“Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back” is a compilation of poems that examines a wide spectrum of emotions such as happiness, anxiety and grief. There are two parts of the poem book and I felt as though each one brought value to the story.
There was a lot to like about this poetry book. I felt as though the emotions and the cycle of emotions throughout the book were extremely relatable, especially considering the times we are in right now. These poems are easy to connect with and you do not need to be a poetry fan to connect with the emotions and feelings of these poems. As a millennial in my mid 20’s, I felt as though this book encompassed a lot of my day-to-day feelings and I felt understood as I read along with the author. In addition to this, I liked how the theme was carried out for the duration of the book. The theme did not feel forced or overdone to the point where it took away from the book but rather brought value to the book. I felt as though the songs that were included at the end of the poems were great and it was exciting to see songs that I had experienced and was familiar with. I think these added a new, fresh dimension to some already well written poems. Also, I felt as though the remix was an interesting take.
I think that this book is great, especially considering the times we were in. At times, I felt as though the poems were comforting to read and provoked thought. As someone who does not generally seek out poetry books, I am happy that I experienced this one.

Raw and poignant. This poetry collection was hard-hitting and so relatable. Cook has a talent for describing the emotions that we feel and make it so tangible. The simplicity of her writing made the poems so much more genuine and real. Additionally, I loved the mixtape concept with different sides. The remixes were brilliant and I had to pause for a moment to absorb the words.

I loved the addition of the songs at the end of each poem. I am music-orientated and this made my reading experience so much more immersive. I could feel the pain, loneliness, anxiety and hope that Cook was trying to convey.

This was my first time reading Alicia Cook's poetry and it will not be the last! I look forward to more works from her.

I adored this book! So many parts of this book spoke to my soul! And the music! Such a lovely touch! Dealing with all of today's stresses is super hard and this book made me feel less lonely, less jaded. Feeling heard and seeing some of these feelings out into words was such and experience!

I love poetry but I have found that sometimes I am surprised by the content and potential triggers in that content. I can’t say just how much I appreciate the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book, especially since it included one of my triggers. I did read through the book, skimming over the sections that were more triggering for me, but I’m glad I got to try something new. It doesn’t feel right for me to “rate” someone else’s thoughts and very vulnerable words and feelings on the page. I will say that this was a bit too heavy for me personally and I know that while these words are very real and many people go through these challenges and have my full prayers and hopes with them, this was a bit too heavy for me to fully enjoy as a reader. Perhaps because I know friends who have been through similar experiences and thought processes as this author, this poetry seemed to be a little too real for my liking and hit close to home. That certainly doesn’t take away from its validity in any way, far from it! I was just in the mood for something that provided more of an escape, a lighter mood than what reality presents us sometimes. That’s more of a reflection on me then on the author or publisher. Thank you netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. I love the cover and the thematic elements (tracks/side A + B) inside the book.

I loved this book from page one! There wasn't one poem that I didn't enjoy, and a lot of them were very relatable. I'm not usually very into poems and I don't read a lot of them, but I really liked this one, and I loved the discussion of mental health and other people's responses to mental health.

The first good thing about this book was the trigger warning in the beginning. Not a lot of books have this even though it should be a given that if you write books with content that might be triggering, of course you should put a trigger warning.

The first poem started out with "I tell you I feel tired, and you say, "but you slept for twelve hours," and I knew you didn't get it."
I really liked how the poems showed how other people reacts to people with mental health issues because some people just don't get it. A lot of different issued were discussed in these poems, such as mental health, violence, and trauma, and they were talked about in a very respectful way that I really liked.

The best part about this book (to me) was the layout and the mixtape design of it. The poems are called 'track one', 'track two', 'track three' etc.
'Side B' of the mixtape is called 'the remixes', and I really loved the layout of that. The poems are redesigned into much shorter ones, and a lot of the time it ends up just being one sentence for each poem.

This is such a beautiful poetry book!

It was written like a mixtape with 92 poems (or what the author calls them, “tracks”) on Side A and a remix of the same 92 poems on Side B. And boy I tell you that Side B was full of surprises!

Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is a poetry collection that focuses on the topic surrounding mental health expressing the ups and downs of her life - love, grief and hope.

I personally found that in this poetry book, the author not only expresses how she felt but also gave a voice to those struggling with the same feelings. They not only helped me grieve with my struggles but also changed how I perceive my situation with hope.

I truly enjoyed all the prose and poems. They were all so beautifully written and were easy to understand. It’s always a wonder how such short phrases hold so much meaning and depth and power.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions in this review are my own.

Poetry is always a bit subjective. This means that it is hard to leave a review on.
That being said, the poems in this book by Alicia Cook touched me in ways I didn’t realize I needed.

This was a unique collection, I really loved parts of it, and some other parts weren't that great to me. I loved the messages, and how realistic and raw they were. The poems are about depression and obsession and neglect and fear and losing people either to death or they just left and dealing with your inner demons and finding acceptance from the world and yourself. All of which were great and felt so real to me. Also, it's got this unique experience where each poem (or track) ends with a songs suggestion, and you could make a playlist out of it.

What I didn't like very much were the repetitiveness of some expressions and metaphors and the second half of the book "the remix part" with the black-out poetry was sometimes a bit confusing and I couldn't figure out in which direction or order I am supposed to read the new poem. Also the second half of the book is the same poems with black-out poetry on top of them, not new poems.

Overall, I enjoyed the time I spent reading it.

I thank Netgalley for the digital ARC.

I did not enjoy this book, but I seem to be in the minority. I thought the writing was bland. I did not like the black out poetry, but it was the better section of the two types. I like writing on the topics covered, and I appreciate the willingness to be vulnerable and raw about it all. However I thought the execution was lacking and ultimately I wouldn’t recommend. Yet!! It seems that many do enjoy it, so that works out well!

I'm not sure if I can give poetry a fair rating. I think poems are really personal as autobiographys are.
This collect touches and shows really well menthal healt issues and that make you feel really close to it. The concept is really interesting and original with side A and side B and the music tracks names in the bottom.
Definetely recommended...

There is much to draw readers to Alicia Cook's latest offering of her poetry. It is dark, painful, piercing, searching and REAL. This woman definitely knows how to do real, and to express herself in ways that make me wonder how she knows me so well when we've never met.

I love the power she finds in herself, the blaring self acceptance when just two pages earlier she may have wondered why she wasn't enough. I see someone struggling to understand life with all its messiness, to grow stronger for the battles that are always near, to find joy where she can. An acknowlegement of the pain and yet an appreciation of being alive, though scarred.

Wonderful!! Loved the format of the mix tapes as well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McNeel Publishing for allowing me to read a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are indeed my own.

Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back is a nice poetry collection by Alicia Cook, and I loved the creativity of how the poems were portrayed in the book.

Side A is a collection of 92 poems, that are deeply emotional and tackle the difficulties of someone dealing with depression and anxiety, as well as how it relates to their own self worth and how they handle relationships with other people. Each poem is accompanied by a song track that reflects the meaning of the poem, with artists ranging from Selena Gomez to Eminem to Coldplay.

Side B contains the same poems, but is a "remix" where each poem has writing on it, with certain words circled or crossed out, that either changes the original meaning of the poem or emphasizes the meaning.

I really appreciated the creativity of this book. Many of the poems touched my heart as someone who struggles with mental illness. However, i feel like some of the poems didn't exactly land and hit their mark like others did. It's definitely a good read for fans of poetry.

Another collection of completely relatable poems from Alicia Cook. I especially found the remixes very creative.

Something that I really loved about Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is the way the poems were titled as tracks, and each track came with a “currently listening to” — I hope there’ll be an attached playlist upon publication, since I had to make my own as I went along. I really appreciated the content warnings in the beginning of the book, and from the songs I do know from the “currently listening to” section, I could see how each poem was influenced by it. A lot of the poems were incredibly relatable, and I felt like Cook was able to voice so many thoughts and feelings that I’ve struggled to express myself. I felt like Side A was a little long, but I loved Side B — The Remixes. I thought it was just so clever to create and reconstruct new poems out of the ones that were already written; like another point of view.

