Cast Away

Starred review from November 1, 2019
Nye explores what we throw away, literally (she's a litter picker-upper) and metaphorically. In 80-plus poems, Nye writes conversationally, injecting humor, outrage, and reminiscence. Unambiguously championing the environment, she marvels at how casually humans toss trash. "What about these energy bottles pitched by someone / who didn't have energy to find a bin? / Fun Finger Food wrappers dropped by someone / not so fun?" An archaeologist of urban detritus, she ponders her discoveries, championing children throughout. "Blocks around elementary schools / are surprisingly free of litter. / Good custodians?" Nye locates the profound in the mundane: "A single silver star / on a curb by Bonham Elementary / Good work! / Glimmering / like a treasure / stronger at this moment than all 50 / drooping on the flagpole." She mourns the current othering of the homeless and refugees: "A few hundred miles from here / thousands of traumatized kids / huddle in cages / ... / Who can believe this? / Land of the Free!" She keenly knits place into poems: her city, San Antonio; the Ferguson, Missouri, of her childhood; Maui; Hong Kong. She castigates Trump, who "talks uglier than the bully in grade school," and Prince Charles, who dithers ineffectually about plastic waste. She generously praises poets and writers: W.S. Merwin, who drafted poems on junk mail; David Ignatow, for a poetic image that Nye has found compelling since high school; Kevin Henkes, for his book Egg. Nye at her engaging, insightful best. (Poetry. 8-12)

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Starred review from January 1, 2020

Gr 5 Up-Young People's Poet Laureate Nye ponders the things we carry and throw away-both literal and metaphorical. The poems cover a large range of topics: discarded food wrappers; animal hoarding; the migrant children who have been seized by the U.S. Border Patrol. Nye contemplates the acts of discarding or leaving, but also finding. Nye writes in her introduction, "Sometimes we have to leave things. You never know what's out there. Selection is involved." This idea is also applicable to the craft of writing and will serve as good advice to young poets. Many of the featured topics are suitable for mature teens or adults. Sometimes the intended audience feels deliberately focused on adults, like in the heartfelt and sparse poem "Nothing." However, the poems could be gently unpacked by younger readers with guidance. Nye provides thematic examples from many perspectives, giving this collection a rich variety and impressive scope. The book itself is organized into five separate "Routes," each with its own spin on the things we discard. VERDICT There is much to discover in Nye's beautiful and timely collection filled with haunting, sensory images. A must-have for all poetry collections.-Shannon O'Connor, Unami Middle School, Chalfont, PA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2019
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* What is trash? Do we expand the definition to include people we consider less than ourselves? How many of us cast away with little thought of consequences? In these poignant poems, Young People's Poet Laureate Nye challenges readers, no matter their age, to consider their definition of trash and their responses to it. She has become a staunch advocate for cleaning up the world, beginning with the spaces immediately around us. In some respects, her never-before published poems are reminiscent of Shel Silverstein's Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out (Where the Sidewalk Ends, 1974); but she challenges readers to become activists and to gain deeper awareness of their surroundings. With titles like Folded Cardboard in the Street, Owner of 136 Snakes Surrenders Them, Texas, Trash Walk, and Not My Problem, Nye crafts powerful object lessons with every poem. She reminds readers to look at poverty in new ways; to consider the food they toss; and to reflect upon the plastic that has created an island in the Pacific Ocean. The collection features humorous, witty, serious, and even some politically charged poems, all of which will leave readers with a consciousness of the precarious environment. Her poetic polemic on trash is truly a treasure for readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)