managedbybooks's review
[Dis]Connected presents poems and short stories about connection wrapped up in a most unique exercise in creative writing. Follow along as your favorite poets connect with each other; offering their poetry to the next person who tells a story based on the concept presented to them. With poetry, stories, and art, this is a one-of-a-kind presentation of connection and collaboration by Alicia Cook, Tyler Knott Gregson, Courtney Peppernell, Noah Milligan, Komal Kapoor, N.L. Shompole, Caitlyn Siehl, K.Y. Robinson, Raquel Franco, and Wilder Poetry.
A very moving collection, overall!
*received from NetGalley in exchange for review*
A very moving collection, overall!
*received from NetGalley in exchange for review*
ijustkindalikebooks's review
5.0
This highly-anticipated second volume of poetry and short stories combines the forces of some of the most popular poets of 2019.
I love this series of books. How one writer can create an idea, and then another to come along read that idea and make something new from it makes for somerthing great and this book is certainly proof, straight from the beginning of the book. ‘Strangers Tomorrow’ by NL Shompole, will break your heart. Inspired by the work of Gregson before her in this book this story takes science fiction into how to deal with grief exquisitely and makes for a marvel in this book.
In combination with these stories, we have poems that connect the stories, taking lines from the poem to create the story. Poems by Noah Milligan like ‘Ghost Stories’ in this book are harrowing but important and make for perfect stops in between these stories. Jumping from ‘Ghost Stories’ we have ‘Ghosted’ which is the most honest and raw and tragic love story that just ends so well and I love it for it and thougn the two are so very different the way they use words to connect the two is done so well.
A book I asked for due to my love of the work of Tyler Knott Gregson, this book has opened my eyes to a whole new range of talented poets who I need to go and look up as soon as possible. If you love poems and like having your heartbroken in a literary sense, this is the book for you. Even the recommendations at the end of the book - Jade Homa’s ‘Athena’ at the back is a little treasure that ends this book beautifully.
(I received an ARC from Netgalley for review, thanks Netgalley, you did good!).
I love this series of books. How one writer can create an idea, and then another to come along read that idea and make something new from it makes for somerthing great and this book is certainly proof, straight from the beginning of the book. ‘Strangers Tomorrow’ by NL Shompole, will break your heart. Inspired by the work of Gregson before her in this book this story takes science fiction into how to deal with grief exquisitely and makes for a marvel in this book.
In combination with these stories, we have poems that connect the stories, taking lines from the poem to create the story. Poems by Noah Milligan like ‘Ghost Stories’ in this book are harrowing but important and make for perfect stops in between these stories. Jumping from ‘Ghost Stories’ we have ‘Ghosted’ which is the most honest and raw and tragic love story that just ends so well and I love it for it and thougn the two are so very different the way they use words to connect the two is done so well.
A book I asked for due to my love of the work of Tyler Knott Gregson, this book has opened my eyes to a whole new range of talented poets who I need to go and look up as soon as possible. If you love poems and like having your heartbroken in a literary sense, this is the book for you. Even the recommendations at the end of the book - Jade Homa’s ‘Athena’ at the back is a little treasure that ends this book beautifully.
(I received an ARC from Netgalley for review, thanks Netgalley, you did good!).
alisonannk's review
5.0
I absolutely loved the premise of this book. The way the poems and stories connected from one author/poet to another was brilliant and it made the whole book feel cohesive rather than a disjointed collection of distinct projects.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this fabulous ARC.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this fabulous ARC.
krys_and_books's review
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
[Dis]connected is chock-full of talented writers and is an interesting premise. Each of the authors writes a poem and a short story, the caveat is the short story is connected to the poem (by a different writer) before it. It’s really interesting and fun to see how each writer took the poem given to them and put their spin on what it meant or what it inspired them to write. This is such a fascinating writing experiment and I love how it turned out. I’m not familiar with all the names that were a part of this but I’ll definitely be adding them to my list of writers to keep an eye out for.
