Revenge Body

by Rachel Wiley

[Rach Wood]

Poetry is probably the most difficult genre to review and rate because is such an unique literary format and a true personal one at that. Despite the technical quality, usually what makes a poem "good" or "bad" is how much it resonates or not with the reader. This one hit home.

The quality of Rachel Wiley poems' did vary, but all of them were filled with raw emotion (the kind that scares the shit out of us with its unapologetic honesty), and also addressed urgent and important topics, such as body shaming, mental health, feminism and queerness.

I haven't read poetry in a while, especially in English (it's not my mother language), but I couldn't help myself and do read this in one fast seating. I feel like I would definitely re-read it many times.

There's a lot of food for thought, with just the right amount of humour, and I not only appreciated all of the poems, I really felt moved by most of them, especially "Revenge body", "Handsome, or in which neither of us is The Man", "Executive functioning", "Excuses", and "Prozac 30MG".

I also think most of the poems are meant to be read out loud, and I wasn't able to resist the voice that asked me to do just that.

Finally, I feel it's important to let you know I definitely don't have the same life experience as Rachel. But that's why I also loved some of her poems so much. Because, even in the midst of our differences, I saw myself in little parts of it, just enough to not feel alone in my moments of wrongness.

I can't wait to buy a physical copy and will definitely recommend it at every opportunity, but especially to my closest girl friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#RevengeBody #RachelWiley #ButtonPoetry #NetGalley