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A review by dsnake1
Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota by Amelia Gorman
5.0
Netgalley and the publisher, Interstellar Flight Press provided a copy of this collection.
Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota is a near-future poetry collection, set roughly 20 years from now in a world where our climate has gotten worse and the invasive species currently living in Minnesota have also gotten worse. Said invasive species have been mutated via pollution and climate change, adding eye stalks to carp amongst other things. The poems do a good job of showing the general sense of dread, as ice becomes rare to see, turtles grow fur, and the planet is irrevocably changed in a short time.
There are also illustrations, one for each poem, and they match really well. They're done in a traditional field guide style, and combined with the style of some of the poetry, it really gives off the field guide vibes inspired by the title and cover.
The collection is also really well put together. The beginning two thirds of the poems are solid poems, and one of my favorites, Garlic Mustard, falls in that chunk, but each poem builds on the last. When we get to the last third, the poems get really special. These are the strongest in the collection, and the back seven are poems I'll revisit, even if I'm not reading the full collection.
At this point, I've read the collection twice, and it definitely came through more cohesively the second time, but I'm not sure if that's because I know more about the setting or if it's my current state of mind.
If you're looking for an interesting, SFF poetry collection, this is a good bet. It's short, it's sweet, and near-future climate change SFF is a great setting for a poetry collection.
Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota is a near-future poetry collection, set roughly 20 years from now in a world where our climate has gotten worse and the invasive species currently living in Minnesota have also gotten worse. Said invasive species have been mutated via pollution and climate change, adding eye stalks to carp amongst other things. The poems do a good job of showing the general sense of dread, as ice becomes rare to see, turtles grow fur, and the planet is irrevocably changed in a short time.
There are also illustrations, one for each poem, and they match really well. They're done in a traditional field guide style, and combined with the style of some of the poetry, it really gives off the field guide vibes inspired by the title and cover.
The collection is also really well put together. The beginning two thirds of the poems are solid poems, and one of my favorites, Garlic Mustard, falls in that chunk, but each poem builds on the last. When we get to the last third, the poems get really special. These are the strongest in the collection, and the back seven are poems I'll revisit, even if I'm not reading the full collection.
At this point, I've read the collection twice, and it definitely came through more cohesively the second time, but I'm not sure if that's because I know more about the setting or if it's my current state of mind.
If you're looking for an interesting, SFF poetry collection, this is a good bet. It's short, it's sweet, and near-future climate change SFF is a great setting for a poetry collection.