Overall I felt most of the stories had a very melancholy feel to them but the feelings were so real and deep and I may not have necessarily connected with them all I still felt them very deeply.
Definitely recommend to anyone looking to dip their toes in modern poetry and want to see what is on offer.
***
[Dis]connected is chock-full of talented writers and is an interesting premise. Each of the authors writes a poem and a short story, the caveat is the short story is connected to the poem (by a different writer) before it. It’s really interesting and fun to see how each writer took the poem given to them and put their spin on what it meant or what it inspired them to write. This is such a fascinating writing experiment and I love how it turned out. I’m not familiar with all the names that were a part of this but I’ll definitely be adding them to my list of writers to keep an eye out for.
Overall I felt most of the stories had a very melancholy feel to them but the feelings were so real and deep and I may not have necessarily connected with them all I still felt them very deeply.
Definitely recommend to anyone looking to dip their toes in modern poetry and want to see what is on offer.
teri_b's review against another edition
4.0
Refreshing.
This is the word that comes to mind once I have finished reading the poems and short stories contained within this book.
Are they connected? Disconnected? They are and they are not. At some point I felt like the stories I had read at that point were each so far apart from each other than possibly could be. But then, in the end, it is all about human experience, how it hits us and how we deal with it depending on where we stand, where we are coming from, where we are headed towards.
Quite a few of the short stories shared deal with grief, loss, death. They also talk about relationships, of family, mother, father, parents, siblings, lovers, grand parents, friends. There is such a wide variety of relating to each other. With quite a few of the short stories I came across life experience I never had thought about before, and that means widening my own horizon of understanding, and for that I love these stories.
As I am currently looking to find a way to read more poetry and getting into reading short stories, this book was fantastic. I loved all the poems I found there and certainly will check the authors further out, short bibliographies can be found at the end of the book. As regards the short stories, some were okay, some really gripped me and drew me right in, left me nearly breathless until I made it to the end.
This review refers to an eARC I received from the publisher via Netgalley in return of an honest review.
This is the word that comes to mind once I have finished reading the poems and short stories contained within this book.
Are they connected? Disconnected? They are and they are not. At some point I felt like the stories I had read at that point were each so far apart from each other than possibly could be. But then, in the end, it is all about human experience, how it hits us and how we deal with it depending on where we stand, where we are coming from, where we are headed towards.
Quite a few of the short stories shared deal with grief, loss, death. They also talk about relationships, of family, mother, father, parents, siblings, lovers, grand parents, friends. There is such a wide variety of relating to each other. With quite a few of the short stories I came across life experience I never had thought about before, and that means widening my own horizon of understanding, and for that I love these stories.
As I am currently looking to find a way to read more poetry and getting into reading short stories, this book was fantastic. I loved all the poems I found there and certainly will check the authors further out, short bibliographies can be found at the end of the book. As regards the short stories, some were okay, some really gripped me and drew me right in, left me nearly breathless until I made it to the end.
This review refers to an eARC I received from the publisher via Netgalley in return of an honest review.
jessicacwrites's review
4.0
I don't read many anthologies, so when I went into this one, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was so pleasantly surprised. The first story really took me away to another world, and the rest of the stories after kept me there. I was so entranced by each and every story- they all had so much pain, so much emotion behind them. A couple of them felt a little too similar to me, which is why I knocked off a star, but overall it was incredibly beautiful.
I've actually never read any prose by poets whose work I've read before, so I really loved the concept for this collection. I am very familiar with many of the poets in this, so it was exciting to see their writing in another form. I definitely want to read the first volume of this now- it has really grabbed my attention.
The stories are all very dark- many are about death/grief, addiction, familial relationships, and more. I am personally a HUGE fan of books that deal with deep, emotional subject matter, but be wary when going into this. Some topics may be triggering.
Overall, if you're a fan of beautiful, flowery, poetic writing, this one is a must.
