fareehareads's reviews
119 reviews

 I read this collection over the course of a few days and each part surprised me. This poet has a way of creating such a balance between lighthearted childhood silliness and heart wrenching specificity of the Palestinian experience. During a time of great pain, these poems were a comfort. 

The writing in this chapbook was so poignant and beautiful. Every single piece read as if it was meant to flow into the next like water. The poems explored womanhood, identity, nature and land connection, there were aspects of Palestinian indigeneity that connected to the indigenous peoples of the Americas and so much more. The writing itself was crisp and lyrical. I found myself going back to and rereading a few of them, especially Nakba Day Dance. I look forward to reading more by this author. 

will pick up again next week

Thank you to Hinton Publishing for second me advanced copy of this title set to release March 26th.

While I've never been a heavy non fiction reader, Reagan Jackson's work intersects journalism with memoir writing in this compelling series of essays. The book is split into 5 sections and each one contains a variety of essays that Jackson has published over a long career as a journalist. The topics range from the individual Black experience in Rainier Beach, Seattle, to a global perspective of Black people throughout the world through the lens of a Black feminist journalist, activist, and writer.
I was not familiar with Jackson's work prior to this collection, but reading through her work on and off throughout the month of December and well into January, I felt a connection to these stories and the overarching conversation around journalistic intent, representation, and subjectivity.
The topic of journalism and storytelling has become center stage in my mind as ongoing genocides reverberate through our current news & media circles. Some of these essays really cover the amount of effort, sacrifice, and exhaustion comes out of being a Black journalist in a white supremacist country and how communities of color often face the brunt of media bias and lack of critical and subjective journalism. 
I think my favorite essays were in the second portion titled The Struggle *blacklivesmatter which cover a lot of 2020 and the work Jackson did at the time to create space for Black healing at a time where pain and suffering in Black communities across this country were plastered over every single media outlet possible. The essay The Necessity of Black Joy definitely is a standout piece. The conversation around radical joy and healing spaces specifically by and for Black people was controversial and led to contention. In Jackson's won words, "...the idea of taking a few hours to gather together with other black people, not to discuss race, not to bitch about white people, but to simply disengage and dance and laugh and remember our own humanity is truly powerful.". 
I could actually go on and on about this collection for a long time and I may revisit this review and add more thoughts later on, but for now I'll say that I absolutely recommend this collection. 

 Thank you Nasha for an advanced copy of this collection in exchange for an honest review. 

This collection is a very honest glimpse at a South Asian experience that at this point I'm convinced is universal. There is a liminal space many women fall into when coming from families that have experienced great trauma and scars in their past, but in the present do very little to heal from them and grow. Generational trauma is definitely a central theme, as well as colorism, racism, sexism, imperialism. There are also themes of grief, healing, body positivity, growth, and acceptance. You go on journey in this collection of self discovery which is why I believe this reads like diary entries, like the deep dark secrets and truths you admit only to yourself. I highly recommend picking up this collection and spending some time with it. 

I'm glad this was my first book of 2024. This debut YA story was like a warm hug to younger me. I saw pieces of myself sprinkled throughout Jessie's experience, from learning to navigate social expectations at a young age, to writing out a list of goals that feel absolutely essential at the time of making them. I hope other neurodivergent girlies pick this up too, it's a story that feels both specific and universal at the same time. Would recommend!