[Book Review] Soft in the Middle by Shelby Eileen

"there are so many words I've left unsaid
so instead of going another year or five or ten
in brutal, crushing silence
don't waste this opportunity
don't be scared when the full weight of my heart
tests the strength of your hands
I'm trusting you with something I barely trust myself with
this knowing
this telling
this momentous uprooting
I'm here
I am
I am right here in these words"

A debut poetry collection about love, heartbreak, body image, how absolutely breathtaking girls are, flower blooms and starlight.

4 STARS 

Reviewing modern poetry is always hard for me because each book of modern poetry I have read have been so personal to the writer. The topics and content are so raw and make the writer seem so vulnerable that I don't ever feel comfortable rating the poems by themselves.

There were about twenty poems I personally felt connected to, which I think is pretty good and average for me. However, even if  I didn't personally relate to the other 100+ poems, I felt like they were written well and it was really easy to empathize with the author. I probably say this every time I review a book of poetry, but being this vulnerable and open is incredibly admirable and brave. It felt like I was reading Shelby Eileen's diary, and I couldn't help but empathize with her. Although I could not fully relate to everything she talked about, I could relate to to the topics of body image, which is a main theme throughout the poems. Another topic I strongly related to was Shelby Eileen's connection and relationship to words. The way she talked about what words meant to her made me feel like she was directly talking about me. It's nice to be seen, and I really want to read more books, whether that be poetry or novels, that are about bookish and fat women. Being seen in any kind of book isn't something I have experienced as often as I'd like.

My only criticism with this book of poetry is that  I wish it was organized a bit better. We have two sections, "Body" and "Afterthought" but I think that more categories/sections would have made more sense to me. I think the disorganized feeling made it hard for me to fully appreciate all of the poems because as a whole it felt a little all over the place.

I am loving modern poetry more and more as I keep picking up different ones, and I think there's something emotional and raw in each one. I think each one I have read has let me see such integral parts of myself and I really appreciate each poet I've read. This book is the epitome of body positivity and I need more body positive and self-love stories in my life. Although this book of poetry didn't resonate with me the entire time I was reading it, there were so many pieces of myself hidden in the words that I overall have a feeling of positivity towards this book of poetry.

I highly recommend this book. I think books of modern poetry are a great start for getting into poetry and I think it is my favorite style of poetry. I haven't branched out yet to other styles but I would like to one day. If you want to read raw and emotional poetry this is the book for you. It's about body positivity, self-love, unrequited love, crushes, romance, heartbreak, and the beauty of ladies. If any or all of those topics are interesting to you, I say pick up Soft in the Middle.

Thanks for reading!