The Day Is Ready for You is a prose and poetry collection about life, heartbreak and breathing freely.

I liked The Day Is Ready for You because some of the poems and prose were really beautiful. It’s not my favourite poetry and prose collection because I couldn’t connect to all the poems. I really like that there were romantic poems and feminist poems, those were definitely the best poems in this collection.

My favourite poems:
never
obvious
unwanted
nerves
insistent
learn
pressure
morning
above all
told you
keeping
but it is worth it

This collection started off really strong with the first quarter of the book comprising of some of Malee’s better poems. As the collection carried on though it started venturing into the type of one line inspirational poetry that feels like greeting card sentiments, something common it seems with many instapoets. Short, simple, easily digestible, not all that heavy hitting or memorable. The book dragged to me during the middle of the book, I think many of these poems could’ve used better editing or been excluded altogether.

Malee covers several themes: love, heartbreak, motherhood, depression, and self acceptance among others. Name You is a particularly sweet poem about motherhood that touched my heart. The couple of stand out poems in the collection were relatable and honest, so I did have to give Malaee some credit.

I think that the author definitely has potential to be a wonderful poet, though at the moment her work is very similar to many other instapoets – too simple with flowery language that doesn’t mean anything. There are times that a poem will read nicely, a story told through metaphor, but then the final line will repeat the previous statements in a blunt way that to me felt unnecessary. A good poem can stand on it’s own without needing to explain itself to the reader. Her work could use a little more development and that’s fine for a new author finding her footing.

This book was really a middle of the road read for me. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it either. I think it could be great for folks that enjoy poets such as Rupi Kaur and Amanda Lovelace.

Fuelled through the pain and joy of love, anger, longing and dreaming, this book of poetry is another great one to be looking out for. Perfect for break-up's longing for unrequited love and with varying length of poems inside, there's something relatable for everyone within this collection.



Anyone can take something from this collection, even if it's just that we are constantly learning and changing throughout our lives.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I really enjoyed The Day Is Ready for You and look forward to reading more of Alison Malee's work. I could relate to many of her poems and some of them really put into words the things I've been feeling and dealing with lately. It's wonderful when you can make such a connection to the thoughts and feelings of others expressed through poetry.

"worth
what witchcraft it is
that the sun
rises every morning
and does not ask
if it is time,
or if the sky is ready,
or if she has permission
to burn and
burn wildly.

what a treacherous thing,
this knowing
your power.
this recognizing
your worth."

This was pretty good! While I had a hard time connecting with many of them, I ended up really liking the third part of this book, which was called "prayers like exhales." There were a few pieces that I really loved from that section.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to get a copy of this!

I recently read The Day Is Ready for You by Alison Malee. This delightful collection of poetry is fresh, sharp and fiery. Emotion sings from every page. Sometimes they are angry, at others singing a tender love song. Sometimes full of everyday life and then they soar into possibility. Sometimes all in the same poem.

Most of the poems' subjects focus on relationships: all the highs and lows and newness and mundane. Others have to do with being a woman or how life seems from her perspective. She has a definite rhythm and voice that distills life in a perspicacious manner all her own.

Get this book, poetry people! Get it if you don't think you're a poetry person. I highly recommend it.

*I received an e-copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

4.5 stars

I enjoy modern poetry. However I did not like Milk and Honey,. This book is thousand times better!!!
Like other poetry book I have read, there are some poems in this book that didn't connect with me. And I guess it's normal in Poetry :) Thankfully, there are more poetry that I really really love in this book. I loveeeee her writing style. How she knit everything everybody word together perfectly.
I feel encourage, calm, and also hopeful after reading this book!

If you want to try reading modern poetry, you can never go wrong with this one ❤️

Received a copy of this for free at my request from NetGalley.

