a heavy and heart wrenching book about family, grief, sisterhood and the secrets our parents keep from us.
It was truly astonishing, spectacular, intense, emotional. It was amazing.
The characters were complex and three-dimensional, even if at times I found their voices to be a bit too similar. The side characters, too, were interesting and unique, even if not enough flashed out, in my opinion. The writing style was nothing short from exquisite. But the plot is where I had some problems.
This story was told through two points of view: Camino’s and Yahaira’s. Two girls, one in the Dominican Republic, the other in New York. Both with a dead father. Both in pain; both feeling betrayed, lost and confused by the situation they come to find out.
The story itself was enjoyable and poignant, but my issues arose because of the dual perspective. As a matter of fact, I thought the pace was a bit too slow and the plot got redundant real quick. It felt like Camino and Yahaira went through the exact same emotions and experiences – and for as much as that was intense and heart-breaking, it got repetitive and hence not as impactful. So I personally thought this book would have been better if it was told only through a singular point of view. The five stages of grief were not singular and personal as if seemed as if the two girls thought, talked and felt the same things.
Truly, though, this book is outstanding and I would highly recommend it.
It tackled some very important topics such as sexual harassment, grief, betrayal, religion, money, politics, the differences between the USA and South America, and family and love. Of course the importance was given to family and love. Beautifully heart-wrenching, undoubtably. Sure, I also believed this novel tried to deal with too much. Indeed, everything, in the end, felt rather superficial and not developed enough.
Moreover, the ending was a bit too sweet for my tastes as I wanted something more bitter and real instead of this fairy tale like conclusion. There were no real consequences or talks about the actions that happened, which made for a somewhat lackluster ending. It was not meaningful enough.
Nonetheless, Clap When you Land was a pleasure to read and a touching novel that I would highly recommend to no matter who. The execution was spectacular, the representation was flawless and the writing style was gorgeous.
"& so I remember that to walk this world you must be kind but also fierce."...more
Fam, reading this during quarantine hit differently. Fam, reading this in my mental state hit differently.
Some poems seemed as ifActual rating: 3.5 ⭐️
Fam, reading this during quarantine hit differently. Fam, reading this in my mental state hit differently.
Some poems seemed as if they were written specifically for me and my eyes and my soul only. Some others, though, were too cliché and conventional.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poems. The Pillow thoughts series has a very special place in my heart and I will forever be a fan of Courtney Peppernell's way with words. She has such a delicacy, such a beautiful way to say things. I'm a die hard fan of her poems and her messages, which center around kindness and compassion, self-love and love and friendship.
Pity for the cliché and sometimes repetitive poems. But overall, Stitching the Soul was a lovely and touching addition to the series and I will forever keep my eyes open for Peppernell's future works.
Favourite Poem: So, it’s been a rough week. Too many storm clouds and people getting under your skin. Too many moments you felt the anger rage, so you have forgotten where to begin. And so you blame yourself for things always going wrong, because what’s happening to you couldn’t possibly be happening to someone else. It’s all your fault when life seems to be spiraling out of control.
Stop and breathe.
You do have time to breathe, so make time. Concentrate on the way your body feels when you are breathing in and out.
How it rolls over your stomach, catches in your chest, and releases through your lips. A rough week is just a rough week.
We all have them; we all blame ourselves when things go wrong. We can’t always control the moments that make us feel so alone. But we can control our breathing.
"what’s the point of God giving me life if I can’t live it as my own? Why does listening to his commandments mean I need to shut down my own voice?"
TW: b"what’s the point of God giving me life if I can’t live it as my own? Why does listening to his commandments mean I need to shut down my own voice?"
TW: bullying, mentions of abuse, homophobia
What an incredible powerful read. Now I understand why everybody was (and still is) going crazy over this book.
The poetry was powerful and poignant, and the story itself was touching and impactful. This novel was not simply about a girl finding and using her voice to create a space for herself in the world. Oh no. Describing The Poet X like this would minimize the absolute beauty this book was.
