I’m a big poetry reader, and I’m always excited to find a new, interesting poet to read. Dawn Lanuza is definitely a serious talent, and if this collection is any indication I will be reading more of her!

I like the entire vibe of I Must Belong Somewhere. It’s a collection that would perfectly pair with Taylor Swift’s folklore and evermore and a glass of wine. It’s an collection that reminds me of the Jo March champagne problems fan video I’ve been watching on YouTube on repeat. Lanuza’s poems perfectly capture the sense of messy 20s restlessness and experiences of love lost and love not right. I particularly loved the poems that focused on restlessness and figuring out where home was and how to find it.

The prose was a little less successful for me than the poems themselves. I felt like the collection could’ve been tighter structurally, but when it worked it really worked. I would definitely recommend this collection, and I can’t wait to read more of Lanuza’s work!

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I went to read & review this book on the publication day ( yesterday January 5th) and it’s not on my Netgalley shelf. I know I downloaded it but am unable to find.

If someone from Andrews Mcmeel Publishing can send me a widget to my email address I will gladly still review.

Thanks.

I found myself relating to some of the poems in this book as this poetry collection deals with more themes than the usual ones. I enjoyed reading this one and I think it is Dawn Lanuza's best work so far.

@Thanks NetGalley for giving me the access to read this wonderful story. It was such an emotional journey. I loved every line of this book. I give 4 stars to this wonderful book.

3 / 5

Dawn Lanuza is an upcoming author of novels and poetry that I believe has a lot of potential. Her poems are raw and unfiltered. I like and can relate to many of her thoughts and feelings.

I really loved some of her poems, they struck very deep chords in me as I share some sentiments of her life. Being Filipino, finding a new home, pondering what a home really is.
On the other hand, some of her poems fell flat in their sincerity and presentation for me. I also felt that the general flow of the book was scattered at times. The order and feelings a bit messy.
Sometimes it felt as though I was just reading notes of hers. Not quite finished, polished works. Though I suppose there’s charm to that. I’m certainly no expert, but my wish is she find a bit more control and finesse in her writing to create a more developed and put together collection.
She has great potential, but also much room to improve, which I am sure she will with more practice and years under her belt.

I am excited to see where her career takes her. I’d be interested to read more of her work in the future. There are some beautiful gems in this collection. I hope she keeps mining for more.

This was such a lovely read. I enjoyed reading it and I had a few favourites from the book. I recommend.

3.5 rounded up! ✨

TW: suicide, self-harm, bullying

I think this is the first poetry and prose book that I read that was written by a Filipino author. And girl, it didn't disappoint. Some poems are relatable, some are inspiring and some are full of hope. I liked that it somehow tackled the importance of mental health.

Thank you Dawn Lanuza for this! I will try to read your other books. Thank you also to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

ARC was provided by NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (January 5th, 2021)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Death, suicide ideation, violence, bullying, graphic injuries, self-harm, body shaming, sexism, mental health/illness, toxic relationships, abandonment, depression, anxiety



“I must find a way to still choose myself despite holding on to you.”

I’m a firm believer that poetry, literature, and a plethora of other things can come into our lives when we need them the most. If I’m being honest, if this didn’t come into my life right now, I probably wouldn’t have given this as high of a rating as I have. Modern poetry and prose is something I have to be in a particular mind set or in a certain part of my life where I feel like it’ll be helpful to read. And reading this book right now, it has been a blessing.

This was such a well written collection that’s beautiful, and at times very heart breaking. I loved how every thing flowed and nothing seemed out of place. Everything was connected to one another whether it was a poem or prose. I think that’s one of the hardest parts modern poetry face, making everything flow together, but this author did a wonderful job of accomplishing that. And really loved that despite some of the hard themes throughout this book, there’s an optimistic feeling at the end. It was such a great way to end the book.

My most favorite thing of this whole book was the content and trigger warnings at the very start of this. I say this every time, authors should include these in their books and when the do, damn it’s the best feeling. Seeing an author take the time to add these at the beginning of their book, it’s like a little pat from the author saying, “I see you and I acknowledge your mental health.” It’s just a really great way for authors to show they care about their readers.

“I grew wings, but sometimes in between, I think I left my heart where you’ve been.”

Overall, I think this was a well-written book that many readers are going to connect with. I think many readers will find validation in their feelings or find a way to heal with this book. For me, with my whole chest, I believe this book came into my life when I needed it the most and that left a big impression with me.


The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the DRC!

Great collection of prose and poetry! I love Dawn Lanuza's books. I can see myself in so many of these pages. She addresses some very delicate topics, it's not always easy to read about such feelings... But at the same time, somehow she still manages to bring some positivity into it. I feel really good after finishing this book. Totally recommend it.

A really introspective and thought-provoking collection of poetry - a good choice to read at the end of the year; a reminder to be kinder to yourself and appreciate what we've all survived this year.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.”⁣
⁣
This poetry was beautiful. So many verses were so relatable and powerful from discussing love to longing and everything in between. ⁣
⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you #netgalley for an ARC for my honest review. #imustbelongsomewhere

I am a big fan of this style of poetry. I must say that before anything else.
I love when there is a thematic element (belong, in this one) that courses through a collection. I love when the poet considerately thinks to arrange the poetry with longer pieces next to shorter ones. And I love a well-placed illustration. There's variety, but depth. There's love, but also loss.
A beautiful work! I admire it greatly.

I saw this poetry collection on a friend's Instagram stories and immediately knew I had to get it. I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw that this was ready to read and now that I have read this, I know that somehow, the author knows who I am without knowing of my existence. There were so many points in the book where I paused, choked back my tears, collected myself, and then went on because it hit so close to home! I don't want to be that person who fills up reviews with excerpts from the book, but this is a book to be savored. And that's all I'm going to say for now until I can formulate my thoughts better.

