*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book of poetry.*

In her poetry collection, Aija Mayrock deals with topics such as feminism, the me-too-movement, gender roles, upbringing, (self) love, how normal periods are, or how women are allowed to be themselves. Some poems resonated more with me than others, but this one was my favourite:

"Raise your daughters like you raise your sons;
the inequality did not begin with her birth;
the inequality begins when you choose to raise
your daughter in a box labelled "ladylike"
and your son, in no box, with no label." (25)

As someone who has been constantly told to be "more ladylike" by my mother (because mothers can perpetuate the systematic degradation and marginalization of girls), it was nice to be seen and to find myself in that poem.

Some poems are longer than others, but they are well written and sometimes have a rhythm to it that makes you want to read them out loud.

5 Stars

Yes. Yes. Yes. This is the book we have been waiting for. How do I feel after reading Dear Girl? EMPOWERED. I couldn’t put it down. I will buy this book for myself and for all of my girlfriends. Women are the future. Thank you Aija.

Dear Girl is one of the best poetry collections I've read in a long time. I've picked up quite a few poetry books the past month or so and Dear Girl really stands out from the rest. The poems are all very well written, super powerful. I feel like a good deal of poetry books have filler poems, but I didn't come upon any poems in Dear Girl that seemed like fillers or noticeable lesser quality. The whole book was very consistent in quality and I loved that.

this book spoke to me. like, literally. I'm hearing my brain talk. It's scary how much I could relate to some of the poems here.

The poetry in this book resonated with me. This poetry collection is about the journey from girlhood to womanhood. It is very captivating and the author writes with such prose that it makes you feel so many emotions at once. This talks about the resilience of girls and women, and ow women do have a voice. This is an important poetry collection for girls and women.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book of poems is beautifully empowering to females everywhere no matter what race, size, shape, age or beliefs! The poems are short but reach into your core and make you really think about them, about life, about the world!
This book encourages women to support each other and believe in each other and build each other up instead of tearing each other down.
I loved every page of this book!

I feel this book would have resonated with me more if I were 10 or 15 years younger. There is some very thoughtful and empowering poetry in the collection, it just seems meant for a younger audience.

This was the perfect cleansing book that I needed after my mighty series binge of over 30 books!!

This was so good! I really felt the words that Aija wrote 💙 I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for future books of hers!

Empowering. I don't know if I have the words to describe this book right now. It was gritty, it was raw, it was real, it was powerful. I devoured this collection in an hour. I found some new favorite poems in this and can't wait to share them when the book comes out! A beautiful letter to girls everywhere. Something that everyone needs to read!

Dear Girl is the debut poetry collection from Aija Mayrock, and it is sharp, on point and, ultimately, empowering. The poems are brief, yet each resonated with me in a significant way, and I was left breathless by the strength and profundity that is packed into each carefully chosen word. Essentially, this collection is a call for women to rise up and be heard. Mayrock's is a voice that will continue to pierce our consciousness for a long time to come.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC.

If you're looking for a poetry collection that tackles subjects such as rape culture, inequality between men and women and much more. Mayrock really takes on these subjects and addresses what many girls and women experience growing up. Not just in society but in their families, friend groups and more.

I really enjoyed this collection as it was filled with empowerment and understanding. There are definite trigger warnings as there is a lot of talk about rape culture (and the mentality surrounding it in society) and issues that face women in the workplace, school and everyday life.

It wasn't bad but it was truly nothing special. A lot of these poems felt like things I've read before and nothing was striking. they were very short and although that can often be powerful in this case they were not. I liked some of the themes she chose to write about but I was not impressed otherwise

True love. For a book. And that too a poetry collection. And that too for uplifting girls aand women. And that too with a powerful voice.
I am so impressed with this collection that I am going to recite this one line by line to the girls and women who need empowerment or not (they won't mind I guess!) because we women need to empower ourselves from time to time like we need to take bath, go the toilet or eat food from time to time as basic requirements. No, I am not being sarcastic here, damn. This is something we all need and that's why this book is here! Even though there has been many amazing poetry collections in the same vein by Amanda Lovelace, Rupi Kaur, Noor Unnahar and the like, I still appreciate such poetry collections because we all know we need this as a basic requirement!

