Pretty Boys Are Poisonous by Megan Fox

Pretty Boys Are Poisonous

by Megan Fox

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A glimpse to the person behind the glamour and drama . . . you get a real sense of the beating soul of Megan Fox'
Glamour

'A wry and moody meditation on sadness and heartbreak' ― Vogue

'[Fox] opens up in poetic detail and remarkable honesty about the hardest times in her life' ― Good Morning America

'Not an expose, but rather a message to other women about speaking up' ― USA Today


Megan Fox showcases her wicked humour throughout a heart-breaking and dark collection of poetry. Over the course of more than 80 poems, Fox chronicles all the ways in which we fit ourselves into the shape of the ones we love, even if it means losing ourselves in the process.


'These poems were written in an attempt to excise the illness that had taken root in me because of my silence. I've spent my entire life keeping the secrets of men, my body aches from carrying the weight of their sins. My freedom lives in these pages, and I hope that my words can inspire others to take back their happiness and their identity by using their voice to illuminate what's been buried, but not forgotten, in the darkness,' says Fox.

Pretty Boys Are Poisonous marks the powerful debut from one of the most well-known women of our time. Turn the page, bite the apple, and sink your teeth into the most deliciously compelling and addictive book you'll read all year.

Reviewed by bookstagramofmine on

4 of 5 stars

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I don't know what prompted me to pick up Megan Fox's autobiographical poetry collection that came out earlier this week. The Rupi Kaur comparison I read did not help in the slightest (or did it?), but Megan Fox was a pop culture phenomenon; after all, who amongst us does not remember Jennifer's Body?

 

The introductory letter penned by Megan was touching, although I was skeptical about the throat chakras. The resulting collection had moments of wit and originality but a whole lot of Megan Fox sounding like every other white girl who has been given the chance to have a poetry book published. 

 

But the wit that does seem to have come straight from Megan Fox is absolutely worth it. That comes in the forms of things like titles such as "it's giving patrick batemam" and "you'd be so much more handsome if you'd get an exorcism" and some really cool lines from her poems.

 

What does genuinely horrify the reader are the details Megan Fox includes about these relationships. Those are painful details. 10 weeks and a day is too specific to be creative license; those things have happened to her. And keep in mind that this woman has been sexualized and routinely let down by a lot of people around her. The variety article made it pretty easy to understand; she was beautiful and considered shallow, so why did anyone want to help her? No, people preferred to slut shame her and be grateful for the chance to audition in a bikini washing a car.

 

I'm also a bit horrified to think of her partners, men who are so prominent in the spotlight and try to understand which of them she was referring to in her book while she wrote this. The woman should name names, just so these guys are ousted themselves.

 

Oh wait, she already did, and look what that did.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 November, 2023: Finished reading
  • 12 November, 2023: Reviewed