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mezzythedragon's review against another edition
3.0
Some of my favorite lines:
“That fabled Filipina hospitality, so much giving unto others until you are shoeless, penniless, mute, and hollowed out. Hija, you ain’t Jesus, multiplying fishes and loaves.”
“5. Some say it is bourgeois privilege for the battleground to be the page.
6. I think the page could be one weapon in our armories.”
“65. Let there be no shame in being imperfect.”
“That fabled Filipina hospitality, so much giving unto others until you are shoeless, penniless, mute, and hollowed out. Hija, you ain’t Jesus, multiplying fishes and loaves.”
“5. Some say it is bourgeois privilege for the battleground to be the page.
6. I think the page could be one weapon in our armories.”
“65. Let there be no shame in being imperfect.”
poetloz's review
5.0
This book is my auntie, the one I love to sit next to at family gatherings because everyone must greet her with respect and listen to her biting wisdom. If you are sitting next to her after our relatives continue on to the party, you can listen to her stories and backstories, and her biting wisdom becomes hard truth. It's a scary form of magic.
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
pilipinxpages's review
5.0
This is poetry I read to uplift myself, to enrage myself, to see myself and I keep returning to this book ever so often just to pick up on the electric verses in this collection. Fantastic!
unconventionalbliss's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
baeareabookworm's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
“Do you know yourself pinay? Do you name yourself, Pinay? This name was made here, born here, American as you, your SPAM cans, and your balikbayan boxes. American as the jeepney. American as your father’s favorite Applebee’s on Farewell in Fremont. Do you cringe when your people don’t translate—have you googled “cultural cringe”? I fucking hate that term. Do you know that prego commercial daughter, pleading, “English please,” for her white lover, at a table full of titas and pinsans? That fabled Filipina hospitality, so much giving unto others until you are shoeless, penniless, mute, and hollowed out. Hija, you ain’t Jesus multiplying fishes and loaves.”
Letters To a Young Brown Girl was so raw, unapologetic and beautifully said. The fact that she mentions my hometown born and raised in Daly City gave me heart palpitations lol. I was so elated and hyped to see us on the map. I don’t see that too often and I love how the author is from the Bay Area. I felt connected to her poetry especially the last four pages of the book speaking on her father’s art pieces and having no shame in being incomplete. I simply love that, and her words are spellbinding. I highly recommend.
“The brown girl of these poems is fed up with being shushed, with being constantly told how foreign and unattractive and unwanted she is. She’s flipping tables and throwing chairs. Shes raising her voice. Reyes exposes the sensitive nerve-endings of life under Patriarchy as a visible immigrant woman of color reaching towards her unflinching center.”
Letters To a Young Brown Girl was so raw, unapologetic and beautifully said. The fact that she mentions my hometown born and raised in Daly City gave me heart palpitations lol. I was so elated and hyped to see us on the map. I don’t see that too often and I love how the author is from the Bay Area. I felt connected to her poetry especially the last four pages of the book speaking on her father’s art pieces and having no shame in being incomplete. I simply love that, and her words are spellbinding. I highly recommend.
“The brown girl of these poems is fed up with being shushed, with being constantly told how foreign and unattractive and unwanted she is. She’s flipping tables and throwing chairs. Shes raising her voice. Reyes exposes the sensitive nerve-endings of life under Patriarchy as a visible immigrant woman of color reaching towards her unflinching center.”
pilartyping's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
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