I was not a fan of this book. The poems appear to have been written in the last decade and you can definitely tell.

I was moved and impressed in equal measures by this collection of poetry. I was a bit put off at first because the collection uses a very childish and cartoon-like font which took a few pages to get used to. Once I’d adjusted to this however I found incredibly moving, sad and beautiful poems between the pages. The collection is full of lovely, colourful sketches and images as well. The poems are deep and intense and dealt with some pretty dark subjects without becoming depressing or maudlin.

At 12 years old your closest friend is cutting themselves. Crying out for and needing help. Instead of telling them they are valued, loved, to help them get help, all the things you are scared to say and finally put all down in eloquently beautiful and heartbreaking poetry. Beautifully written.

I recognized myself in a lot of these poems. This was truly written from the heart and the poems really hit me. I loved reading this book. It was a book with which you just had to take your time to read the poems.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

letters to the person i was is a new addition to the "Instagram" poetry group, like Milk and Honey or the princess saves herself in this one. These poems are truly letters that Abuleil has written to her past self, reflecting on hard times.

I really like the letters to a former self premise and, for the most part, the execution. She may be writing to her past self, but when a letter relates to your own struggles, you will feel seen.

However, I found it to be repetitive after a while. It made it hard to keep reading honestly because repeating the same thoughts, metaphors, and feelings gets old and loses its power after a while.

Overall, it is a nice read. If you enjoy the style of poetry, you will probably enjoy this collection of letters. But I don't think it is the strongest and most powerful work in this genre.

“Because you still seem to be a magnet for everything toxic and I’m starting to think it’s because you´ve been studying this word like it´s a window when it´s been a mirror all along”

Letters to the person I was is a poetry collection in which the author writes a series of letters dedicated to her younger self. When I first read the description I had really high hopes because truth be told I have written letters to my old self and it was such a comforting thing to do I wanted to see it done by other people. However this poetry collection fell down the middle, nothing terrible but nothing spectacular either.

Like most of the modern poetry collections this one had little drawings that helped give meaning to some of the poems, like always, I really liked this drawings, I like to use them as I was to better understand the author and his or her intentions. Moreover, this book also has the modern format of poetry but I wouldn’t necessarily called it poetry more like little notes that you write yourself for future you to read.

I enjoyed this book, it was not the best poetry I have read but something about the personal connection of the author to its work forbids me to give it a lower rating. The poetry is raw and honest however it felt very repetitive sometimes. I loved that she is writing to herself, we sometimes tend to do this for other people when in reality we should be focusing on ourselves.

I think everyone can identify to some of the letters because we have all been there, we have all made mistakes and even though we sometimes wish we could avoid them they are a major part of growing up.
Overall it was a solid poetry collection, some of the poems are raw and really hit you and some others feel very repetitive and can be avoided.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I did enjoy most of the poems in this collection, however, I did feel like the overall quality wasn't quite like other poetry collections I've recently read. I appreciated the thoughtfulness in the poems and I thought many were relatable but I didn't connect with many of them and some didn't feel like they were ready to be included in the book.

Unfortunately this collection of poems didn't resonate with me personally. I didn't find the words at all empowering, which is what I was looking for. I did like the layout, choice of font and the simplicity of the illustrations but overall this book wasn't for me.

Was drawn to this on NetGalley because I saw my name on a book and there was a fellow scarf-clad girl on the cover!

As I read these poems, I found myself feeling Abuleil's sadness and desperation -- how she emotionally drowned herself seeking acceptance from others; these poems really really take you down with them.

And then towards the end, the poems start to pick up -- you can feel the change in the mood, in the words; there is now gratitude and happiness.

I resonated with Abuleil's journey as she grew into the person she is today. It hurt to resonate with it. I choked up a little. Poems with lines like 'i love you like privilege', and "i elephant-sized lion roar you too"...I was a sap for those.

A lot of these poems are simple easy reads while some read like flowery riddles, as poems do. There are cute illustrations too.

Would recommend reading this from start-to-finish if you want to process through any residual/subconscious pain you might've buried with respect to heartbreak or trauma related to close relationships.

Sana Abuleil begins with a letter to the reader about how her close friend growing up would cut herself and how she tried to save her friend from herself. This book contains a collection of letters Sana has written to her younger self. I was not a fan of it. The journal entries were somewhat random and hard to form a connection to.

A trigger warning for the first couple pages have to do with self-harm and assault. I gave this book, Letter To The Person I was by Sane Abuleil a two out of five stars. I found this was super boring and it ended up putting me to sleep.

