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jayisreading's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This is a collection of affirmations for Filipina Americans in particular, though I think other Asian Americans may find that the words resonate with them. I loved the fierceness and “fuck you” vibe of these poems. These are poems for brown girls who demands more from the world, who is sick and tired of racism and patriarchy, and Reyes is going to be really loud about it.
The structure of these poems wasn’t anything particularly interesting, mostly because I wasn’t expecting these poems to be more like paragraphs than the ideas we normally have of poetry. As a result, I felt that it didn’t read too much like poetry, save the middle section that was an interesting “mixtape” of sorts (considering that they were named after various tracks). I liked the way Reyes played with language, though, especially the switching between Tagalog and English, which really reflects so many Asian Americans’ experiences in an immigrant household.
All things considered, this is a very approachable poetry collection with clear themes for the reader to grasp. And, most importantly, it is a moment to pause and listen to brown girls—specifically Filipina Americans—to have their say.
Some favorites: “Brown Girl Consumed,” “Brown Girl Manifesto: #allpinayeverything,” “Track: ‘A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing),’ Romeo Void (1984).,” “Track: ‘Drop,’ Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions (2001).,” “Track: ‘Blood Moon,’ Low Leaf (2016).,” “Track: ‘Devoted,’ Julie Plug (2001).”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Body shaming and Rape
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