I am so glad that I love almost all the poems, so effectively written, so damn relatable as I constantly face the same 'as you are a girl', 'as you are a daughter' stuffs almost everyday in every situation, I needed this.
The lines are hard hitting and does tell the truth about the society how it treats a woman or a girl. No, it's just not about where you live or where you end up; it's about the women everywhere. No matter how developed or modern the world, your world, my world may seem, in some way or the other we face harassment, discrimination or hatred just because we are born as women.
The writing is savage, rightly so! It's all the angst and the urge to speak up that made the lines so alive!
Now I am so hyped up in the middle of the night feeling so empowered but not knowing what to do about it. Do I sound sarcastic? I still am not.
And I need to read something about confused women.
Jokes apart, it's a fabulous read!
Kudos to the author for such a wonderful strong collection! I loved every word of it. And wow, the cover. I still love pink. And there's nothing wrong in that. Thanks #NetGalley for the amazing ARC of #DearGirl

Dear Girl is a collection if poetry that is directed towards girls. The author focuses on many issues that women and girls face such as body image, love and loss, believing in yourself and many other topics. I thought this was a pretty average collection of poems. I really connected with some and not with others. However, I still think this is something that some women and girls would find helpful and empowering. I definitely recommend fans of poetry to check this one out.

Perhaps what's quite astounding about this collection is how "simple" it is or better yet, how it feels like every day thoughts and conversations that one may engage in.
For some, this may not be all to new to them- however, for a girl like me, it was like listening to a sister and knowing that she's experienced pretty much most of what I have. So, if you're looking for a feeling like that- then read this book, and if you're not, read it as well, you may feel something else and that's powerful as well.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

Dear Girl follows the trend of short, uplifting poems and though they're good, to me they rang somewhat hollow. I felt as if the message was repeated one too many times.

Still, being a debut collection, I think it was pretty good and I liked the fact that it was inclusive to women of colour and of the LGBTQ+ community.

Not all of these pieces resonated with me personally, but those that did, I really enjoyed. I also like the simplicity of the cover, title, font and layout - it has a lovely subtleness about it.

Dear Girl by Aija Mayrock focuses on female empowerment. I was not really impressed by this collection of writings. There was nothing profound or new presented to make the poet really stand out or make me recommend this title to others.

“Dear Girl” is the perfect poetry book to read in 2020. It covers important issues including sexual assault, trauma, misogyny, healing, and love, to name a few. Everyone (women, men, transgender people and gender non conforming people) will be able to relate in one way or another. This book takes one on a poetic journey that makes one look in-depth and truly want to learn about themselves. There are important lessons and advice hidden between the pages. It is never to late to be yourself, start a revolution, and break the cycle of trauma/abuse. It’s time to focus on the future generations and what we can do for them.

Before I start this review, I feel like we should all take a moment to acknowledge the poet who wrote this is 19 years old. I mean, what the heck? Why are people that are younger than me reaching success in life, who said this is fair? I feel like I'm very near to reaching my quarter life crisis.

In any case, I wish I could like this book more. Dear Girl follows the rupi kaur trend of short poems meant to empower women, meant to be posted on instagram and look pretty. Now, it's worth noting that I'm a fan of this type of poetry, I really am. I'm hardly one of those poetry elitists who think that the only poetry worthwhile is that written 100 years ago.

The problem is that Amanda Lovelace and Andrea Gibson simply do it better. Lovelace manages to take the cliche of warriors and princesses and make it fresh while Gibson really tackles politics and self-love. This book tries to do that but I can't stop comparing it to their works and feeling like Mayrock doesn't quite reach the standard.

Mayrock's work here feels very shallow. The messages are kind of banal and the writing itself doesn't do much to make it better. I mean, yes, this is an important message but it's been said so many times in this poetry that I can't say this is the collection I'd recommend.

All in all, this is her first poetry collection and I do believe that she will find her own unique voice and manage to write something that will be new and exciting. A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in return for my honest review!