samanthaisonline's review
3.0
I didn't love this poetry book. I loved the themes, the messages, and some of the poems. But I did not love this book.
Lines like "My Sunday school teacher thinks we've forgotten God is a murderer" and "I return to the Devil asking permission to torment. I can't overlook God saying yes" are lines that have stuck in my head for days.
Most of the poems at the beginning and the end are stunning. But the ones in the middle all mush together. If it wasn't for them, this would probably be a 4 star review.
Overall, it was an interesting poetry book but not one I'm going to read again.
(Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
Lines like "My Sunday school teacher thinks we've forgotten God is a murderer" and "I return to the Devil asking permission to torment. I can't overlook God saying yes" are lines that have stuck in my head for days.
Most of the poems at the beginning and the end are stunning. But the ones in the middle all mush together. If it wasn't for them, this would probably be a 4 star review.
Overall, it was an interesting poetry book but not one I'm going to read again.
(Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
pinkzebrareads's review
3.0
Honestly when I started this book I wasn’t sure how much I was going to enjoy it. It’s one of very few that I’ve read in this genre and I realized I’m not as religious as I was before. The writing was beautiful though and I kept reading even though I felt some of it was provocative. I would recommend it to a mature audience that’s very religious.
andrealianne's review
5.0
should be required reading for all former church kids. I am blown away. Raych Jackson weaves together Christianity, Black womanhood, depression, grief, and familial relationships to create a beautiful collection. The story of Job is dissected. The concept of sin is meditated on. Traditional hymns are turned into erasures. The pain and confusion of coming of age in a suppressed environment where a girl's purity is more valued than her inquisitiveness and sadness rings so clear and bittersweet. I can't wait to read what Raych Jackson writes next.
"I sin & misery wanders
into my home. I get saved
& it never leaves."
(from "After church she gets high again")
"Is it even my body if I am made in his image?"
(from "Jonah was trapped before he met the fish")
"I sin & misery wanders
into my home. I get saved
& it never leaves."
(from "After church she gets high again")
"Is it even my body if I am made in his image?"
(from "Jonah was trapped before he met the fish")
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