Poetry – Jill's Book Blog

Review: (S)Kin

Title: (S)Kin
Author: Ibi Zoboi
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Poetry, Contemporary
Publisher: Versify
Source: BookSparks
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: February 11, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.

Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.

Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.

But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.

Review:

This is a beautiful novel in verse. It follows two girls: Marisol and Genevieve. They were connected through their shared power, where on every new moon, they shed their skin and fly like a comet with the ability to hurt someone who has harmed them. I read most of this book in one sitting. It was fast paced and so hard to put down. It addressed racism, bullying, and slavery in an intense and engaging plot.

(S)Kin is a beautiful story!

Thank you BookSparks for providing a copy of this book as part of the Winter Reading Challenge.

Content warnings: bullying, racism

Have you read (S)Kin? What did you think of it?

Review: Tongue Teasers

Title: Tongue Teasers
Author: Dr. D.W. Knight
Genre: Children’s, Poetry
Publisher: Giggle Spoon
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 24, 2024
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Tongue Teasers is a collection of illustrated poems written in rhyming verse with hilarious wordplay and outlandish inventiveness imbued with wit, life-lessons and wisdom that transcend age but equally entertain children with zany, memorable characters, making this book a favorite for all ages!

Written and illustrated by Professor D.W. Knight, Tongue Teasers is the foundational body of work that inspired GiGGLE SPOON Laugh-Along Songbooks which is the artistic collaboration of two brothers – one a poet and artist, the other a composer, singer-songwriter and musician. Combining their talents, the brothers create laugh-along songbooks using rhyming verse and catchy original songs, serving up laughter to the kid in all of us!

Review:

This book is a collection of illustrated poems for kids. Some of the poems teach lessons, such as the importance of washing your hands, while others are silly. I think kids would love these funny, rhyming poems.

At the beginning of the book there is a QR code that leads to a website with songs that go along with some of the poems. Those were really fun to listen to while I read the poems because they gave the poems a specific rhythm. That would be great for kids who are reading the book on their own, because it would teach them how to read the poem.

Tongue Teasers is a great kid’s book!

Thank you Dr. D.W. Knight and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Have you read Tongue Teasers? What did you think of it?

Review: The Lightning Circle

Title: The Lightning Circle
Author: Vikki VanSickle, Laura K. Watson (illustrations)
Genre: Young Adult, Poetry
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: March 26, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

An intimate coming-of age novel for teens, told in verse with delicate line art, chronicling the beauty, magic and transformative power of summer camp, for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Judy Blume.

After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls’ camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. Immersed in this new camp experience, trying to form bonds with her fellow counselors while learning to be a trusted adviser for her campers, Nora distracts herself from her feelings, even during the intimate conversations around the nightly campfires. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora’s camp journal, including Nora’s sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait.

Review:

Seventeen-year-old Nora wants a break from her hometown this summer after having her heart broken, so she goes to a summer camp as a counselor in West Virginia. She meets young women, both campers and counselors, from different backgrounds with their own heartaches. Nora must learn to open herself up to new friendships to begin healing.

This was a beautiful book. It is written in verse, which suits the emotional time Nora is experiencing. Each section of the story was concise, but also evoked the teenage emotions of the story. There were also beautiful illustrations in a sketch style that accompanied the verses.

The Lightning Verse is a beautiful summer camp story.

Thank you Tundra Books and Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book.

Content warning: eating disorder

Have you read The Lightning Circle? What did you think of it?

Review: Diary of an Artist in Love

Title: Diary of an Artist in Love
Author: The Muse Frequency
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Independently Published
Source: BookInfluencers.com
Format: Audiobook
Release Date: August 15, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A slender, beautifully illustrated volume of 30 poems, enumerating love in all its configurations and through enchantment, presence, magnetism, illusion, nature, restlessness, wonder, and memories that rise from our past, and follow us into our future. Readers will be immersed in a series of 15 poems called “Love is” I through XV, with 15 additional poems that sit between them, threading the eye of the needle that we call love, with topics that seem to successively build on one another and chronicle the different phases of this intangible marvel that rules our lives. These poems · “We Start Here”
· “Stay With Me”
· “Wondering”
· “Beautiful Things”
· “Limitless”

For seekers, artists, lovers, moon-gazers, anyone that dares to glimpse the beating heart within, this collection is a goldmine of inspiration and magical fairy dust. On Audible
Diary of an Artist in Love is an intimate new audiobook of prose poetry best listened to with headphones on and eyes closed. The Muse Frequency presents listeners with a calming and ethereal meditation on love. Throughout this profoundly serene and uplifting experience, the artist and sound designer gently coax us into a meditative state using Solfeggio frequencies and by communicating in the most direct possible way through a sacred one-on-one conversation.

Originally inspired by the work of diarist Anaïs Nin, The Muse Frequency aims to design an audio experience that feels confessional and personal. At the heart of it all, this wholly unique project creates intimate experiences meant for one listener, where they can close their eyes, shut out the rest of the world and drift off to beautiful places.

Sound Design for Audiobook by Sébastien Nouat

Review:

Diary of an Artist in Love is a collection of poems about love. There are 30 poems, with 15 of them called “Love Is” alternating between the other poems.

The audiobook is beautiful. It is in an ASMR style, with relaxing, meditative music playing along with the narrator. The auditory experience is unlike any other audiobook I’ve heard.

I highly recommend Diary of an Artist in Love for poetry lovers.

Thank you The Muse Frequency and Book Influencers for providing a copy of this audiobook.

Have you read Diary of an Artist in Love? What did you think of it?