I'm just going to leave you with these two verses that wrecked me:

Despite my knowledge,
these words swirl around
my belly,
a fetus of doubt and worry,
a voice in the back of my head
saying my existence
depends only on my ability
to birth another life.

"You should toughen up"
is why I'm hard on myself.
I've been told I'm soft.
--- like "soft" is a bad word

This was okay. There were some poems that I really liked and others that I didn't really connect with, so I'm averaging it out to 3 stars. Overall, it was a quick, atmospheric read and I really got sucked in into the whole mood of it.

Here are some of the lines that most resonated with me:

#2 "Every once in a while she is convinced that she doesn't belong here anymore.
Yet she doesn't know where she should be just yet.
She finds herself where she is because she doesn't now where else to be.
[...]
Sometimes, when she's in a new place, wandering and learning it's streets, she just hears herself sighing, I must belong somewhere."

#11 "[...] She allows herself to be called
a wanderer,
but she always knew that her
goal was to settle:
to find herself satisfied,
to no longer wonder
what was missing
from her life."

#21 "Half of me is worried about the lives I'm not living;
half of me is too tired to do anything about it."

#30 "She wanted to be alone,
but with someone.
That should make sense."

#40 "[...] "Sorry" is a nice word,
"Sorry" means feelings were considered
"Sorry" means "I learned".
And love?
Love mean having the courage to say you're sorry."

#72 "These days, I feel like
my head is full but the rest
of me is empty."

#97 "Some days you unfold;
some days you tuck yourself
back into your cocoon."

I really enjoyed the prose in this book. I think it could have benefited from a more cohesive theme, because sometimes it felt more like scattered love/breakup poems rather than the feeling of belonging. Still, I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"2.
Every once in a while she is convinced that she doesn't belong here anymore.
Yet she doesn't know where she should be just yet.
She finds herself where she is because she doesn't know where else to be.

Where would you go? she asks herself. If everything would be taken care of, where would you rather be?
But she can't see it that way yet.

Her mind carries all of the worry and the weight.
Sometimes, when she’s in a new place, wandering and learning its streets, she just hears herself sighing, I must belong somewhere.

She hasn't found it yet,
but she hasn't given up on the idea of it."

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel for providing me with a temporary e-arc.

I didn't sign up to start tearing up at the first page LOL. Also, this poetry collection comes with a trigger warning. Practise self-care before, during and after.

Written during her year of rest and travel, I Must Belong Somewhere is Dawn Lanuza's third poetry collection.

Being a tear-jerker with poems that wind around your heart and say 'I hear you', I Must Belong Somewhere takes you on a stirring journey and reaches out to assure you that this collection is where you belong. Exploring the feeling of displacement and yearning to feel at home while looking back on to the companionship and love left behind, this poetry collection is truly one of the best poetry collections to have written.
It is so hard for anyone to read this book and not feel that Dawn just touched a part of you that no one has been able to yet. Dawn Lanuza weaves heart-rending poems on topics that are difficult to dive into such as bullying, death, mental health, slut-shaming & sexism with focus on 'not feeling at home' and 'yearning and hoping for that feeling home'.

Dawn dives into exploring wanderlust in a way like never before. When I said earlier that this book gives you a feeling of belonging, I meant it. Even if it is impermanent, it is still lasting for a moment. That counts for something. Dawn weaves poems of different lengths- each with its own intimate touch that lingers on your mind for a fair amount of time.

Even when few of the poems felt out of place breaking the reverie this collection takes you into, they were still impactful, heart-rending and thought-provoking. It also contains a few illustrations- they made a mark on me. I found myself annotating poems and saving them in my personal collections so many times over this read and I would do it again sometime this week since I am craving for what this book had offered me.

There is something therapeutic about this particular read. It will always be one of the collections you will find me recommending to anyone looking for a perfect read when you need comfort or to feel sadder but end the session with a nice note.

Rating: 3.75/5

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's too early for me to write a review and I have to say I Must Belong Somewhere is by far Ms. Lanuza's best poetry collection...yet. The poems are personal and majority of them struck me. Some of us are finding the sense of belonging, there are moments we felt invisible in a crowd and it hurts not being seen for being yourself. Reading them is like a reflection of what I've experienced. It made me emotional at some point and I had to sit back and breathe. I may not be a fan of its structure but the way it made me feel is a plus.

This collection also talks about various topics which might triggered you such as depression, self-harm, suicide etc. Please keep this in mind before reading it.

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

I must belong somewhere is a powerful book of poetry addressing many things that can often be taboo subjects such as loneliness, displacement, gender and so on.
This poetry digs under your skin and makes you stop and ponder the verses and poems written and reflect upon them.

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the arc! This title will be released January 5, 2021.

“Half of me is worried about the lives I’m not living;
half of me is too tired to do anything about it.”

I Must Belong Somewhere hit too close to “home”. Lanuza has captured what I couldn’t put into words. The feeling of wandering aimlessly and being lost in life. The yearning for love and a purpose. The desire to know how you want to live your remaining days.

This collection isn’t all pretty aesthetics and words like most modern poetry floating around these days tend to be. This collection brings to the surface thoughts you might have been trying to bury. It actually made me feel something and forced me to reflect which most poets these days are failing to accomplish. I strongly recommend picking this up!

There are some dark themes and I appreciated the content warning provided at the start; “This book contains discussions on death, suicide ideation, violence, bullying, injury, self-harm, body image, sexism, and mental health.”

*posting review on my bookstagram/twitter and goodreads the day of publication as well as on retail sites.

I absolutely loved this poetry collection! I felt so related with so many poems that it felt like it was talking to me. I hghly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this before publication date!