This book reads like a dissertation on Taylor Swift’s poetry, which for anyone not familiar with the academic writing style it might be a bit cumbersome,

I loved the way that the songs were annotated and how it shows the reader the importance of close reading. The full summaries did an excellent job to interweave the text and other works by Swift.

It was very interesting and well thought out. And the layout of the book is beautiful.

3.5/5

An ARC was provided by NerGalley and Andrew McNeels Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent book any swiftie would love to have!

Stars around my scars is an ode to Swift's lyrics, arguing that aside from their catchiness Swift's songs have a thoughtfulness behind them as Taylor takes inspiration from pop culture and literature to everyday items used symbolically. Both the analysis of the songs and the authors arguments on the intelligence and creativity of swift is enough to convince even the most reactant readers to give her music another shot, and create excitement to those of us already in love with Mrs Swift.

I absolutely adored this book! If you’ve ever wanted to delve into Swift’s lyrics with a literary lens, this is the perfect guide. Dr. Elly McCausland’s analysis of these lyrics is masterful, infusing them with her insightful and concise perspective. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about literature. Prepare to immerse yourself and rediscover the timeless beauty of these songs.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me this ebook for review consideration.

If you ever wanted someone with a PhD to explain to you what “I ask the traffic lights if I’ll be alright they say ‘I don’t know’” means then you’re in luck, as this book absolutely delivers.

Stars Around My Scars: The Annotated Poetry of Taylor Swift by Elly McCausland

Thanks to @netgalley @andrewsmcmeel for the advance copy of this to read and review 🥹

Where to start….. this was my worst nightmare at school anyone who did GCSE English will remember annotating that poetry anthology, full of poems that meant nothing to you! Well if I’d have done this anthology at school I’d have probably got an A****** in English! 😂

A beautiful annotation of Taylor Swift songs and the linguistic devices that are in there! I couldn’t have hoped for anything more from this 🫶🏼

Did I enjoy it?
Yes I loved it I love Taylor’s lyrics but deeper diving into elements of it made me realise some of the things that Taylor does that makes her music to be a whole new level of brilliant!

Would I recommend it?

Yes absolutely my little swiftie brain was loving this and I actually listened to the songs whilst reading about them which I think added another layer too!

Did it leave a mark on me?
Yes it took me right back to the eras tour sing dancing and screaming bridges of songs with however many other people!

I really appreciated the format of this book, which was annotated song lyrics followed by more in depth analysis. Taylor is one of my favorite lyricists and this book perfectly captures how much effort, nuance, creativity and intelligence Taylor brings to her lyrics (fingers crossed for a songwriter of the year award at the Grammys this weekend!). I would have loved to see an analysis on Cardigan, given that the book title was inspired by one of the song’s lyrics (and it’s also one of my favorite songs), but overall this was fascinating and I’d recommend it! 4⭐️

If you are a Swiftie this is a perfect book to dig into the lyrics in your favourite songs! Elly McCausland dissects many of Taylor Swift's songs prompting the reader to think a little more deeply about the lyrics and the literary elements contained in them. While reading this book I wondered, could this be a textbook for a high school/college course in poetry and writing? There are so many opportunities to debate the meaning of the lyrics and elements contained within. This may be the perfect way to engage students in poetry and literary elements.

Thank you NetGalley, Elly McCausland and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to preview this text. The opinions shared are my own.

I am a die hard Swiftie and have been from the early days of her career. I love analyzing her lyrics and her songs are on a constant loop in my brain. As a poet myself, and a fella with deeply felt emotions, I connect with Taylor on so many levels. This book reminded me of college poetry courses. We would write a poem, print enough for the whole class and analyze and critique each others work to find the meaning. This look does just that with some of the greatest songs in pop music history. I would sign up for college course like this in a heartbeat if I were still in school. It was so fun to see another persons perspective on some of my favorite songs. A lot of times it solidified my own interpretations but also made me think of things I had not yet considered.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this.

‘Stars Around My Scars’ is a very thoughtful exploration of a selection of Taylor Swift songs, and how she uses the English language to evoke the emotions that she does through her songwriting.

I think that the way this book is laid out is gorgeous, and makes for such an engaging reading experience - almost like Taylor’s lyrics have been handed in for marking, with McClausland adding her analysis and insights into the songs, as if she’s scribbled in the margins. She points out different writing techniques, metaphors that Taylor frequently uses, and notes literary references that appear, among other things. Some songs get bonus text, delving into them deeper than the scribbles allow, and others also get more fleshed out essays.