I've been on a poem book binge since 2018 and while some of them were easily forgettable, Alicia Cook's Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately was not. I've been on the lookout to read more of her works and when I found this - Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back - here in NetGalley, there was no way I would miss this one.

While I think her debut novel remains superior, Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back allows us reach those dark and void areas within us, albeit with fear and uncertainty which are just facts of life. This one is darker, more mature, but all the same allows us to be humans with imperfections.

The B-Side was not as compelling as the A-Side. A couple of times, I felt cheated with how Alicia tried to twist those word arrangements to work in her favor. But hey, I've never tried writing a B-Side of any sorts so who am I to judge.

The arrangement of the poems also bothered me. Page 12 would acknowledge my deep-rooted sadness, then suddenly the succeeding page would be blissfully in love. It was a roller coaster ride with my emotions reading the book, so I just wish the arrangements would be more thematic.

Overall though, there's a reason I've been a fan of Alicia Cook and will still continue to be one and that is her power to bring out one's inner child, while acknowledging the bleakness and complexities of growing up, of being an adult, and of being in love (the sincerity of which is up for debate).

Overall, I think this was a really good collection of poetry. The words and the emotions they evoked all spoke to me and I was left deeply touched or just as intensely moved by the feelings that made me go through and realize. I think this may even have turned out to be my favorite read, I thought as I slowly crept towards the end of Side A. I thought this was a 5 star read for sure.
But then Sida B turned out to be a disappointment. The words ranged from mediocre to simply everyday phrases and the blackout poetry style did not help one bit. What I mean to say is that the blackout poetry did not help even one bit because it was all just so haphazard and an utter strain on the eyes. I did not enjoy it at all, and that is why ultimately my final rating has come down to this - 4star.

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

Today I want to talk about a book that from the first poem made me feel so many things while I was reading that I started to making notes to talk to you about it. Author – Alicia Cook is talking here about mental health, romance, depression, and struggling with real life. It was a fantastic journey and I’ll be coming back to read this again and again.

Book full of poems ‘Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back’ by Alicia Cook is an amazing reading experience. The book is made as a cassette. Even the cover is a cassette.

There is Side A with 92 poems and Side B with a mixtape of them.

Every poem has a song that the author was “currently listening to” that makes these poems even more special.

The poems are mostly sad but at the same time bring joy because you know you’re not alone with similar feelings.

Side A is full of poems and I definitely didn’t expect Side B would look like this, but I loved it so much! Alicia was really creative with the way she made Side B. It’s something unique and new after we read all 92 poems from Side A.

I didn’t like all of them but I think it’s because of the life situations everyone is in. It’s different and everyone who will read this will find something for themselves. This is the beauty of poems.

My favourite part of this book was its format: the poems are divided between Side A ("regular" poems) and Side B (blackout poetry versions of said poems). Every poem is also accompanied by a song which the author was listening to as she wrote.

In regards to the content itself, I enjoyed it but didn't find it outstanding in comparison to a lot of other "modern" poetry I've read. The writing style seemed to fluctuate a lot between pieces and I found myself losing interest several times along the way. It wasn't bad, but it didn't mesmerize me either.

Alicia perfectly summed up the inner thoughts of people who struggle with anxiety or depression. It was so nice to feel understood but to also be encouraged in the knowledge that I’m not alone. The poetry was beautiful and allowed you to enjoy the words without the entire book feeling sad or melancholy. I loved it and will definitely recommend it to friends

I don’t think I have properly read a poetry book since high school (quite some time ago), but geez I’m glad I read this!
These poems are just so beautiful - some I swear were written directly for me. Alicia has an incredible way with words. I was worried they would be morose and depressing, but whilst there are elements of that, a lot were hopeful and uplifting!
Side A was wonderful, and then Side B surprised me again with the cleverness and creativity!
I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves words.