skudiklier's Reviews (647)

I loved this book so much! It's so charming and entertaining, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters. This book balances so many things so well, and I'm very glad I got to read it. I hope there's a sequel soon! (Note: I'm only saying that because the author said he might write more; the ending is entirely complete and satisfactory.)

This book is absolutely gorgeous! Diane's poetry is so beautiful, funny, and heartwrenching, and this book flows so well. The collection is also so aesthetically pleasing; beyond having a stunning cover, there are cute illustrations* along with some poems, and some pages are black with white ink, things like that. It all fits together so well.
*I feel the need to admit that one of them is by me, but I'm talking about all the rest of them haha

This book was very enjoyable! It took me a while to get into it, and to figure out who to care about and all that jazz. But once I did I sped through the rest of the book, and was pleasantly surprised by the twists and ending and all that. Nothing could compare to Pride and Prejudice of course, but I definitely liked this book

This book was so beautiful! Liza Rose is so good at carrying metaphors throughout her poems and making them feel new and original every time. I'm so glad I got to read this book. 

Kate Baer's poetry is phenomenal. I read this in one sitting and I want to tell every woman I know to read this book--but also everyone else too. There are lines from this collection that will stay with me forever. 

Rather than a review, I think I will just give a complete list of the things I wrote down while reading this book (which, for context, I borrowed from the library, as an ebook). (Also, please note that these were not my only reactions to the book--they were just the ones I wrote down here. I also took many screenshots of bits that were too long to write as quotes, or I wanted to remember for other reasons.)

"We both know quite well that it is risky to reveal oneself, but I am compelled to do it."

"I Died: Listening" is absolutely brilliant, it made me ache and laugh and become so frustrated at the world. But then it was followed by "Beach Animals," a beautiful perfect tribute to female friendship, and I was so so grateful for that. "Beach Animals" ends with "What if I could always be a little bit naked, a little bit kissing everything, an unplundered trove of my own love?"

"Nice Things to Do for Tipping Yourself Toward Gentleness and Simple Joy": I wish I owned a copy of this book just so I could save that list for later use.

poem idea: write a poem after her many "I Died" pieces, and/or a eulogy for myself.

"I am so tuned to being alive that if you touch me it makes music."

"and I was new and I was shy and so of course I was also very brave."

"To Norway" is one of my favorite things ever. Also "Important Questions"--that one is basically a list poem. 

"The Code of Hammurabi": "There was a start and so there can be an end."

Halfway through "Kinship": I think I want to own a copy of this book. A lot of it feels like poetry and like things I wish I had written and I think if I read bits and pieces of it later it could inspire my writing. And also just my life in general. I really like a lot of this book. 

"Night Treats for Her": ugh I love this book so much. This is the poetic prose after of the Mountain Goats's "Jam Eater Blues" I never could write but always wanted to. 

She keeps writing things like "When I am in my morning," and I really like that. Right now is my afternoon but it is not everyone's, right now is some people's night and some people's morning. It's not "the" anything. 

"where you would be yourself and I could be anyone because it is the future"

She writes kind of like Junie B. Jones, like a child, but in this lovely way that makes me so happy and also I think I would have trouble replicating if I tried. Like, it's very simple, but in a perfect way that seems both intentional and natural to her. I really love it. I can understand how someone else might not, I can understand how someone might find this book stupid or silly or cringey, but I love it a lot. 

"I can never take away the color of the feeling. Yellow is yellow so what are you going to do with it?" 

I cried so hard and so much during "I Died: Bronze Tree." It took me so long to read because I kept crying so much I had to take breaks. And then I assumed it would be the end of the book and the noise I made when I just was supposed to move on to a new chapter? That broke me. I cried a ridiculous amount (and it's the only time I've cried in this whole book so far). 

"Blue Hour" is another one that makes me want to own a copy of this book so I can reference it later. 

I've been hearing everyone rave about this book for a long time, and now I finally get it. I'm honestly speechless, I can't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound hollow. Just, these poems are very very good. You should read them.