Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for early access to this title in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Such a great collection of poetry that focuses on learning to love yourself, sobriety, and recognizing that while it can be hard, seeing the growth you’ve made as a person.

Parker Lee truly has such a way of storytelling through her poetry and I enjoyed every minute of it!

No surprise here, but I loved this collection of poetry. Full of reclaiming identity, embracing softness and self love, The Starlight She Becomes told such a powerful and beautiful story. I always think poets are so incredibly brave making their experiences, especially the difficult ones, into works of art and Parker Lee is no exception. I found myself drawn to several of the poems, but repetition, i dream about a version of me that still has friends and a letter to my past selves. One of the things I loved most was seeing the way Parker writes about Amanda and their relationship. As a longtime Amanda Lovelace reader, I’ve read her beautiful poems about Parker and so it was such a cool experience reading Parker’s point of view and how she sees her. I’m so happy I got to read these poems and I highly recommend them if you’re looking for new poetry to enjoy!
CW: transphobia, homophobia, suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, mental illness, death, pandemic disordered eating

Thank you to Central Avenue Poetry for the digital reader’s copy!

Starlight She Becomes is a marvelous work that gives voice to the experience of a trans person. It has been very beautiful to have the opportunity to read this poetry collection, as the strength of this work lies in the raw honesty of lived experience transformed into verse: the courage, vulnerability, resilience, and joy articulated on the page are genuinely moving and important. However, I must say that, personally, I didn't much care for the author's poetic style, as it is very similar to what could easily be phone notes. The dependence on this prevalent aesthetic can make some pieces feel less distinctive as poems and more like poignant, emotionally charged journal entries presented with line breaks.

A fast paced, simple collection of poems about identity. Emotion and tenderness does come through in some poems, although others read as very young - perhaps because the writer is and I am not!

This would be a wonderful collection for anyone in the midst of exploring who they are and beginning to embrace that.

This book of poetry has a good mix of lineated free-verse poetry with proper stanza breaks and prose poetry. I liked the various sentence lengths, use of enjambment, and overall tone of the book. I especially enjoyed the notes at the end of the book to explain some of the references that I for sure did not get on the first pass. I did enjoy the Pokémon mention every once in a while. I personally would've liked more capitalization to be used but I get the stylistic choice. Sometimes there wasn't a clarification of the pronoun/subject that Lee was speaking about so I was confused who the poem was referring to. But overall, I liked the emotional exploration and journey that the structure set up. Some poems I enjoyed:
- i dream about a version of me that still has friends
- pocket-seized rebellion
- this isn't even my final form
- lake michigan
- when the poems are closets
- "are you a boy? or are you a girl?"
- conservative v̶a̶l̶u̶e̶s̶ hypocrisy
- text me when ur sober
- purple aster
- forget-me-nots
- on titling my poetry
- a letter to my past selves
- a letter to my future self

I found this really moving and emotional. I don't read poems often, so when I do find such an incredible collection like this one, it feels special. Everything about this was so perfect, there were a couple that made me emotional.

Thank you for the ARC, I appreciate it so much.

thank you to NetGalley, central avenue publishing and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this arc !

this was a beautiful poetry collection about being queer, more specifically coming out as trans and coming to terms with being trans, and overcoming addiction. im not trans but I am queer and some of the poems about being trans resonanted a lot with me. this book felt like a journey through the authors life and her working through some difficult time!

"there is nothing more delicate in the universe than a love between two women"

“Say goodbye to who you were to make space for who you are meant to be”

The reasoning behind 3 stars is because the poems didn’t feel like poems and instead were more-so notes.

Let me add in by saying that didn’t take away from the messages behind the poems. I quite literally got chills multiple times when I read them.

Most of the poems focused on the author finding herself, accepting herself, and then allowing herself to BE herself.

The main focus is coming to terms with being transgender and the struggles of transitioning. Not only internally but as well as with everyone around.

I do think that it was a beautifully told story and pulled at my heart strings more than once, but I do wish I got more of the “poem” feeling behind them.

Please note: I received an arc copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you NetGalley and the author Parker Lee for a copy!

This book was great! Opened my heart and eyes to another world. The poems hit hard and some were like looking in the mirror. I think it's a must read.

