“I’ve known god all my life,
and he has a tendency to wander into spaces he shouldn’t. when I’m smoking. crying.
fucking. and I’m tired of him being so greedy,
wanting me to notice him. he is no more real than a cloud in the sky. something to see but fall right through.”

Poetry always depends on the mood the reader. There may come a day when I feel like I didn’t like this, that it was worth one star less or something such; for the moment though, I feel like I got to know someone!

Ari B. Cofer put together a really intimate collection; it felt honest in a way a lot of modern poetry does not. I do not like that she chose to not capitalise words, I feel like that’s a strategy poets use to make try to look like someone’s diary, but I also feel like its a way that a lot of female poets make themselves seem smaller and more palatable and like people can take their words less seriously. I don’t know if I’m saying that properly, but do you get my drift?

I’m looking forward to her next collection and to see her grow!

This was raw. This was real. This was hard and heartbreaking and scary and sad. This was human. It felt like each poem and crafted with care, as if a little piece of the author was imbedded into every period, every blank space. I haven't had the best luck with poetry collections as of late, but from the preface I was immediately drawn in.

Some of my favourite poems were:
- my chest is full
- picasso
- home
- i saw their wedding photos on facebook
- magic
- my sister turns 20 this month
- her name is depression
- too black
- when our skin is too much
- when you left
- permanent
- bridges
- paper girl and the knives that made her

NEW POETRY BOOK ON THE HORIZON COMING OUT JANUARY 4TH, 2022 FOR FANS OF RUPI KAUR AND AMANDA LOVELACE.

First, I would like to say I appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. I believe that is so meaningful these days and such a small thing that can be overlooked.

Secondly, this book took my breath away. I was in shock at how moved I was. The poems start off simple - about heartbreak - yet were very relatable. And as you got used to the way the writer talks, start to trust her journey, she dives into deeper topics: racism, sexual assault, mental illness. The little doodles here and there were cute for a nice breather in between deep poems.

There is so much stigma about being a rape survivor and nobody ever talks about what happens next. This book talks about that gray area. Processing. Trying to live. Getting lost in your head. The confusion. The guilt. How you feel when you see your attacker on social media - the surreal moment of seeing them get in a new relationship. How easy it is for young people to be taken advantaged of. This book was raw of emotion and I truly felt like a piece of the author's soul was in this book. This book really stands out and I cannot wait for other pieces by Ari Cofer
Warm regards,

Diana Banana @ thatbemediana.blogspot.com

This was an absolutely heart wrenching read full of difficult but important topics. The author’s incredible rawness and self-awareness is impossible not to engage with and left me wanting more after I’d finished the book. If anybody needs to feel seen or understood in regards to depression, suicidal thoughts or encountering racism, read this book.

Please be cautious and take into account the author’s TWs at the front of the book and look after yourself and your mind.

an incredible emotional book. I devoured this and loved every second of it, it was extremely relatable and important. will be recommending this to everyone.

4.5/5

I LOVED this book. Ari B. Cofer is such an excellent poet and her words hit deep and true with me.

Her themes were heavy but she handled them with such expertise and grace. I am so glad she decided to write this collection. I think it can help many girls (and really any other gender/non-binary person) as she has a way to connect with so many people whether it be through her happiness or her sorrows.

I cried reading some of these poems. I had to stop and process every now and then because of her perfect delivery of words and feelings.

I truly cannot stop raving about this book. I hope you read it one day and are able to feel the range of emotions that I did.

Truly a beautiful collection and a talented, upcoming poet. I can’t wait for more.

CW: mental health conditions, suicide/suicidal ideation, self-harm, sexual assault, gun violence, violence against POC, body dysmorphia, drug/alcohol use, overdose

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This poetry collection is raw and deep with the overall message that things HURT, but they may not always. Even if things are bad for a while, find a reason to hold on. It's relatable for those who have struggled, but definitely a read you need to be ready for before starting.

This is a wonderfully written read and incredibly poetic. It covers a lot of important topics and the feelings are really raw and emotional.