It was about religion and family and love between siblings. It was about friendship and womanhood and how this is a men’s world nd how wrong and unfair that is. It was about body image and how society wants women to behave and look – and hard it can be when you are not fitting in that very tight stamp. It was about the importance of questioning what you have been forced to believe in all your life. It was about sexual harassment and sex in general. It was about love and the power that words yield.
It was outstanding. It was unforgettable.
Only reason why this is not a full on five (5) stars is the fact that I thought the ending was a bit too beautifully wrapped. Taking into account everything that happened in this book – all the pain and the hurt – I was not expecting the ending to be so clean-cut, so rose-tinted. I wished for a bit more grit, for a bit more reality.
Overall, though, this book was a masterpiece and I completely understand why The Poet X is so incredibly highly praised. It deserve all the hype; it deserves all the love.
Do yourself a favour and read this one. You will not be disappointed. The audiobook is a gift to humanity and the short poems make for a quick but nonetheless stunning and impressive read.
"This world’s been waiting for your genius a long time."...more
This was a very gooTW: sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, queer-phobia, emotional abuse, physical abuse, fat-phobia, blood.
Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐️
This was a very good poetry collection. It was a dialogue between the poet and the Goddess Aphrodite and it tackled many timely and important topics such as sexual assault, family, love (in all its shapes and forms), self-discovery and self-respect. Together with these intense poems, some lovely and positive drawings, pictures and illustrations were present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this poetry collection, but I also found it somewhat cliché and slightly Tumblr-ish. Nonetheless, the messages and images were beautiful and I am glad I read Aphrodite Made Me Do It. It was a lovely experience.
Favourite Poem: I’m trying to remember to make room in my life for the person I am now, not just the people I have been. ...more
First thing first, thank you very much to Netgalley for sending me a e-ARC of this book.
After having read and adored Pillow Thoughts (mainly the firstFirst thing first, thank you very much to Netgalley for sending me a e-ARC of this book.
After having read and adored Pillow Thoughts (mainly the first installment), I've kept my eyes peeled for any new releases from Courtney Peppernell. So as soon as I saw this title available on NetGalley, I jumped on the occasion like a jaguar. And I can happily say that I was not entirely disappointed.
If I have to be honest, nothing compares to the beauty and the inspiring magic that Pillow Thoughts was, and this short collection was no different.
I Hope you Stay was uplifting, kind and positive, but also nothing ground-breaking. The poems were simple and full of love but they were also rather cliché. In fact, some of the poems felt a bit like posts you would see while scrolling on Tumblr, actually.
Nonetheless, this was a lovely poetry collection that somewhat warmed my heart through its positive and touching messages.
I'm glad I've read this and I will keep on being a fan of Peppernell's work....more
First thing first, thank you very much to the publisher for sending me an e-ARC of this book.
First poetry collection of 2020 and I have to say: I was First thing first, thank you very much to the publisher for sending me an e-ARC of this book.
First poetry collection of 2020 and I have to say: I was definitely not a fan.
For as much as I found some (the real minority) of sentences somewhat pretty, the great majority of these poems alienated me. This was an alienating experience and surely not a good one.
The metaphors just did not make sense to me, and I even found that some were repeated a bit too much. So they even lost their unicity pretty quick.
I could not relate to the struggle and the feelings depicted for (I think) two main reasons. 1. Some parts were simply not for me. There was a part in this collection that was centered around pregnancy, and I’m just not the targeted audience for this topic. 2. The metaphors (as I have mentioned) were complete nonsense.
Now, let me further discuss this. I say the metaphors were nonsense because, to me, it felt as if the author put two words that they sounded beautifully together but that, in reality, they were anything but beautiful. They actually made no sense whatsoever. I was more focused on understanding the metaphors and the overall feeling of the poem than actually enjoying the reading experience. And what a frustrating experience this was. Also because, honestly, the metaphors I did understand were rather average, cliché and definitely not ground breaking.
So, all in all this was a complete and utter flop for me. I did not enjoy it in the slightest and I found myself confused and detached. Truth be told, I would not recommend this one :/...more
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