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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Book TWs: Eating disorders, trauma, sexism, abuse, self-harm, sexual assault, and more?
I read Lovelace's previous book and was turned off by her lack of lyrical writing especially from a poetry book. However, I decided to give it another chance since it'd been a few years and maybe she's grown as a writer. But not really honestly. There are a few literary gems in here, don't get me wrong, but they were muddled in with "Instagram poetry" per se.
Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:
"You're the only one who has to live with it, so you're the only one who has to be happy with it."
"She hates the thought of settling down with one person right now, and they tell her that makes her far less valuable-a lock with too many keys."
"'Women can't rule; / they're far too emotional' / But isn't it about time someone actually cared?"
"Embody the heroine you needed when you were a child, but don't forget to embody the heroine you need now, too."
And now that I look back, those are probably all the excerpts I really enjoyed. The poem tackled a lot of important issues, of course, however, it somehow managed to stay surface level the entire time. it simply felt like she was typing a deep Instagram caption and added some spaces.
That doesn't mean I hated the book though, because I really didn't. There were some redeemable qualities. For instance, to accompany the poetry there were beautiful illustrations that tied well with the book. Some possessed such symbolism that I wish was prevalent in more of the actual poetry. The format itself was also pretty unique. It started off sectioned by "little sister" with the "older sister" responding. I really liked it, but it stopped a third through the book, which I found odd.
Another odd thing is that the advice the "big sister" gave often contradicted itself. In one instance, the younger sister asked for a boyfriend, then the literal next page talked about how she didn't need it. I understand character growth, but this is ONE PAGE. I refer to them as characters because in the preface of the book Lovelace described them as such.
Overall, I don't know. It had good messages but honestly not the lyricalness nor figurative language to support it sufficiently.
I read Lovelace's previous book and was turned off by her lack of lyrical writing especially from a poetry book. However, I decided to give it another chance since it'd been a few years and maybe she's grown as a writer. But not really honestly. There are a few literary gems in here, don't get me wrong, but they were muddled in with "Instagram poetry" per se.
Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:
"You're the only one who has to live with it, so you're the only one who has to be happy with it."
"She hates the thought of settling down with one person right now, and they tell her that makes her far less valuable-a lock with too many keys."
"'Women can't rule; / they're far too emotional' / But isn't it about time someone actually cared?"
"Embody the heroine you needed when you were a child, but don't forget to embody the heroine you need now, too."
And now that I look back, those are probably all the excerpts I really enjoyed. The poem tackled a lot of important issues, of course, however, it somehow managed to stay surface level the entire time. it simply felt like she was typing a deep Instagram caption and added some spaces.
That doesn't mean I hated the book though, because I really didn't. There were some redeemable qualities. For instance, to accompany the poetry there were beautiful illustrations that tied well with the book. Some possessed such symbolism that I wish was prevalent in more of the actual poetry. The format itself was also pretty unique. It started off sectioned by "little sister" with the "older sister" responding. I really liked it, but it stopped a third through the book, which I found odd.
Another odd thing is that the advice the "big sister" gave often contradicted itself. In one instance, the younger sister asked for a boyfriend, then the literal next page talked about how she didn't need it. I understand character growth, but this is ONE PAGE. I refer to them as characters because in the preface of the book Lovelace described them as such.
Overall, I don't know. It had good messages but honestly not the lyricalness nor figurative language to support it sufficiently.
fast-paced
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
The latest installment in Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collection, shine your icy crown, is absolutely stunning. The collection glitters with beautiful art, short and sweet poems, and an elegant balance between the voice of a younger vs bigger sister. I like that you can really interpret the voice of the big sister however you want: a friend, sister, kind inner voice? My favorite poems were the ones which encouraged bravery, kindness (to yourself and others), and independence. This would be an excellent collection for someone looking to learn more about poetry or for a Lovelace fan. Shine your icy crown releases on January 26, 2021. Thank you to Amanda Lovelace, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Sometimes a book comes into your life at just the right moment. Amanda Lovelace's The Princess Saves Herself in This One was one such book for me. I've deeply enjoyed and connected with a half dozen of her books since then, but they didn't quite reach that same level for me personally. Shine Your Icy Crown makes for the second of Lovelace's books that came to me at just the right moment, that I've connected to in that way.
The first section of the book alternates between poems that serve as a big sister speaking advice to a little sister, and poems that serve as the struggle the little sister is going through. The poems about struggle are ones that I connected with and made me wish I had a big sister to give me advice when I was going through those struggles. The poems from the big sister are ones I identified with, and they shared everything I've wanted to tell my own little sister but never had the words. I'm not sure I've ever gifted a book of poetry to anyone before, but I want my sister to have this one. The second section of the book makes a lot of powerful feminist statements that I think all of us need to hear every now and then. The third section gives a happy ending to the fairytale throughout.
Shine Your Icy Crown will be yet another book from Amanda Lovelace that I treasure and hold dear to my heart. It came to me just when I really needed it, and I'm grateful to have had the chance to experience it.
The first section of the book alternates between poems that serve as a big sister speaking advice to a little sister, and poems that serve as the struggle the little sister is going through. The poems about struggle are ones that I connected with and made me wish I had a big sister to give me advice when I was going through those struggles. The poems from the big sister are ones I identified with, and they shared everything I've wanted to tell my own little sister but never had the words. I'm not sure I've ever gifted a book of poetry to anyone before, but I want my sister to have this one. The second section of the book makes a lot of powerful feminist statements that I think all of us need to hear every now and then. The third section gives a happy ending to the fairytale throughout.
Shine Your Icy Crown will be yet another book from Amanda Lovelace that I treasure and hold dear to my heart. It came to me just when I really needed it, and I'm grateful to have had the chance to experience it.
Shine your Icy Crown centers around themes of sisterhood, feminism, and finding and loving yourself. Many of the points Lovelace makes are important and I think the advice in this book could be very helpful to many young girls especially in the age of social media and the internet. However, this book didn't feel like it was a poetry book. Like many of Lovelace's books, they seem to be more about sending a message and giving advice.