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marysia_p's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Chronic illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Bullying
another_average_bibliophile's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Self harm
the_vegan_bookworm's review
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:
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia
bookwormbi's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
this is such a beautifully written book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
julestx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
🖤⚡️🖤 Use caution if you listen to the audiobook while driving. I had to stop a few times to cry from how beautiful and touching these poems are.
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
sara_m_martins's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Child abuse
armontheroad's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Self harm, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, and Transphobia
skudiklier's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Usually when I'm reading an ARC to review, I take a lot of notes while I read, so that no matter what I think of the book I'll have something to say after. While reading You Better Be Lightning, I took three notes during the first couple poems, and then absolutely forgot to take any more for the entire rest of the book. I was just so sucked into the poems that all I could do was read them. There were a couple footnotes I found hilarious that I took screenshots of, but just because I loved them so much, not for the review.
So many of the poems in this book took my breath away, and it was so hard not to share them with any of my friends. I can't wait for this book to come out so that I can tell them to read it.
I didn't love every poem, but I loved most of them, and I loved some of them a lot. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read this book; thank you to Netgalley and Button Poetry for the chance to read and review this ARC.
So many of the poems in this book took my breath away, and it was so hard not to share them with any of my friends. I can't wait for this book to come out so that I can tell them to read it.
I didn't love every poem, but I loved most of them, and I loved some of them a lot. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read this book; thank you to Netgalley and Button Poetry for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
chamomiatea's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with a free e-ARC of You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson, in exchange for review.
I have read and loved two of Andrea Gibson’s other poetry collections, Patsy, and Lord of the Butterflies. I find reading Gibson to be a full body experience. My eyes, whilst simultaneously gobbling up all their delicious words, are also constantly brimming with, and often spilling tears. My mouth, agape, gasping, or laughing. My emotional self, ignited over and over, as the poems wash over me in all their raw realness. My skin, constant goosebumps. Once you read the first poem of this collection, you will know why I felt Andrea must have been snooping around in my brain while writing this collection.
In You Better Be Lightning, Gibson speak on themes of queerness (both gender and sexuality), on climate change, on the beauty of the world, on abuse (yes, I do recommend checking trigger warnings before embarking), on grief, on therapy, and much more. As dark as these topics might seem, you will find humour within these pages, sometimes wry, always sharp. Often just when you need it the most. Gibson’s poems give a tantalisingly intimate peek into their life, their loves, their pain, and their growth and change over the years.
I will admit I am not a big poetry reader, and I think that my ability to connect to Gibson’s work speaks volumes. It is conversational and easy to approach. Gibson is a story-teller. I am never left reading lines over and over trying to figure out what they even mean, like I find I am when I try to read some styles of poetry. Don’t get me wrong, I read the lines over and over, but it’s because I love them and want to absorb them into me.
I especially love Gibson’s use of language. Their wordplay has always delighted me, the way they use homonyms and spin them into fantastic metaphors and imagery. Their craft and skill is tremendous.
You Better Be Lightning is Andrea Gibson at their best. Raw, relatable, emotional, fierce, beautiful, and with a delightful spark of humour. I whole-heartedly recommend this collection, and I can’t wait to get the chance to recommend this to my library patrons once released.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
doomluz's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I won an ARC on Goodreads. Thanks Button Poetry!
I love Andrea’s voice and style. I used to watch their videos on YouTube and read their book Lord of the Butterflies a few months ago. These are beautiful, honest poems. Some of the topics in these poems overlap with poems in Lord of the Butterflies, but bring a different perspective.
I love Andrea’s voice and style. I used to watch their videos on YouTube and read their book Lord of the Butterflies a few months ago. These are beautiful, honest poems. Some of the topics in these poems overlap with poems in Lord of the Butterflies, but bring a different perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Blood
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