bardic_llama's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
2.25
Some of these are genuinely great poems and some are rather simplistic yet still are well written, but then there's a chunk that are just random sentences strung together. And yea, free verse is a thing—most to all of the poems in this are—but they come across more as ramblings that have nothing to do with each other. Even in terms of imagery and other modes of figurative language. I know this is supposed to be current poets and thus it's going to cover a broad range of topics but I wish there was a certain theme/main topic that all the poems were about. Because a few of the poems I can recall vividly what they're about due to their placement being so jarring. Especially in connection with the poems that came before it instead of what is said in the poem itself.
This collection was not as satisfying to read as I thought it was going to be. That said, I did find a few poets that I want to read more of. So kudos for that.
This collection was not as satisfying to read as I thought it was going to be. That said, I did find a few poets that I want to read more of. So kudos for that.
Content Warnings
From page 205 onward, it's just mini blurbs about all the poets. Not saying you should stop there, cause the questions they ask the poets is interesting compared to other 'about the author' blurbs
xishimmerix's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
ainiali's review against another edition
2.0
Like the title, I had to excuse a lot of poems in this collection. My only fav (much, much better than the rest, in my opinion) are Rape Joke by Patricia Lookwood, Ghost Story by Matthew Dickman, The Wait for Cake by Melissa Broder & Race Change Operation by Thomas Sayers Ellis. The theme of most of the poems are about sex, lust, desire (see the trend?), racism, oppression, bully and abuse(another trend?). I just too tired of reading repetition of teen angst or rebel etc because there are more important issues out there that I need concern myself with.
Some structures of the poems are what my head identified as disconnection. In my defense, I didn't study literature but when I say, "I eat.." then an hour later, I say "..apple", I dont think it will make sense in any way. Or at least to me. When this happened, I had to skip that poem entirely. I dont want to waste my time connecting the story with so few words given and a large gap in between.
krismarley's review against another edition
2.0
Despite some giant waving flags including title and location within public library, somehow how I missed that this book is Young Adult. Now I'll go be sad that I am no longer considered a part of the Next Generation.
2000s's review against another edition
3.75
A great poetry collection for teens, I feel. Super broad thematically and stylistically, but it still felt both serious and youthful enough to appeal to that age group and possibly adults too. Basically a similar experience to reading other poetry anthologies that I've had, where a good handful of the poems fall flat and don't catch my interest at all, while others immediately grab my attention. (New York Boys I Miss Kissing Your Faces In The Backseats of Cabs by Angela Veronica Wong is one of my new short-and-sweet, YA-ish favorites).
david_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
A real mix of styles and themes. The youthful energy in every single one of these shines through. I was not necessarily a huge fan of every single one, but I had some absolute favorites that I found. Not sure that I want to divulge them, to pre-dispose you. Maybe I'll amend this review with my favorites later.
A real bonus in this book is the mini-writeup on every single author in the back. Its like getting a second book. Some serious credentials here! My favorite inspirational part here was each author talking about their favorite/early inspiration.
The book did not have sectioned-themes, so from poem to poem you could really get 'shocked' via the next content/style. Just need to take a breath (anyway) after reading each poem.
A real bonus in this book is the mini-writeup on every single author in the back. Its like getting a second book. Some serious credentials here! My favorite inspirational part here was each author talking about their favorite/early inspiration.
The book did not have sectioned-themes, so from poem to poem you could really get 'shocked' via the next content/style. Just need to take a breath (anyway) after reading each poem.
chelseymarie's review against another edition
3.0
As it turns out, I like the idea of this book more than I liked the book itself. The collection felt really uneven and themeless. While I like a few individual poems. The vast majority felt cold, shallow, or vague.
saeverra's review against another edition
2.0
Survived this book of poetry... but not in a good way. I got about halfway through and couldn't wait to be done. I did not relate to any of the poems and only enjoyed 2/100. When I realized the last 70 pages were just about the poets I kind of sighed with relief... :/
Feel bad for my review, but it is the truth. Not my cup of tea. Far too disjointed collection for me.
Feel bad for my review, but it is the truth. Not my cup of tea. Far too disjointed collection for me.