3iii8v's reviews
477 reviews

Not poetry

This book
is not poetry

Nor is it
good writing

nothing more
than recycled tumblr
quotes and
hitting enter
a bunch
of times

over and over

- A review in the style of Rupi Kaur

"Never forget your own value"
"Never allow others to tell you you aren't good enough"
"Never stop believing in yourself"
"Your future is bright and everything will turn out okay"
"Find the light within yourself and set it free"

Is this even poetry? It felt more like inspirational quotes that you can find everywhere on the internet.

3.5 stars

Pretty quick read. Not bad but it wasn't one of my favorites. It is worth the read if you just want something fast.

My favorite poem from this collection:
sometimes I miss
the innocence
that comes with
never being burned
how I used to feel
before I realized
I should protect my heart
because not everyone
deserves to know me
how easily
I used to hold my breath
for these boys
before I realized
I'd better be off
trying to breathe
under water
sometimes I miss the old days
but I don't miss who I used to be

I personally enjoyed some of the poems in this collection and was about to write a positive review until I read other people's reviews and know that the author is only fourteen which made me surprised because some poems in this book were something that a teenager as young as her can't even do like drinking alcohol, smoking, etc... So I had to take a star down 'cause she probably just opened Tumblr and searched for "Heartbreak quotes" or "Love quotes" then made a book about it, a teenager couldn't experience such things.

But in the end, we are all picturesque paper dolls,
holding hands and letting go
as we all fall down
into the cacophonies of triturated dreams.

It's been a long time since I've read an original modern poetry book. Most of these modern "poetry" books just write quotes from Pinterest and collect them in a book but this one was different. I've never read these poems anywhere before. Although, I'm removing 2 stars because some of the poems were really hard to understand.

2.5 stars

The book was very repetitive and read like a bunch of sad cliche tweets, not my favorite poetry but if you are new to poetry its an easy read.

3.5 stars

Sweet. Simple. Made me feel a lot of different things.

I know this book is getting so much hate but I liked it because I've been reading really bad poetry books lately that this is how low the bar is for me.

Seems like it's meant to be deep and thought provoking, but in my opinion it's a very basic storyline with little development. Nothing that happened in the book is explained or explicable (I don't think this makes it "mysterious" as some others mentioned, there just doesn't seem to be enough substance to make it worth dissecting). Some also commented that it well describes adolescent life... It really is not as most of main plotline involves actions that don't make sense and are unlikely to happen in real life.

I found the first half not amusing but annoying, the narrator plays with words and zings social media, especially twitter, over and over again. The second half, which deals with a family crisis, feels like an entirely different book. The first half is a fever dream of social media references with no plot. The second half is an absolutely beautiful depiction of the birth, short life and death of a disabled child. I don’t understand how these two parts are meant to fit together. It was really difficult and confusing, one of the most bewildring books I've ever read.