I requested an arc for this on NetGalley.

I do like to read about books that empower women, since I am one. So when I saw this poetry book on Netgalley I was intrigued.
However I wasn't completely satisfied at the end of it.
It was nice that the audiobook was narrated by the author herself and that it was spoken word.
The book is definitely about empowering women and also about consent and some of the societal pressures on women.

However I felt that the book was too general about the themes it was trying to include.
This left the experience after this audiobook a bit hollow, which is quite frankly a shame.
I also felt that a lot of experiences of women were left out, so it kind of focused more on the general experiences of womanhood and definitely lacking of inclusivity in something that could be a great poetry book that empowered women.

Not that that the specific topics that were tackled don't need to be talked about more, of course they do.
However when you put them in such a broad way without narrowing it down made me not connect to it.
I felt that there were also some cliches in the book like per example, how after you fall down you should get back up which is a good message, but without personal or otherwise fictional examples the message gets kind of lost on me. Since it felt like nothing was being shown to me qua imagery.

Also the fact that in the poetry there was a lot of rhyme like assonance of certain words that are on their own quite powerful made those words when they were put together like that actually less impactful to me.
I do get that it's an audiobook of a little bit over an hour, but it felt kind of slow.
Especially since a lot of the poems sounded very much the same, although certain ones did have music which set them apart.

What a stunning poetry collection. It should be considered mandatory reading for all women and girls. I'm not being dramatic, I swear! This collection has a bunch of hard hitting lines. No matter how developed or modern the world, in some way discrimination and harassment and hatred will always bee present for just being women.

I listened to the audiobook version of this.

I loved the poem where she speaks about anger.

This is a good poetry collection, very well rounded, but after the first third I started to feel like I was listening to a non-fiction book rather than a poetry collection. I love the activist and political work that she is doing, and I think it is extremely necessary. However, this is not the type of poetry I'm looking for right now.

Some of these poems were hit or miss for me, but overall I thought this collection had more shine than not. Many of the poems were beautifully written, with honest lines and beautiful form.

Aija Mayrock's poetry collection speaks to the hearts of teens, especially those who are feeling alone. I would recommend this collection to teens and their parents.

I really enjoyed this collection of poetry relating to women and written for women. The poems covered the full expanse of a woman's life - from girlhood to womanhood. I related well to the poems and found them very touching and moving.

Highly recommended.

Staying true to the book, my review will be in poetry form.

Dear Girl,

A collection of poetry
to bring you to tears.
Some you feel
Some you might never know,
while wishing you did.
I found myself clapping,
shouting yes this is true.
Rivers forming in my eyes
because I have worn these shoes.

****

Aija Mayrock's poems will connect
all women kind to another.
We have fought,
we have cried.
This our truth.
We must love each other,
love ourselves,
speak out for one another,
hold the candle,
hold the door.
Scream a little louder for the voices of the unsure,
the timed,
the scared,
the forgotten and the lost.

I cried. I connected. I smiled.

Well written, broken up into sections and 100% real.
*Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing

I liked this collection. It's wasn't my favorite collection in the world but it packed an emotional punch that left me reeling in it's wake.

Dear Girl was written with the utmost hurt and heart, very minimal, and felt very personal. It is a collection of poetry depicting the journey from girlhood to womanhood, the pain she goes through, the deep wounds and healing, and the resilience - all packed with care and love specifically for girls to read.

It was a quick read, the lines were clear and crisp, and honestly, I liked the theme but it wasn't really lyrical for me. It felt more like statements wound together (hard and beautiful statements, nonetheless), but yes, I would want more flow in my poetry. Apart from that the story was easy to follow and went smoothly. Totally appreciate the sensitive issues discussed and would recommend every girl to read it once!

Modern poetry books are usually a "meh" experience for me. I am not saying that they're bad. What I meant to say is that they lack soul.

Mayrock is a talented writer and I have to say that Dear Girl definitely is a lot less redundant and shallow-feeling as other modern poetry books I have read. She obviously has a way with words and she knows what she wants to write. She has a vision. That's definitely a start.

I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars because although it wasn't legendary, it wasn't awful. I actually enjoyed it. I would definitely pick up another Mayrock book someday!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for providing a free ARC in return for an honest review.
Dear Girl is an empowering and motivational collection of poetry about feminism and journey from girlhood to womanhood. I did relate and love a few of the poems but I couldn’t connect to most of them, but it’s about personal experience of the poet and talks about every situation that a woman deals with in her life so I understand that. I recommend this for a person who doesn’t really know much about feminism.

I truly liked a lot about this poetry collection but the concepts/thoughts are ones I have heard over and over again as a feminist who reads modern poetry. I think this collection would be nice to give as a gift to a mature teenager who maybe hasn't read as much poetry or modern feminist poetry.

I love poetry though I don't always read as much as I should. As far as being debut, Mayrock's poetry is great. Though I didn't always connect with her poems, she has some really good material throughout the book that I loved. I am not always going to understand all of someone's poetry because most poetry is based on personal experiences and feelings. As human beings we don't all see or feel the world the same way. It is my opinion that from here Mayrock can only grow and I can't wait to see what she comes out with in the future.

I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

WOOOOOOOOOW WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK!!

Dear Girl it's a very powerful book and I need all the people, women and men, to read this book.

This is a book about all the love you can give and take, to yourself. I really think it is a very neccesary book to read. Has very powerful messages for women, for our mothers, sisters, partners, brothers, partners, fathers, with the aim of telling them that women have the same rights as everyone else.

Women are stars, warriors, beautifull, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, girlfriends, heroines, powefull, smart, creative, etc...

This is going to be one of my favorite books of the year and please, read this book. You need it.

Both the audio book and this are amazing. I felt the emotions of the words through the voice of the poet in the audiobook but I felt the words personally. It's an empowering book. I recommend for both genders especially the female gender

This was a promising debut for sure. I really liked few poems though I wasn't able to connect to a few. The main theme of this collection was to uplift women voices and women empowerment which I feel that it handled pretty well. Another theme that I really liked was how women need to support each other! The poems are empowering and touching at times. But I found them too repetitive and generic at times.

Nonetheless it is good debut overall.

Loved this for a bit of motivational, uplifting, girl on fire poetry that feels empowering to read. Not all of the poems in this collection resonated with me, but there were plenty that did. Punchy, powerful and strong for a first poetry collection.

“You might believe the words you speak are weak,
but the echoes of words
can start revolutions.”

That poem sums up the entire book. If you want a collection of poems that speak to the female mind, that hold nothing back, and are extremely relatable, this book is for you.

I really enjoyed this collection of poem, in fact, I thought it was quite relatable. However I did find them to be based not on personal stories so a lot of the poems sounds familiar to me already, and it's not particularly emotionally grasping.

This book was really empowering. I highly recommend the audiobook. I felt the emotions conveyed. It was raw and real. I truly enjoyed this work of art. It's powerful, moving, touching, what more do you need to pick this up.