Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom

A beautiful poetry collection telling the coming of age story of Paro. I learned a lot about partition and the Hindu Gods and Goddesses! Gill remains one of my favorite poets and this collection was a unique one

Content Warnings

smolone13's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Girl and the Goddess is a beautifully written poetry book on a young girl who lives in India. She experiences a number of hardships including being sexually assaulted in a market, to then falling in love only to have her heart crushed by that very same girl, only for her parents to turn around and distance themselves from her before she finally leaves to study abroad in England.

From personal experience, this book was quite heart-breaking but also gave me a sense of hope. I practice witchcraft and have some sense to spirituality as well. I could dream of one day having my own sisterhood along with the hope that my mom will one day turn around to apologize about some of the things she's said and done towards me.

Content Warnings

verysillygoose's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

jennamcclendon's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a stunning book. I annotated it in pencil in my copy, so most of my thoughts for individual poems and stories are in there. There were so many incredible quotes and themes and messages these poems brought. I wasn’t expecting it to be told as a continuous story, but to be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect because I haven’t read a legitimate poetry book before. This one was so unique and empowering and I absolutely loved it.

Everything she wrote about, even though I’m pretty sure Paro was just a character (I’m not sure if it was based on her own life or not), seemed so real. Her work brought to life some of the things that the world is afraid to talk about that can be best conveyed through personal experience, like sexual assault and coming to terms with your femininity and sexuality and the path you want your life to go on. Some of these poems and quotes hit really close to home, which is what poetry is supposed to do to you. Make you feel. I can only hope that my future is as promising and as happy as Paro’s in the end when she is surrounded by her friends/sisters, a boy she likes that likes her, and her family while also being true and honest with herself. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there, but I can hope.

I also loved how religion and Hindu mythology were such a huge part of this book. Paro had a real gift when she was able to communicate with the Gods and Goddesses and heroes and listen to their stories. I learned a lot about the different deities and where they came from and what they stood for and what they had to teach. I may legitimately look back on these stories and poems for advice and quotes in the future. Shikhandi and Kali were probably my favorites and I want to know more about them the most, but I loved them all. Paro’s connection with them and the Tarot they speak through makes me want to grow closer with my divine self (and also makes me want Tarot cards more lol).

This was a book about divinity within yourself, especially the divine feminine and the energy of femininity, and discovering parts of yourself as you live your life. It was incredible to see Paro’s story develop this idea and also read it in such a poetic format. The stories AND THE ILLUSTRATIONS really made this book special. It was such a great read. :)

Content Warnings