“I have never been anything but a paper girl. Something to tear into pieces. Something to burn.”
We’ve all been paper before. We’ve all been fragile. Leaf-like and gently blowing. Enough to create stories or build fires. So, we go through life like that. We come across the things that tear us into pieces, and we keep going. We keep fighting because we must. We look for ways to be whole. To be the person we dream to be.
Fragile by nature, but tough by circumstance, paper girls are shaped by their love and loss. This collection of poetry and prose describes the journey of learning to live fully through the messiness of life and tenuousness of mental health.
My Review:
Rating: 4.5/5 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.