This book earned a one star rating from me. Lauren Miller's poems are raw and personal, which I greatly respect. It takes a large amount of courage to put oneself on the page so honestly. I found many of the poems too disjointed; they seem to suddenly veer away into a different direction and discuss thoughts unrelated to the initial idea that was presented. Some feel as though they end too abruptly, as though Miller's idea just stopped. Overall, I found these poems too unfocused to be enjoyable.

It took me a bit of time to get into this, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. The writer shared experiences growing up queer and neurodivergent and wrestling with identity, and many of the poems really hit for me. I connected with a lot of the writer's experiences, and I appreciated how Miller was able to balance lyrical more abstract musings with very specific descriptions of experiences that felt so relatable. I especially enjoyed "Freedom like a Displaced Universe" and "Becomings." I look forward to reading more from this writer!

This was a nice, brief collection of poetry. I didn’t vibe with it so much through the first part but stuck it out and overall, I’m glad I did. The poems that hit, hit hard; reading back through my highlights made me appreciate some of them all over again. A section of one of my favorites was:
"because watching/late night television/with the sound off/is the type of mildness/that I've/been lacking/ever since I got too old to put a spoon/underneath my pillow/when I want it to snow"

Miller shares personal, yet relatable, feelings and struggles about mental health, neurodivergence, growing up, and being queer. Some of the poems are short and yet, you can imagine exactly what she was thinking or doing as she wrote them, which is exactly the kind of connection I hope for in something like this. A bit abstract at times, but poetry tends to be pretty hit or miss for me in general and I could see others really enjoying the language and choices.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Anthropological Study is a short collection of poetry that explores queerness, gender identity, neurodivergence, and mental illness, amongst other topics.
I couldn't really relate to many of the poems in this book - maybe I'm just the wrong age group to do so?
Lauren's writing is deep and descriptive. I'm just sorry I couldn't connect to the poems themselves.

2.5/5
I was intrigued by the Title of this poetry collection as I’m an anthropology student, but I’m also queer, a woman, and neurodivergent, so this stood out greatly when I read the description. It was a decent read! Nothing totally stood out to me that was super powerful, I got through it fast, as it was quite short. I’m not usually the poetry reader, sometimes I find poem collections that stand out, and I want to read, so maybe this wasn’t truly meant for me, sometimes I can get lost with poetry and be confused. Overall it was a good read though! I was reading some of it and was like “this is very real” so this book can be for anyone who can relate to the prose.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in August. A beautiful collection of work with queer and disabled themes. It was raw and emotional and resonated.

Thank you Netgalley, Querencia Press, and Lauren Miller for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book spoke to me on a soul deep level. It was hard growing up as a queer kid and not understanding as a teenage girl why you like other girls the same way you like boys. Wishing you were like everyone else. Growing up a mental illness hot mess.

Some of the poems were strange musings, and others held emotions deeper than the ocean. The ones cherishing her partner were lovely. My favorite poems were the ones wrestling with identity, and wishing you weren't different, or too loud, or too much.

This is one I would go back and read over and over again.

Coming of age poetry collection with short free verse poems, prose poetry, and object inspired poetry. This collection is curated by an author focusing on age-appropriate diction thar defines the questions we have about sexuality and relationships. The poetry breaks down feminism through a coming of age and how we adapt these ideas through maturity and greater understanding.
Queer topics that we come across in the community as we age. The different ways we cope with queerness and learn to love ourselves is explored in this collection. A great collection for adolescents to explore these topics and find a collection that resonates with them. The lack of rhyming schemes speaks to the nature of queerness and not adhering to traditional standards! Would have loved a bit more rhyme with some rhymes but the poems were well thought out while probing for deeper discussions.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.