This was an absolutely incredible poetry collection. I’m struggling to find the words to describe just how good it is. Paper Girl and the Knives That Made Her covers many important topics such as depression, suicide, self harm and racism. The author doesn’t hold back and you can feel the raw pain coming through in their writing. I enjoyed it so much I’ll be buying my own hard copy when it’s released. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author, for a chance to read and review this brilliant book.

*4.5 stars

Firstly, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.
Release date: 04 January 2022

This was my first time reading any poetry by Ari B. Cofer and I think she is a brilliant writer after reading this collection. There are definitely some trigger warnings that readers should look into before reading this. It does get very heavy throughout the collection. Cofer writes with raw emotion that really spoke to me. There is such an honesty and tenderness to the pieces in this collection. Cofer focuses on mental health and living a full life despite how crushing our mental health can be.

There are a mixture of long form and short form pieces as well as everything in between. Cofer also added her own art to the collection and it really added to the meaning of the pieces it accompanied. I always love to see different talents combined. The writings in this collection can get really dark and Cofer digs deep into topics that a lot of people would willingly avoid. I really commend her for this collection.

I do recommend this collection to poetry readers but be aware of the triggers.

Paper Girl and the Knives that Made Her

I am a huge fan of Poetry, some of my favorites being Rh Sin, Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur, who tackle on some big topics.
Ari Cofer covered some big topics as well; gun violence, mental health, drug use, self harm, suicide and more.
This book for the most part felt very dark. I do appreciate that it came with a trigger warning list, as it may not be a read some poetry folks are looking for.; however, after reading something so dark, I felt myself looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. An uplifting sense after all the dark. I didn't feel it which was a letdown for me personally.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and netgalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.

I give this book 3 stars.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This collection really left me speechless. I think it's a brave thing to write about your own trauma and mental illness. Depression and suicide are some really difficult topics people usually try to avoid. I'm really grateful for authors and poets who write about these two because they represent a voice for those who are still unable to speak about it. This collection was beautifully written and I could connect to most of the poems. Ari B. Cofer did an amazing job writing about all these feelings and how you can live with them. At the end, a great reminder is that you should never give up, you never know which great things you might do.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an anticipated copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I don't read much poetry, but I was intrigued by this book, so requested an arc and I am SO glad I did (and that they approved me) because it is simply amazing.
The writing is beautiful and it cuts deeper than the title knives. I can't say much because poetry is hard to comment on or summarize, and we all know no two people read the same poem since all of our experiences are brought into the reading, but what I can say is: this book comes out in January, do yourself a favor and pick it up. (Please check the trigger warnings though.)

This collection is mostly fiction, stemmed from some real life experiences from the author and I am unsure how to move on from it. I am so impressed with Ari B. Cofer’s writing style and intricate details. I was even more surprised that some of this is FICTION. The way this is written just feels like creator has been through each and every one of these experiences… quite remarkable.

Paper Girl and the Knives that Made Her is a trigger, all in itself. The collection spends time in some truly dark holes, which caused me to pause, reflect, set the book down, and take a mental break. The ability for a poetry collection to make you feel such a wide range of emotions, is spectacular.

This book drags you through deep crevices of self-harm, depression, racism, and sexual assault, but still manages to sneak in hope and little bits of light.

I’m thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC version. These opinions are my own.

This book of poetry... is a little difficult.
Sometimes you feel like reading on n on n on, sometimes I paused after reading just 1 & often DNFing it thrice during the whole read.

I really enjoyed: " let's unpack this" & "dead things" mainly the way they spoke about love & the use of figures of speech.

It's overall a roller coaster. I enjoyed some parts & dragged myself through the rest.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. "Paper Girl and the Knives that Made Her" is an incredibly deep and dark poetry collection. From the very beginning the reader is immersed in this gloomy and breathtaking atmosphere, this book does not promise any positivity or up-lifting and indeed, there is nothing truly positive. This is by no means bad, but it is important for the reader to know what to expect. Now, because of the heavy topics included in this poetry collection, many people, including me, will most definitely relate to the content, while many others will not, which is perfectly fine. The type of the works included in this poetry collection varies, there are illustrations, short and long poems, list poems (as I like to call them) and some poetic prose. Some poems left me with the impression that there were included just to fill space, which I certainly did not like. The trigger warnings are included in the beginning of the book, which is great, taking into consideration how dark the content is. The trigger warnings include body dysmorphia, sexual abuse, suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts, mentions of drug and alcohol use, mental health issues, self-harm, gun violence, violence against people of colour, etc. Very emotional and personal read, but absolutely nor for everyone because of the heavy topics.

