When the Stars Wrote Back

April 15, 2020
Free-form poetry about the struggle to find agency is paired with softly rendered illustrations. Alternating in style from brief, punchy verses to lists to longer pieces that read like confessional vignettes, these poems explore difficult relationships (romantic, platonic, and familial) through a feminist lens and examine the ways in which they can result in a loss of self. A trigger warning at the beginning preps readers for content that includes topics such as eating disorders, sexual assault, mental illness, and emotional abuse. These issues and more are woven throughout this collection that simultaneously embodies tough wit and vulnerability and is sectioned into four parts--"Half-light," "Midnight," "Starfall," and "Dawn"--that reflect the emotional arc of the narrator. Queer romantic relationships are a subject of discussion, but there is no mention or examination of race or ethnicity as a facet of identity and experience. Understated grayscale drawings and handwritten phrases mesh well with verses that move with fluidity across the pages. While there are some stylistic embellishments, these poems are at their core distinctly message-driven, often taking on the tone of self-help literature. This will likely resonate with some readers who share the experiences being parsed but may not pull in those who don't. An earnest but didactic collection that is both personal and political. (Poetry. 14-18)

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June 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 The span of a night is Mateer's metaphor for life, moving from the dim half-light of early evening through midnight and starfall, emerging at dawn. Her poems are as brief as the whisper of a single line or as solid as a paragraph of prose. Her subjects are identity, both personal and sexual; body dysmorphia; eating disorders; and the pain (and sometimes pleasure) of growing up and learning about life and love. Although she is no longer a teenager, her poetry is reminiscent of teen poetry stripped of the angst that can muddy the message. Mateer's observations are crisp yet personal; lines jump out at the reader with perspicacity, such as "There is no shame in being / the most fearsome thing in the garden" or "Untangle your alone from your lonely." One biting poem tells someone "you don't get a medal for not being a predator," while another celebrates hips in all their glory. This is the kind of poetry book that you read through to experience the span of growth, then dip into for whatever you need.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 26, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Stream of consciousness autobiographical poems and short essays explore relationships, sexuality, addiction, depression, eating disorders, and assault. The writing is interspersed with drawings, lists, sketches, and hand-lettered quotes creating the voyeuristic sense of reading someone's diary or therapy journal. The narrator unpacks all the messiness of her family, love-life, and self-esteem. Pulling everything out for examination, contemplation, and moving slowly towards resolution and healing. The sections of the book: Half-Light, Midnight, Starfall, and Dawn follow the narrator's arc of self-realization and growth, ending on the hopeful note "I am my own universe." Many young adults will find topics and situations they have experienced or can relate to in these pages, along with the encouragement to continue despite many of the difficult challenges they will encounter on the road to adulthood. VERDICT The combination of poetry, self-help language, artwork, and quotes will appeal to young and new adults. A good purchase for larger libraries.-Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Lib., WA

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