Reading more poetry at the suggestion of a writing mentor. I did enjoy this, and I do think it's a decent collection, but there are a few things that just didn't click with me (though they might with you!) and some things I enjoyed a lot (that you might not!):

- There was repetition of some weird things/ideas in different poems. This in itself doesn't have to be bad, but it wasn't themes so much as specific objects/ideas places in poems back to back. It got a little tiring by the end.
- There were some lines in here I read over and over and over again and only barely understood, or didn't understand at all, what Alison Malee was trying to say.
- There were some lines in here I read over and over and over again and wanted to tattoo on my skin because I loved them that much.
- I do not think I get poetry in most cases, but I am trying to learn. I do think I understood the majority of this collection, and I think many people will enjoy this collection. I did enjoy it just fine. I think the more poetry I read, the more this will get a solid rating from me.
- This cover is amazing.
- I really found some of these poems so relatable they felt like a punch in the gut, which I am to understand is a good thing.

So there are all of my thoughts, some good and some not so much. Read it if it interests you.

I can see where this book of poetry was trying to go, but it fell a little short for me. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't everything I wanted it to be and I didn't connect with it as much as I would have liked to.

*NetGalley - I requested access to this book prior to publication. All opinions and reviews are my own and not solicited by the author, publisher, or NetGalley.

Could not see this text as it would not download. Wish I could give a better review.

This was an enjoyable collection. It has that style that many contemporary poets do, thinking specifically of a mix between Rupi Kaur and the brief, casual lyricism of Tyler Knott Gregson. Really beautiful; I didn't notice that much variety of terms of subject, most of it was emotion-related, but this didn't take away from the fact that I did enjoy reading the pieces.

Sometimes, you get to books in a pretty complicated way. For The Day Is Ready For You, for example, I found it because I really like Amanda Lovelace's poetry collection (review tpshito, review twdbito). Her husband, Cyrus Parker, is also a poet - I haven't gotten to his work yet, but from what I've seen of it, I feel like I would probably like it a lot as well. And Cyrus recommended, recently, the work of Alison Malee which was now available on Netgalley for reviewing. Long story short: I was interested, I got it, I read it - and now I'm reviewing it :)



The book
"I will tell you
again and again:
in some small way,
everything matters.

The Day Is Ready for You is a prose and poetry collection weaving together the fractured, gritty pieces of the past, and the light that can break through an open window if you let it.

This is the first book of a two-book series about grace, heartbreak, and breathing freely."

When I first read about this book, it was described as a poetry collection that is actually somewhere between poetry and prose, and that's basically exactly what this book was. The book is divided into three sections that, while similar, all have a slightly different subject. All have as a recurring theme the concepts of love and confidence, albeit with a different accent.The first two sections, "unmovable things" and "a restless pause", probably spoke to me more than the third one, "prayers like exhales".

The opinion
Modern poetry seems to have a very clear aesthetic in that aspect that it leans closer to prose. The focus is, unlike the epic poems from the greeks or even the classic "rhymes" that we often think of when we hear "poetry". The accent in modern poetry is usually more so on the poetic use of language and punctuation.

so when i tell you i am drowning, i mean that, today, the loss sits on my chest less like a paperweight and more like air turned carbon monoxide without warning.

Alison Malee takes that a bit further, actually, and seems to be constantly balancing on the very edge between prose and poetry, verging sometimes more so in the one or the other, but never losing sight of the  overall tone. If you had to pin it down, you could probably say the author writes prose but using poetic meanings. Or she writes poetry, but uses prose to express that. Basically: if you want, you could probably read most poems from The Day Is Ready For You out loud and not sound too weird.

As I mentioned above, the first two sections spoke to me more than the last did, probably. That being said, maybe my favourite poem from the entire collection was part of the third section:

what witchcraft it is
that the sun
rises every morning
and does not ask
if it is time,
or if the sky is ready,
or if she has permission
to burn and
burn wildly.

what a treacherous thing,
this knowing your power.
this recognizing your worth.

Quite frankly, I could go on giving you sections I highlighted, or particular quotes I really loved. Even when the themes of certain poems spoke to me less, I could not help but appreciate the way Alison Malee manages to use double entendre and at the same time make herself crystal clear.

