[Book Review] The Princess Saves Herself In This One by Amanda Lovelace

 

WARNING: the poetry in this book have topics that could be triggering such as rape, abuse, eating disorders, death, suicide, and self harm.

4.5 STARS 

The Princess Saves Herself In This One is a book of modern poetry with a range of topics that include: body acceptance/positivity, rape, abuse, relationships (negative and positive), eating disorders, self harm, death, suicide, and self discovery. These are such powerful and personal poems that I felt like I got to know the author a lot in such a small amount of time. Which I really liked. 

Normally, I am not a big fan of poetry. But I have found a lot of interest in modern poetry in styles like the style portrayed in The Princess Saves Herself In This One. Most of the poems are short and stick to only one page and they're hard hitting. I felt the wind knock out of me a few times while reading this book. From finding friends in books when she was younger to learning to be more body positive. A lot of these poems hit home. This is the kind of poetry I like.

when i had 

no friends

i reached inside 

my beloved

books

& sculpted some 

out of 

12 pt 

times new roman.

- & it was almost good enough. 

The ones about body positivity most definitely hit me hard, as a fat woman who is still going through a journey to be healthier but also love my body, I connected to the poems that revolved around that topic. I really love the poems of the positive relationships she has had, there are a few in particular definitely is something I know will stick with me for a long while.

he 

did not 

teach me

how 

to love

myself, 

but he 

was

the bridge

that

helped me 

get 

                   here.

- i thank the universe every day for you. 

The writing is very simple but not in a bad way. I think the simplicity fits really well with her word choices. These poems may be short but I don't doubt that the words were carefully chosen and each are important to relay what she's saying. I love the format also, I saw some reviews on Goodreads where the format wasn't popular, but I disagree and I think it helps make the poems more powerful. I also think that the choice to keep the words all in lowercase was a good idea, I think it looks really nice and fits the style. 

One poem talks about after the death of Lovelace's mother's death. She finds a book that her mother was reading when she died, the bookmark still place in the middle of the book and it hits her that her mother will never finish the book or read another book again. This is my second favorite poem in the book, because it mirrors my own writing when my Nanny (my mother's mother) passed away, and I also found the book she was reading after she died. The bookmark still in the book. The poem transported me back in that moment in a really abrupt way. It's one of the longest poems in the book, and the way it's set up with the words that were chosen definitely had an impact.

he is

even better

than books.

- fiction has nothing on you.

It's hard to review a book of poetry because some of the poems stick to you more than the others do, but as a whole I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. I couldn't give it a five star rating because I do think that some of the poems were similar to poems I had seen before. Those poems were mostly in the last section of the book. The poems that I think hit the hardest were the more personal ones to her specific life. They were, oddly enough, easier to relate to. I'll end this review on my favorite poem in this book, and hopefully the few poems I showcase in this review, plus the review itself, are enough for you to pick up this book because I really think it would strike a chord with so many readers. The poem I am leaving you with is one I love so much I want to figure out a way to frame it and put it on my wall. I want to read this poem everyday.

flowers

grow

wherever 

his 

fingertips 

graze 

me. 

- my sun & rain.

Thanks for reading!

Do you have recommendations similar to The Princess Saves Herself in This One? I think I want to read Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur soon, since I hear that it is similar in style.  Have you read either?