I don’t even know where to begin with this collection poetry.

I was first drawn to this book by its cover and the title. I appreciated that the author included trigger warnings for this book. Honestly, this book definitely needed those trigger warnings because the book is filled with a ton of heavy material. The poems felt incredibly personal. The art and illustrations went well with the words.

Even though I was ok with how dark this collection of poetry got, I do wish that there were more positive/uplifting poems throughout the book.

Upon reading the first line, I knew I would be hooked. As a paper girl myself, the power and passion of the words filled me with such emotion that I could not stop reading it. It was at once something I could not consume fast enough, and yet wanted to savor and slowly digest. I absolutely loved this book.

I love all of Ari B. Cofer's work, and knew going in that I'd be glad I read Paper Girl, but wow—this book is stunning. She twists and turns through so many emotions, and writes so beautifully you just get lost in it. Ari can write jaw-dropping poems about anything from romantic love and growing older to suicide and racism. There are longer pieces and shorter ones, interspersed with lovely art with lines that will take your breath away.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves poetry, but also anyone struggling with mental health or past trauma. Paper Girl and the Knives that Made Her is not all feel-good or optimistic by any means, but you will come out of it being at least a little more sure of who you are, and a little more grateful to be alive.

Thank you to Netgalley, Central Avenue Publishing, and Ari B. Cofer for the chance to review this ARC.

This is an extremely difficult review to write. It wasn't that I was caught off guard for I expected dark prose and gloomy poetry given the book's title and opening blurb.

The books beginning came with content warnings (and also kind advice). Kudo’s to the author for providing those advance warnings. The warnings included the following:
• Mental Health Conditions
• Suicide/Suicidal Ideation
• Self-Harm
• Sexual Assault
• Gun Violence
• Violence against poc
• Brief mentions of body dysmorphia
• Brief mentions of drug/alcohol use*
• + other tough topics

Ok - Holy smokes! That’s a LOT of heavy stuff in a book of 176 pgs (NetGalley ARC copy version...with some pages blank at the end). *I would disagree with the word “brief” when applied to drug use.

What I liked about this book:
• The cover design
• The title of the book
• The drawn illustrations
• What I believe (hope) was the author's intent in writing this creative work.

What I didn't like about this book:
• MORE than half of the book is focused on the deeply dark. It had the feel of a journal one might keep in therapy. However, the opening of the book (in part) mentions “This is a work of FICTION”, the “product of the author's Imagination” - Italics mine). Knowing that up front, gave me less a feeling of heartfelt realism (as often expressed in poetry), even though the author states that some of the pieces are based on true stories.
• The road to recovery receives a lot less time and attention. When the road to recovery begins to be expressed, it is way too simplistic, rushed.
• Peppered with frequent F*Bombs
• Unflattering references to god/religion (the word “god” as written in book).

Summary: I'm extremely familiar, and with certainty no stranger to depression. I have seen the effects of serious mental illness in countless others, and unfortunately have also experienced seeing ones give up on life.

The Content: I get the meaning of the book’s title, the meaning of “paper girl”, meaning of “knives”, but was totally left being disappointed in content here. It didn't uplift me, nor did I appreciate the style of writing. The “dark writing” was understandably angry, intense, hopeless. The “road to recovery-journey to heal” writing felt so shallow, if not close to hollow. I was hoping this read would be inspiring, illuminating, healing, AFTER the darkness, after all what the proverbial knives did.- for some reviewers, it was/is with high praises. For me - no, not even close. The negativity/darkness content FAR outweighed any positivity... and then I remembered this is a work of FICTION, product of the authors imagination.

Perhaps the reading of the author’s creative thoughts and poetry will provide a lesson for some to experience a darkness they never never seen or had. Or perhaps it gives a voice to someone who stayed silent but could never speak or feel understood. My hope is that it will provide some benefit for the reader who chooses to read it (which I believe was the author's intent*.)

1.5 rounded up to 2 Stars

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. ALL opinions are my own.