The rating: 3.75
I think I had the bad luck of reading The Day is Ready For You right after I finished The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One, which hit me right in the feels. In comparison, The Day Is Ready For You, seemed to me slightly less powerful. That is not to say I did not 100% enjoy reading this. This collection is only the first in a two-part series, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next part as well. The author's writing is pretty amazing already, I cannot wait to see what she does in her next work.

-Saar

P.S. One more quote for the road:

limitations

everything begins before you tell it to.

The Day is Ready for You is a poetry and prose collection about heartbreak, life and love. It is described as 'weaving together the fractured, gritty pieces of the past, and the light that can break through an open window if you let it.' and I think it is a beautiful collection where the words paint emotional and expressive pictures.

I am always hesitant to review poetry because it seems like such a personal expression of art to me. However, as this is what this website is built for I'll try my hardest.

The author gave a raw look into the intricacies of life and I found myself enjoying the read. I definitely preferred the shorter poems, but that might be a personal preference. I think there is a certain skill in using fewer words to pack a powerful punch.

My favourite poem from this collection was 'learn'. You probably aren't surprised to hear it was a shorter verse. It was one of those poems that's thought-provoking and leaves you reeling for a bit.

Overall, an enjoyable experience. I would reccommend it to those who want an emotional turmoil kind of read.

I  recieved a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This cover is what drew me to the book initially.

I'm not the biggest lover of poetry, so take my review as you will. This wasn't really my style of poetry, but the images created were lovely. And like most poetry books, this book has hit or miss poems. I definitely have a few people in my life that would enjoy this book.

The Day Is Ready for You

by Alison Malee

Andrews McMeel Publishing

Poetry

Pub Date 15 May 2018

I am reviewing a copy of The Day Is Ready For You through Andrew Mcmeel Publishing and Netgalley:

The Day Is Ready For You is a collection of poetry and prose that is beautifully weaved together. It deals with everything from the gritty pieces of the past from the light that shines through. This poetry deals with everything from love, to desire.

This collection of poetry is a beautiful tribute to life, to love and even to the hardships that help us form who we become.

I give The Day Is Ready For You I am five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

What a beautiful book of poetry! When I read it, I kept thinking about how distilled yet how expressive the poet is! She can convey in 2 words what it would take me pages to express! What talent! I loved that these poems took me through a range of emotions and ultimately left me feeling uplifted and hopeful.

3.75 stars
Some of the poems in this poetry book I really enjoyed and yet others didn't touch or sympathize with me, but that's totally normal that I don't like all the poems in the book. However, the writing style and how she forms the sentences to poems and makes these accurate statements/observations about life, love and resilience are made beautifully. I also like that it's not only poems with just two or three lines but also longer ones really getting you to think about these topics.

The Day is Ready for You is a collection of poems that speak on love, resilience, and finding your self worth. while some of the poems resonated with me I did find that I wasn't in love with the author's style. Some of the poems just didn't flow for me as well as others. I do love the topics that she touched on throughout the book. There are some poems that I bookmarked that I definitely want to revisit.

I enjoy reading poetry; slowing down and letting the words and images tumble over me, catching a few, slipping them in my pocket to admire again later, letting others slide by; new thoughts brought to light or old ones revisited in different ways; always an experience.

Alison Malee is good at painting pictures with her words; pictures that are expressive and emotional, as well as her quiet observations on life. I enjoyed this book, marking favorite poems (we are and we are not; understanding; exhales; fits; only; so very; but it was worth it;) and highlighting favorite passages:
"but sometimes the only thing you can do is hold on with your little, stubborn heart and have faith"
"i want to be the one to keep you."
"i will tell you again and again: in some small way, everything matters."
"always, as the day ends, i am wearing some
kind of love from someone. someone who has loved
or still loves or may one day love me.

even as i sleep i am trying on new moments. it all fits."

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book