Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson

11 reviews

marysia_p's review

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emotional hopeful reflective

4.5


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breanneporter's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

Andrea Gibson is awesome. I fell for them and their partner Megan after hearing them on Glennon Doyle’s We Can Do Hard Things podcast and I’m so glad to have read more of their work in You Better Be Lightning. My favorite poems in the collection are: 
Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps
Every Time I Ever Said I Want to Die 
What Love Is
The Day Prince Died
My Gender is the Undoing of Gender
The Night Shift
Love Letter to the Tick that Got Me Sick 
The Test of Time
See This Through 

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the_vegan_bookworm's review

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emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

Another beautiful poetry collection from Andrea Gibson. As always, their work strikes a chord deep within me and pulls my feelings out into the open. Andrea is incredibly vulnerable and raw in the most moving way. 

Some particular favourites include:
  • Acceptance speech after setting the world record in goosebumps
  • Time piece
  • Queer youth are five times more likely to die by suicide
  • No such thing as the innocent bystander
  • To whom it definitely concerns
  • Every time i ever said I want to die
  • What can't be taken
  • Wellness check
  • What you wish you'd said to the high school guidance counselor
  • What sucks about the afterlife

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riverestyx's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Andrea knocks it out of the park yet again with their most recent collection. These poems made me cry while I read them in public but also gave me hope at the same time. I always will recommend Andrea's work but this one feels especially special. There is also something very special about being a queer person from a small town in Maine reading pages full of love and hope from another queer person from a small town in Maine.

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smallish_bird's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

"There is no escaping the magic now.
Beauty caught me and never let me go." - Acceptance Speech After Setting The World Record in Goosebumps by A. Gibson 

A lovely collection of personal poetry/prose meant to inspire hope.

There is so much love, introspection, and beauty in this book; compassionate nuance is foundational to to Gibson's writing. I'm in awe of their metaphors, the creative ways they frame the complex and mundanity. Their work is concise and clearly communicated, and it's a joy to reflect upon. 

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bookwormbi's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

this is such a beautifully written book. 

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rriverr's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

i just really love andrea 😭 <3333

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sara_m_martins's review

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

I can always trust Button Poetry to publish incredible collections and this one is no different!
I knew Andrea Gibson's material, as I often watch their performances on Button Poetry's YouTube channel, but this collection is too great not to amaze.
A few went over my head or weren't for me, but I think every single one is incredibly good and for 99% of them I felt deeply moved.
While I think there's a particular soft spot that will hit queer people more squarely, this collection talks about all types of love and, thus, i think all people could benefit from it. 

when I say god - I mean everyone
down here who understands why
when I get to heaven,

I will refuse to call it heaven
if the pople I love
(who put me through hell)

aren't there.



I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC. 

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moonyreadsbystarlight's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad

5.0

 Andrea Gibson has put out another heartbreaking, heartmending collection. While this collection hits on many topics, with each peice, this digs deep into love -- not just romance, but the love you put out to the world, love of people, family, friends, learning to love yourself, love in the face of some of the hardest things. This is another brilliant poetry collection that I know I will continue to revisit. 

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armontheroad's review

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emotional funny

4.0

TW/CWs: Sexual assault, rape, self-harm, depression, chronic illness, homophobia, transphobia, etc.

Very appreciative to have received an E-ARC from Button Poetry through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Immediately after finishing this, I went online to watch Andrea Gibson performing their poems live. My god, they are such a talented poet!! The wordplay is immaculate. A lot of these poems discuss hard topics, but it’s done brilliantly. Gibson knows just when to throw humor into their pieces, when to cut things short, and when to run with their point. With discussions on climate change, space, politics, transness, queerness, chronic illness, and being a rape survivor, this collection is unbelievably moving and deeply personal. 


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