Cover Image: The Smallest of Bones

The Smallest of Bones

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Member Reviews

Read this book out loud. The words tumble around, blending anatomy, love, and something deeper to create a subtle current that pulls you further into this complex mixture of poems.
The author uses the anatomy of skeletal bones to convey the deep, complex feelings of love, passion, heartbreak, and. infatuation. This was a unique reading experience that challenges the reader to process all of these emotions.
This isn’t a long book, which is good, because you will want to go back and read this more than once!

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I loved the concept, cover and title – but unfortunately this book just didn't work for me. It could be that the formatting got messed up when it was sent to my Kindle (I have a very old Kindle), so I missed some of the meaning conveyed by the correct line breaks or page breaks. But even considering that, this one really didn't speak to me. I found the non-fiction interludes interesting, but the poetry itself felt a little shallow to me, and it didn't spark anything in me the way that the best poetry does.

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This was just okay. I really liked the information interludes, but I thought the poetry itself was lacking. I wish there had been a few longer form poems to break up the sparse prose as it did get repetitive. Still a nice collection, and it would appeal to fans of text/tumblr poetry.

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This was beautiful and powerful. I’m not sure I would consider it horror, but it was a quick good read nonetheless.

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I really wanted to like this book of poetry. I thought the description was very interesting and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. I was expecting this this book to be a lot more dark and severe than it was based on the description. Another reviewer used the word “macabre” to describe what they were expecting and I definitely felt the same way in my own expectations. But this one just fell flat. I felt like there were a lot of mixed metaphors that didn’t make sense and some other pieces just felt very disjointed. I loved the language but found myself getting lost trying to find the tone of each piece and the collection as a whole.

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This is a gorgeous collection of poetry. A recommended purchase for collections looking to expand their poetry offerings.

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I didn't connect with this poetry collection. Either it was so abstract that I'm just a bit dense and didn't understand it, or its actually not that well written. I did like this one though, which says a lot about me:

my body is two-thirds
whiskey
and one-third
ghosts

I thought the concept for this collection was great. We're introduced to various bones in the body and explore themes such as queerness, sexuality, female oppression etc. through that lens.

I'm just not a fan of what I'm probably unfairly deeming 'insta-poetry'.

Thank you Netgalley and CLASH Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinions

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Thank you, NetGalley for a chance to read and review this ARC!

While on the one hand, I admit that Walrath's poetry is not the worst I've read this year, its not particularly outstanding. While the collection started strong, something about it kept me wanting something more that it could not deliver.

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“if you strip me down to my bones, am I yours?”

I have received an ARC in exchange for an honest review (netgalley)

The Smallest of Bones is a dark poetry collection that makes you think on relationships, sexuality, loss and more.

Walrath has an excellent command of prose and the structure of The Smallest of Bones hooked me from the start. Somehow the author has managed to capture a ton of feelings, but what stood out to me the most was the central theme of finding the light in the darkness. The structure of this collection was incredibly unique. I have never seen a poetry book organized by bones in the human body.

I did dislike how jarring the topic changes were and some of the formatting bothered me. Overall though the raw emotion and depth Walrath wielded made this an eye opening read.

I am looking forward to seeing more of their work and can’t wait for the release to recommend this on other platforms.

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I love poetry with a darker twist. That said, I am one of those people who failed to connect with the author's writing style. For this dark type of poems it was too simple to be fully to my taste.

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I'm kind of unsure as to how to review this...based on the description, I was expecting something in the same vein of Mariana Enriquez, but it's not nearly as macabre or chilling as that. It's a very short collection and only took me about 20 minutes to finish. There were some lines I enjoyed - "god I love the things I hate" and "If you keep listening to what they tell you you are, soon enough you'll become that thing" - but I think that the formatting on the Kindle was off. I think it would've made more sense in an actual book format - the table on contents has the poems all separated out for a total of 68 poems, but on the page there aren't any breaks, so it's hard to know when one stops and a new one begins. I think it will be much better in a physical book format.

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Book Review for The Smallest of Bones
Full review for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

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I was granted eARC access to The Smallest of Bones via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying: this poetry collection wasn't for me.
I really wanted to like this one, because the idea of it was extremely intriguing to me, however it sadly did nothing to me. I ended up bookmarking 5-6 poems, but not because they were groundbreaking, just because those were the few ones I personally could relate to. I just didn't connect to her writing style, I guess.

I'm sure that this will do wonders in the right hands, because as I previously mentioned: The idea behind it is amazing!

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3/5✨: This collection of poetry centers around the bones of body, using them as a metaphor or allegory for grief, domestic violence, trauma, etc. I think the language of the book was beautiful and very unique. I loved a bunch of lines from this collection. But I rated it lower because it just wasn't my vibe. I did not connect with the writing style at all. It also was a little confusing to read, as I found some of the imagery was too vivid and gave too many details so it was harder to picture. The language sounded nice but I often had to re-read because I didn't understand what I just read (but I might just be an idiot, so you guys decide for yourselves).

Overall, I thought the collection was average. Not something I will pick up again but also something that I'm glad I gave a chance and read it in the first place. I love the themes and the use of bones, I just wish I related to the choppy and interesting writing technique a bit more because despite being a really quick read, it was a little hard to get through.

---My ARC copy of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.----

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*may contain spoilers*

"the thing i miss most about our world is
the stars"
this collection of poems by Holly Lyn Walrath was a quick and easy read, a bit confusing at times but wasn't necessarily bad at all. I recommend you pick this up if you're trying to dabble in poetry for a quick and short introduction.

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This poetry collection was my first try at poetry, it was a simple and fast read even if some parts confused me. It was also informative as descriptions of different bones is given before the specific poems.

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3.5/5

I loved this but it was so short! Enjoyed the meandering disjointed feel between fact + emotion - but it felt like it went nowhere in the end. I feel I wanted an ending and I wanted more.

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The Smallest of Bones is a collection of poems with a intriguing idea behind it. But that's it.
Unfortunately, probably the only thing I found somewhat interesting where the short factoids about some bones in the human body, which were weirdly centred around the idea that many bones are different depending whether you're a female or male assigned at birth. Aside from that the "poetry" was basically scattered words. No rhyme, no reason to the way they were put on the page. I've read 'scattered poetry' and breaking rhyme and rhythm can be powerful...if they were there in the first place to be broken.
Honestly, if you're into that kind of poetry, this might be for you, but I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone.

*Thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

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A quick read that packs a punch! In a short time it explores womanhood, violence, relationships, love, identity. Every poem begins with a textbook-like introduction to the bone that titles the poem, leaning into the violence it can experience.

I really enjoy this style of poetry, with its metaphors of bones and blood and light constructing beautiful sentences. It definitely left me wanting to read more of the poet's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

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This book blew me away. I don't know how else to say it. This queer, slightly-horror, slightly biological, incredibly lyrical book of poetry is one of the best things I've read in a long long time. The imagery, the format, I don't have words to convey the power of these poems. I will absolutely be buying a copy of this book once it comes available.

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