I've actually never read any prose by poets whose work I've read before, so I really loved the concept for this collection. I am very familiar with many of the poets in this, so it was exciting to see their writing in another form. I definitely want to read the first volume of this now- it has really grabbed my attention.
The stories are all very dark- many are about death/grief, addiction, familial relationships, and more. I am personally a HUGE fan of books that deal with deep, emotional subject matter, but be wary when going into this. Some topics may be triggering.
Overall, if you're a fan of beautiful, flowery, poetic writing, this one is a must.
booksrbrainfood's review
4.0
This was my first time reading one of these collections of short stories and poetry from different authors that was put together in this way. I completely enjoyed the premise behind this project and will need to go back and find Volume 1. There were some stories that I connected with more than others, but I think, as with any collection of stories, that is part of the point. They are meant to have a general them but not necessarily speak to each person in the same way.
And that new cover is gorgeous!
Thank you for the early copy. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys short story collections.
#Disconnected #NetGalley #CentralAvenuePublishing
And that new cover is gorgeous!
Thank you for the early copy. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys short story collections.
#Disconnected #NetGalley #CentralAvenuePublishing
thousand_page_dreams's review against another edition
4.0
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally published on my blog, Megan Reads.
https://megansreviewingjourney.tumblr.com
One afternoon at school, I played a game with my friends: one person would write a poem and the next person had to add to it. It was fun to see our different styles and interpretations. This anthology is somewhat similar. In [Dis]connected, each of the ten authors write a poem and another author writes a story based on it.
I liked this collection, though I think the latter half of the short stories was superior.
“Wrapped in Distance” by Komal Kapoor is the crown jewel of this anthology. The protagonist is relatable and dynamic.
I like the writing style of the majority of the poems and prose. Most of the protagonists are interesting. There’s a variety of genres here, from fantasy to magical realism to romance. Since part of the fun of anthology is not knowing what comes next, I won’t discuss the plot of any story in particular. But some of the themes include grief, gender roles, and disillusionment.
A few stories resemble first chapters of books. These feel incomplete because there’s no resolution or growth at the end. Interesting concepts and characters are squandered.
The weakest story of the collection is “What the Wild Gave Me” by Wilder. None of the characters are interesting. Despite the short length, this story dragged because of slow pacing and pointless scenes. The protagonist’s realization at the end of the story comes out of the blue, because her motivations are vague.
As a content warning, the story “Make Choices a Bit Crooked” by Noah Milligan contains a lengthy, detailed description of a medical procedure gone wrong.
Despite a few weaker offerings, the rest of the stories are of a high caliber. I recommend this anthology.
This review was originally published on my blog, Megan Reads.
https://megansreviewingjourney.tumblr.com
One afternoon at school, I played a game with my friends: one person would write a poem and the next person had to add to it. It was fun to see our different styles and interpretations. This anthology is somewhat similar. In [Dis]connected, each of the ten authors write a poem and another author writes a story based on it.
I liked this collection, though I think the latter half of the short stories was superior.
“Wrapped in Distance” by Komal Kapoor is the crown jewel of this anthology. The protagonist is relatable and dynamic.
I like the writing style of the majority of the poems and prose. Most of the protagonists are interesting. There’s a variety of genres here, from fantasy to magical realism to romance. Since part of the fun of anthology is not knowing what comes next, I won’t discuss the plot of any story in particular. But some of the themes include grief, gender roles, and disillusionment.
A few stories resemble first chapters of books. These feel incomplete because there’s no resolution or growth at the end. Interesting concepts and characters are squandered.
The weakest story of the collection is “What the Wild Gave Me” by Wilder. None of the characters are interesting. Despite the short length, this story dragged because of slow pacing and pointless scenes. The protagonist’s realization at the end of the story comes out of the blue, because her motivations are vague.
As a content warning, the story “Make Choices a Bit Crooked” by Noah Milligan contains a lengthy, detailed description of a medical procedure gone wrong.
Despite a few weaker offerings, the rest of the stories are of a high caliber. I recommend this anthology.
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