Andrea Gibson is always a must read!! Their vulnerability and way with words is unique and draws you into the book.

Vulnerable, and as expected in that context, not for everyone. But it does have valuable moments that feel universal.

I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of You Better Be Lightning
by Andrea Gibson, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher. They are an amazing poet, and their work means a lot to me.

This is my favorite collection from Gibson so far! The very first poem gave me goosebumps (speaking of, great poem in here on goosebumps!) and they just kept getting better from there. With poems on mental health, love, climate change, gender, and so much more, I know that I'll return to You Better Be Lightning again and again.

Heartfelt and moving as always. I’ve followed Andrea Gibson’s career for many years and their work is getting better all the time. I’ll be glad to see them get back to touring this yeat

Thank you to Andrea Gibson, Button Poetry, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "You Better Be Lightning" for an honest opinion!

I madly love everything that seems to be coming out of Button Poetry these days! They just have their fingers on the pulse of great poets, and great poetic works, that touch on all the topics that need to be being expressed in this medium, and never feel quite right without the magic that comes from poetic expression.

This second book for the author was a great showcase of her continuing growth and talent. I love that she makes no move to hide the effects of the pandemic in a work posted quite directly in the middle of these events happening all over our world, seeming to stop time and life-as-we-knew-it itself. I'm looking forward to her next book with such joy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this arc!

I really enjoyed this and I loved the mix of sad and happy. I’m sure anyone who read this will feel the same and will have enjoyed the eloquently written poems in which Gibson presents.

Even better than her first book, excited to see what they do next. There was a wide arrray of themes that really resonated with me. I abosultely adore this publishing company because they are very consistent with the kind of poetry they produce. Defintely recommend

Another beautiful collection by Andrea Gibson, who never fails to make me laugh and cry and feel. This poetry collection is a little different as their other works, as they published it during the COVID pandemic - so there are some subtle (and not-so-subtle) references to the pandemic, as well as poems about their health ailments, queerness, and relationship with their partner. All in all, a beautiful and striking collection of poetry so I will refer back to again and again.

I wish there were more than five stars I could give to this brilliant collection. This is poetry you will love even if you don't "get" most poetry, the kind of poetry that makes me feel I can be a real poet without leaving people confused. As one Goodreads reviewer who said they thought they didn't care for poetry wrote: "Turns out, I love poetry if it's this."

Andrea Gibson is an astounding poet and spoken word performer whose work I only discovered because I was gifted an ARC of this powerful collection. Included are many incredible poems on a variety of subjects exploring Gibson's identity as a feminist, queer, chronically ill, political person.

Here are a few excerpts:
"What if we don't have to be healed
to be whole? There are holes in every inch
of the fabric that makes me who I am,

but pull the string on my back
and I'll say I LOVE YOU and mean it
whenever you want."
(from "every time I ever said I want to die.")

and "No matter how it looks,
you and everyone you know
have hourglass figures,
Each breath, a falling
grain of sand. "

But read it yourself so you can pick out the phrases that take your breath away, because some definitely will.

Another beautiful piece of work from Gibson, fiercely yet sensitively exploring love in all its forms, friendship, family, romantic, unrequited.

I love Andrea Gibson, have for years. There is nothing I can say about this book that hasn't already been said, I have nothing negative to report whatsoever! Great!

you better be lightning by Andrea Gibson.
You Better Be Lightning is a poetry collection guided by self-reflection. It is queer, political, and feminist.
A good collection of poetry. Some I liked and some were so so. 4*.

I really enjoyed this collection and how the themes were explored. The poems are beautiful and I related to a lot of them. Will definitely read more by this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book because I liked the themes this book was going to incorporate into it.

I really liked about half of the poem. There were a few that really resonated with me or made me think or see a different perspective. But, there were also the poems that were just there and weren’t as strong in my opinion.

3/5 stars because of the 50/50 shot of a good poem.

I've got friends who have been telling me to read Andrea Gibson's work for years, and while part of me is wishing I'd listened to them sooner, the other part is glad I waited, because this was the perfect collection to start on for me.

As someone who has Chronic Lyme Disease, some of the poems about Andrea's experiences with it hit really hard. (Okay, all of them hit hard, but it was especially cool to read those, since I've never just stumbled across that sort of representation in poetry or fiction before, and I didn't know the author had chronic lyme before going into the collection).

Throughout the collection, Andrea shares really beautiful and striking insights about love, pain, growing up, and the human experience. I was very fond of the alien observations in particular.

There's just something about the way they choose their words and spin their metaphors that makes this collection magical, and i would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in poetry.

10/10, this is a collection that will definitely be joining my favorites shelf, and an author I can't wait to read more of.

*thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a copy for review!*

Amazing book, loved reading this. Some of the poems resignatedwith me on a personal level. I'd give this book 4 stars 🌟

A collection of thoughts and musings that created powerful imagery and emotion. From talking discussing breaking down the layer we protect ourselves with, to loving through an argument; this collections shows the essence of being human. This is a collection that made me laugh one minute and have a lump in my throat the next. Will be re-reading and recommending.

These poems are beautiful and breathtaking. I took my time reading each one, and it made me reflect on my own life. They're deeply relatable, I would recommend to anyone.

my reviews of poetry collections often harp on the fact that i struggle to find poetry that i fully get. and now i'm so happy to be able to say that i've found a poet whose work hits me just right and resonates fully. i guess i just needed a quirky queer poet with a huge heart 🖤

gibson writes about trauma, identity, vulnerability, environmental destruction, heartbreak, and above all else, love. so much love.

"queer youth are five times more likely to die by suicide" is a painful and hopeful standout poem. gibson is a vitally important lgbt+ voice. "the museum of broken relationships" made me fucking cry. and "note to the stranger six feet away" is an achingly cathartic pandemic poem. and "homesick: a plea for our planet" is something that i wish everyone would read and take to heart.

"wellness check" is such a good reminder that it actually resulted in me going no contact with someone who had been taking too much of my energy:

In any moment,
on any given day,
I can measure
my wellness
by this question:

Is my attention on loving,
or is my attention on
who isn't loving me?

🖤🖤🖤

it's hard to even talk about my favorite poems of gibson's, since the majority of them make me feel something deep in my heart. for now i'll just say that this book is wholeheartedly recommended, in all its beautiful raw tenderness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All quotes are from the ARC and are subject to change upon publication.