I really enjoyed this book of poetry. It was real, making you understand a life you don't live just a little, to understand others struggles. The flow was great, everything fitting perfectly together. It didn't try to be bigger than itself like some poetry does. It was simply honest. It tells a story of an immigrant family, stories that we need more than ever right now, in all forms. The wording was perfect. Sometimes poetry that use a lot of swears do it just to do it. This wasn't the case. It simply fit. I highly recommend this for poetry lovers or people who just want another view point. The last poem in the collection will hit you like a ton of bricks after it's slowly worked up to through the other poems.

I wi;; save my review until I have a copy of this book

Melissa Lozada-Oliva's Peluda plays with the stereotypical ideals of femininity by juxtaposing the typical with the atypical of the feminine voice and body image. The title, itself, reveals one of the more important motifs in her poetrybook. In a show of self-love,  Lozada-Oliva often references with an air of indifference how 'peluda', (meaning "hairy" in Spanish) her body is; yet, her indifference is also marked with a tinge of acceptance. Another recurring theme is the Latina immigrant experience. Once satirized negatively, Lozada-Oliva attempts to cast light  on these hardworking individuals whose rights in America have usually been non-existent. From stories of her parents, to even her own stories as a strong-minded, self-loving, unapologetic Latina "mami",  Lozada-Oliva definitely have made her imprint as a Latina feminist whose lexical voice will hopefully inspire others to do the same or give a voice to those who cannot.

I have fallen in love with the poetry collection peluda and for me, what makes peluda such a unique poetry collection is how brutally honest and charismatic it is. It’s funny, deep, and a must-read for contemporary poetry lovers. peluda is feminist and about body hair, family, friendship, Latina identity, and the immigrant experience. I believe poetry collections about, and written by, women of color should be celebrated, and this collection is no exception.

"jessica jones is so dark-haired she must be Latina
i pretend she is so that i am
not once again rooting for some angry white girl

so i tell myself that
all of this throwing a heater out of the window
must be chingona
all of this rude lonely girl must be bruja
all of this breaking & entering & you shoot at me,
i’ll pull the bullet out of my ruined jacket &
shove it up your ass with my pinky finger
must be mujerista"

I love how Melissa Lozada-Oliva puts everything on the page and it just speaks to you. The writing in peluda is magnificent and I love the vivid imagery in Lozada-Oliva’s poems. The rhythm and overall way she portrays her experiences, it’s just my favorite. Furthermore, I also love how this book is not afraid to shy away from the speaking its truth, no matter what that is. My favorite poems in this collection are 1) Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe She Got Up Early 2) Ode To Brown Girls With Bangs 3) AKA What Would Jessica Jones Do? 4) The Women In My Family Are Bitches 5) I Shave My Sister’s Back Before Prom and 6) We Play Would You Rather at the Galentine’s Party.

"on our own til infinity! bitches
the vengeful violent
pissed prissed and polished
lipstick stained on an envelope
i’ll be damned if i’m compliant! bitches"

If you love contemporary poetry then you need to read peluda. It will speak to your heart and take you on a journey few other poetry collections will. This book celebrates Latina women and their experiences, it touches on what body hair and our relationship to it is and how it looks so differently for different people. This book is feminist, badass, and beautiful. I’m deeply in love with peluda and I know you won’t regret putting it in your shopping cart. It’s a must-read for all poetry lovers.

I don't read a lot of poetry, but I knew I had to get this one. I've loved watching videos of Melissa Lozada-Oliva's spoken word performances on YouTube, finally feeling represented by her words and stories. My Spanish captures exactly how I feel about feeling like I'm not fluent enough at my native tongue, and Bitches makes me laugh as I think of all the brilliant women in my family. Peluda didn't disappoint. Melissa has a way with mixing humour and emotion, so that I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh or cry at her words.

Peluda explores so many topics in its 21 poems. In a single poem, you'll find explorations of Latina identity, beauty and femininity, class and family relationships, all seen through the lens of the immigrant experience. 'Peluda' is Spanish for 'hairy', and Lord, being hairy is one thing that I can relate to. I initially thought that the poems would simply be humorous, but Melissa takes a simple feature, hair, and uses it as a vehicle to show so much more. It is about owning your identity, even though you struggle with it, and know that other people don't understand it. It's about the girl who is ashamed of her thick, black body hair, and who has to shave to look and feel acceptable, and is criticised for being superficial by her white friends who let their own body hair grow as a political statement, but not only that. It's also about wanting to shorten your name, to have a whiter name, less Latino, less immigrant, about your identity not being wholly your own but consisting of your family and their experiences. Even though the poems discuss the struggles of the Latin-American immigrant experience, it isn't about being ashamed. It's about fighting to feel proud, no matter what other people say or how they act, seeing the beauty through the struggle, and seeing the beauty in the struggle.

I love finding chances to read #ownvoices literature, but finding literature that captures my own experiences as a Colombian girl, growing up in the UK, has always been difficult. I have never found a book that captures so many emotions as these poems have. I have honestly never felt so represented since I watched In The Heights, and it made me get teary-eyed quite a few times just at the feeling of seeing myself in these poems. If you are looking for #OwnVoices authors to add to your reading list, I could not recommend this enough.

I cannot recommend this collection enough. The poems are beautiful and fun to read, filled with humour and emotion. I can't wait for my own copy to arrive in the mail so that I can show this to everyone who will listen!

This poetry collection is FANTASTIC - truths about the impossibility of trying to contort yourself into the societal ideal; of the battle between wanting to accept the things that make you who you are, and wanting to erase all traces of them in order to fit in; of the complex struggles of femininity, of culture, of history - all delivered with beautiful honesty and biting wit.

An amazing book of poetry that focuses on beauty, immigrants (and being a minority), feminism, and so much more. Lizada-Oliva has a way of writing that reaches out and pulls you into her experiences as a Latina woman living in America.

Exceptional poetry collection! Her writing illuminates the immigrant experience with depths of emotion. She evokes the trauma of colonialist white supremacist xenophobic misogyny!