4.5 stars. A very accessible and in places relatable joyfully queer collection of poetry that at its heart is about transformation, self-acceptance, self-celebration, growth and love. I especially enjoyed the poems about sapphic love, and the pieces that touched on the rawest parts of the author's experience of transitioning.

Not really my cup of tea since I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but Parker Lee’s Starlight She Becomes is a deeply personal and vulnerable collection. The poems offer raw insight into a trans woman’s journey through hardship, self-discovery, and acceptance, with moments of genuine beauty and hope. Even though the style didn’t fully resonate with me, I appreciate the emotional honesty and the celebration of identity throughout. It’s a powerful, heartfelt read for those who connect with poetry and queer experiences.

While I couldn't personally connect to many of the poems in this collection, I celebrate with the author her journey and lament with her the struggles to get to her now. Thank you for making this collection, for sharing the experiences, and the catharsis of finally being the you you were always meant to be.

Wow, what an amazing collection of poetry! The author takes us on a journey of self love (and -loathing), of self discovery and of healing. She paints beautifully with her words, and the poems are thought provocing, sad and hopeful.

I'm recommending Starlight She Becomes with my whole chest.

This is a totally different style of book than I’m used to reading, but the synopsis sounded good so I wanted to support the author.
This is a deeply personal book for Lee, and read more like a series of diary entries to me rather than actual poems. Albeit it’s very poetic with beautiful word choices. As it read more like diary entries, it can seem a little flawed as diary entries are, and also very emotional. Another persons review says that they felt it was too depressing and seemed like at the end where it should be full of self love it read as barely self acceptance. I agree it doesn’t read as self love at the end, but I believe Lee has only really started coming in to herself as a woman, and is really only at the self acceptance stage, she’s been sober only a year by the end of this book, which means there is still scope for self acceptance to become self love. And I hope she finds that.

I am speechless. I tried so hard to read the poems slowly so I could savour each one, but the writing style and the way the poems hit were too appealing for me not to read a bunch in one go. Parker Lee has stolen my heart. I feel like her eyes have seen the depths of my soul, and the poems she's written in this collect has helped fill crevices I didn't know where still there. I made a major life decision after reading this collection, and I think I got the confidence because I was so inspired by the journey Lee has painstakingly shared with us.

The writing style itself is beautiful, and I kept stopping and spending moments to think about how each line was relevant to my own life. I think that's the most powerful thing a poet can do: to make us think about ourselves through their own experiences; through their carefully crafted words.

I will be buying myself and my friends copies of this collection. I wish I had more to say, but I genuinely think that I would do it a disservice with how inarticulate I am. 100% recommend to everyone. It might change your life too.

Arc review.

I think this was beautifully written!
The poems were about being transgender, the pandemic, learning about yourself.
I loved how the poems were being categorized.
I think there are a lot of poems people can relate to.
The style is easy to read.

4.5/5

Thank you so much to everyone involved.

a very emotional and picturesque view into the life of a trans woman discovering who she is and how to exist in the world today. even though im not trans i found a lot to relate to in this collection of poems, and i could feel the power of feeling in every word. i really think this is a very personal series of poetry, and i feel honoured to have read it.

I think this is a very gorgeous book of poems about not just the trans experience, and figuring out things that keep you alive, but also capturing a moment of history in the pandemic (while not being an overwhelming pandemic book) through connection, lack of connection, and the toll it had on everyone to be left to deal with only themselves.

A touching and heartfelt poetry collection.
This was my first poetry collection of Parker Lee's and it was beautiful! This collection really gave a deep insight into Parker, and the journeys of trans people. I loved the separation into different subsections, and the way these all offered different emotions yet still felt like a cohesive work made the pieces all that more personal as a reader.

A beautiful book of poetry, sometimes brutal, emotional, and poignant. It's about becoming, living, and thriving as your authentic self. Parker Lee is an amazing person and poet to just bleed all over the page like this and allow us to peer into her soul.

"...there is at least one person out there who needs my version of it, even if that person is just myself," Writer's Block.

Parker Lee's words are so fantastic. I'm in awe of her. Such beautiful words Parker Lee spins. I am in awe of her power. In the words of Margaret Atwood, "Don't let the bastards grind you down". Be you, Parker Lee.