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perth_is's review
2.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
shadow_cat94's review against another edition
2.5
It travels from her childhood through adulthood touching between romanti relationships, family dynamics, traumatic experiences, drug abuse from friends and partners, and the impacts of fame to sum up some of the overarching subjects. Please check the triggers before deciding to read this book if you struggle with any heavy topics.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Blood, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
its_hay's review
3.0
I do have to mention that Halsey's poetry is NOT bad; she's close to good but needs a guiding hand. She paints intense imagery that can be beautiful and also terrifying. The strongest poem is "The Lighthouse" (which is entirely different from the song of the same name).
The issue is that she falls into treating poetry like a song with the very apparent rhyming and the rhythm/flow of it would be more impactful if heard aloud versus read. I've even found bits of lyrics from later albums in here. While rhyming in poetry is not a bad thing, her approach seems like these were songs she left unfinished/untouched. It felt like she handed those bits off to a publishing house and they didn't bother to guide her with editing.
This is far better than some of the other more mainstream poetry I've read just on the power of imagery alone. However, it also is an example of how just because you can write for one medium pretty well that it doesn't necessarily mean that skill will transfer to another at the same caliber.
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Abortion
cassiecraycray's review
4.0
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion
pand_books's review
2.0
- while Halsey does bring up important topics that are personal to her, - feminism, abortion, abusive relationships, etc. - the execution of these topics is not the best.
- the ideas for these poems are great...
- ... but they could do with stronger imagery, more self-reflection, fewer fluff/cutting of lines, more thoughtful line breaks, and more unique use of diction.
- these poems, unfortunately, read like first drafts. I know that's a harsh critique (and my apologies to the poet) but I see the potential there. With some more editing, I could see these poems being stronger and getting their point across in a more impactful way.
- the poet tells us directly in lines and even in the title what the poem is "about" as if we may not get the message. instead of showing us what the poem is "about," letting the reader piece it together with the elements used throughout the poem, the poet jumps the gun and tells the reader outright - perhaps there isn't enough imagery or poetic devices for the reader to see the message.
- lots of use of cliche metaphors and similies.
- cannot get over the lines: "But my head down / on a mattress / famous actress / and she skrrrt'n me" (American Woman, 64).
While I gave this two stars, which I rarely do, there are a few select poems worth reading from this collection. The two stars are because so much was lacking from the collection as a whole.
Poems worth reading from this collection:
- The Professional
- Lullabye
- The Painter
- Fun Girl
- The Cave
Graphic: Sexual violence and Abortion
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
fadeddpages's review
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Alcohol
pagesofnectar's review
4.0
You wish to burn alive
in the flame of a love unrequited.
It's simple.
Write.
Sooo, let's say this is maybe an actual 3.5, since that's more representative of the percentage of poems I liked, but I rounded it up to a 4, because:
- I'm a nice person
- you know what, I'm not at all ashamed to say that I had a great time with this poetry collection!
A big part of the poems read a bit too much like songs for my taste as if she couldn't release all of them as songs and put them into this poetry collection instead!
Overall a very pleasant reading experience, with quite a few lyrics that I appreciated a lot!
Has my heart,
once so full of love,
finally drained itself like a yellow raisin?
Will the children begin to notice?
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Infertility, Abortion, and Alcohol
earlydecember's review
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion
caitcosentino's review against another edition
3.25
Favorites were:
Battles
Tongue twister
Homemaker
Inventory
It's cool to see the relation between these poems and the lyrics on her Manic album.
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Rape, and Abortion
robyn_fenix's review
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, and Pedophilia
Minor: Mental illness, Blood, and Abortion