Full of raw emotions. It’s a journey towards self healing and self love. Must have taken immense amount of courage to share something so personal with the world.

Unfortunately I wasn't impressed by this. I keep trying contemporary poetry and I very rarely enjoy what I read. The writing style was too simplistic, feeling like poetry only in the way the lines were short, but really it was just broken up paragraphs.

"I don't love you like
lungs love air because
I don't love you like necessity
I love you like privilege."

Andrews McMeel has done it again! NO ONE, absolutely, NO ONE gave this book the right to wrench my heart out! I have never read a poetry collection which is utterly raw and honest with the emotions each poem bleeds. This poetry collection explores wounds, healing, forgiveness, reflection, self-love and love. Consisting of four chapters titled "the innocence," "the refusing," "the understanding," and "the growing," the collection is meant to take the reader on a journey of pain and hope, reinforcing the idea that life is still worth living. That life is always worth living.

There were three aspects that I am always critical about in a poetry book: font, length and the metaphors used. I had little issues with font and found it in sync to the theme which is also the title of the poem, "letters to the person i was'. I usually do not enjoy long poems because there are only a few people who are talented enough in keeping the essence of the poem throughout the length instead of giving it a repetitive and incomplete vibe, that just doesn't work out well with me, but Sana has done an explicable job in penning long poems that flow in ease (not so easy mentally.) They feel complete which gives the reader a moment to take in the entirety of the poems and the thoughts firing away in your mind, to calm down. Maybe it is because of the metaphors used which are new in so many ways. There is a uniqueness in every poem in a way that I didn't expect. Each poem is unequivocally thought-provoking and heart-wrenching!

This isn't just the author's letters to her younger self, this is all our letters to our younger selves. The experiences behind each poem must've been different from our own experiences but it unites us with the emotions flowing through them. Sana has done an applaudable job with this collection! I loved this tear-jerking collection and it brought so many personal issues to the right perspective. I will be keeping an eye out for her future works! This book goes straight out to be the second-best read I had this year and the first-best poetry collection!

Recommended: C'mon, my review screams that I recommend it! What are you waiting for? Get this book already! This collection might be the one that you never thought you needed until you read it...

As a poetry lover, I used to review poetry books in my account and help self pub authors. This book is a delight and at the same time a pain. I almost remember some days when I used to feel the same way the author felt. This poems tells a story that would captive every reader's heart. This message came from a girl full of secrets, hope, and faith. This reminds us to break free, let the demon inside swing the doors of our mind and free them. This is honestly beautifully written. May contain explicit content and assault. May this book be the voices of all the people who are still imprisoned by their demons.

I found it hard to read this book. I didn't particularly enjoy the font used but the illustrations were really nice. I would, however, recommend this to my friends who also enjoy poetry. Personally, I just felt like it wasn't for me. I didn't click with the poems in this book. Maybe I'll enjoy it more the next time I read it.

This is a very personal compilation of poems, divided in four chapters representing different stages in the author's life. The poems are about difficult and very sad moments in her life, and how, through the years, she learns to live with the sadness, and finally, move on.

This poetry collection had its relatable moments, emotional ones too, and though I empathized, I didn't feel connected to what was expressed on the page. I really wish I liked it more, especially because of how personal the collection seems to be. It was a decent read, but it didn't quite work for me.

This one was incredibly tough for me to read. I felt a lot of it on a very personal level, and that's part of why I loved it so much. The writing style is one that definitely drew me in, and I loved that it was written as journal entries. To me, that made it feel much more real and raw.

I’ve been trying to read more poetry, but this one just doesn’t quite hit the way I think it’s supposed to. I can chalk most of this up to the fact that, even from the author’s note and the blurb on the back, the author admits that this is a deeply personal compilation. She dedicates the book to every past/present/future version of herself, and she addresses trauma so specific that it’s hard to connect with the writing.

After about twenty pages, the poems all start sounding the same, and the author admits that she knows she sounds repetitive several times, like she’s making it all up as she goes and isn’t sure where the story will end. She’s trying to tackle a lot at once in terms of ways she has hurt in the past and continues to hurt in the future, but the specificity of it all sometimes ruins the magic of being caught up in the words. This isn’t at all to say that I believe that writing can’t be deeply personal and specific and also powerful, because of course plenty of very personal writing is fantastic. It just felt a little too hyper-focused on very particular events, and it didn’t go about the telling of a personal story in a way that feels compelling.

This wasn’t all lackluster, because there were a few good lines, and some sentiments felt more universal than others. But all in all, it just wasn’t anything special.