ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

[triggers at the end of review]
[b:A Strangely Wrapped Gift|36436622|A Strangely Wrapped Gift|Emily Byrnes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508362357l/36436622._SY75_.jpg|58137288] is a modern poetry collection that i felt shined a light on a different aspect of mental health and loneliness that hasn't been done much before. the representation of mental illness, heartbreak, queerness, and sexual harassment were takes that have not been explored much, a breath of fresh air was given to the genre with this collection.

i particularly found myself enthralled by the description of the author's feelings and heartbreak, how visual all of it was made to be. with the realistic depiction of mental health issues such as OCD and depression, i could sense the empathy and relatability towards a topic such as those.

all in all, [a:Emily Byrnes|17246302|Emily Byrnes|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] showed us poetry readers a take on modern poetry that is easily accessible as well as expressing points that could be hard to swallow.

trigger warnings: mental health issues, mental illness, OCD, depression, suicidality and suicidal thoughts, sexual harassment, internalized homophobia, outward homophobia, body image issues, eating disorders.