I honestly found it quite educational - I know these songs like the back of my hand, but by learning, and understanding, how different writing techniques have been used, I feel like I’ve come to understand them on a deeper level, which is such a lovely thing - although, this is hardly surprising as it’s written by Dr. Elly McClausland, someone who’s well versed on this subject, as she teaches a university course on Taylor Swift’s songwriting. I’ve definitely come away from this book feeling a little bit more schooled on Taylor’s lyrics!

I highly recommend this book for any Taylor fan who’s looking to sink their teeth a little deeper into her discography.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

I wasn't sure when I saw this, but I was intrigued. I took a History of Rock and Soul class back in college and we analyzed a lot of lyrics. This reminded me of that. It was interesting and didn't feel as if I was reading some fan's opinions of what her lyrics mean. It was very informative and kept me engaged. Great book. I'd love to take one of Elly's classes!

I received an advanced copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

I'm a massive Swiftie (Van N3!!) and have been since debut so obviously I had to check this out. I know as Swifties we're always clowning and looking for deeper reasons and hidden meanings in her lyrics so this was super fun to read through. I think it really highlights how clever and talented she is as a song writer even if her lyrics on a surface level appear to be simplistic.

I really enjoyed the format of this book! The author chose some of my favorite Taylor Swift songs to do a deep dive on and I appreciated her thoughtful commentary and analysis. I would recommend to other fans who are as invested in the lyrics of Taylor Swift as I am!

A good book for Swifties who also love literature! I liked the layout of this book, with the annotations of the songs, along with a short essay afterwards. It made it easy to digest the analysis and get a deeper meaning of each song. I'm also into the "lore" of who each song is about, but the author understandably doesn't include speculation about other people in her analysis. Overall I would recommend this to Taylor Swift fans who are looking to dissect her song lyrics more closely from a literary perspective. If you are more into speculation about the real events surrounding her songs, this may not be for you.

This book is for all the Poetry loving, Taylor Swift fans in your life. It was such a fine look at her music and lyrics through the close reading style we're all familiar with from our High School ELA classes. It gave me a new appreciatiation for some of Taylor's less popular songs.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The author truly did justice to the mastermind that Taylor Swift is. Every song mentioned is explored in detail, highlighting its literary significance, alliterations, metaphors, and connections to Taylor's life and her other songs.

This book offers a deep insight into how brilliant of a writer Taylor is. I wouldn’t call it beginner level, as some of the lines reference other songs, but if you’re familiar with her music, it’s easy to follow. My favorite part was the analysis of the tracks from The Tortured Poets Department.

As an English teacher and Swifty, I loved this book. It took Swift's lyrics, annotating and analyzing the figurative language, imagery, and meaning of each (basically what I teach students to do with poetry). Nothing in here is groundbreaking relating to Taylor's biography, but rather, details the incredible writer that she is. If you like Taylor Swift and want to know more about the lyrics to her songs, you would appreciate this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book. The poetry about Taylor’s songs was absolutely amazing. I’ve been a Swiftie since the beginning and this book had me feeling all the feels.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I enjoyed reading dr.mccausland's interpretation of Taylor's Lyrics. I also greatly enjoyed that she didn't only use the most popular songs, she even used vault songs, which was pretty neat.

as a swiftie i find it enjoyable to read about theories and fun facts. this book gave exactly what needed to be given

I received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Calling all current or former English majors and fellow Swifties! This creative work of non-fiction is unapologetically for you.

Dr. McCausland treats Taylor Swift's broad song catalog as a poetry collection and applies her extensive knowledge of poetic terms and references to analyzing several songs from each of Swift's Eras. As someone who was, in fact, an English and creative writing major in college, this book was a delight to read and brought back the feeling of being in a creative workshop. McCausland annotates the lyrics to make notes about poetic form or themes that resonate and connect one song to another. Each song ends with some brief analysis that effectively sums up the annotations if reading the writing in the margins feels like too much of a stretch.

I appreciated that McCausland offered her interpretation but also clarified that hers is not the definitive way to read this. There's something about this non-fiction that made me want to scrawl my own notes in the margins and build a conversation--something I think both McCausland and Swift would approve of. I also liked that the author isn't trying to do deep textual readings of all the Easter Eggs or past relationships that potentially surround the songs; McCausland is sticking to the lyrics and only discusses people that Swift herself has connected to a specific song.

My only complaint is that I wanted more! While I don't think it's reasonable to cover the entirety of Swift's current song list, this book felt more like a course syllabus in some ways. I wanted more thematic connectivity and discussion, but I think it would be difficult to do that without someone feeling like their favorite song(s) had been left out.

Overall, it was a fun read that gave me a deeper appreciation of Swift's songs and their connection to poetry.