Disclaimer: I received an advanced digital review copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Title: Please Pick Me
Author: Reina Regina
Publisher: Moonchild Press Publishing / (self-published)
Publication Date: November 11, 2020
Genre: Poetry
Rating: ☕☕☕☕ (4/5)
Content Warning: highlight to view {abuse, betrayal, mention of suicide}
Reading poetry has always been such an intimate activity for me. I personally feel that you cannot be a poet if you are not willing to expose yourself raw in your work. And maybe it’s one of the reasons why I’ve always loved poetry books: the unmistakable sense of vulnerability that seemingly bleeds from the words.
And reading Please Pick Me is just that: it felt like peeking into something so intimate. With sections titled: flowers, thorns, roots, and seeds – this whole book is a metaphor for, fittingly, growth and all these less-than-picture-perfect facets of life that fundamentally still make up who we are.
From the heady quirks of young love, to the bitterness of a broken heart borne from betrayal, and, sadly, abuse even from those whom we should’ve considered as home. I admit that I had a hard time reading through the roots portion of the book because it centered around being bound by family and the sense of responsibility that is, culturally, inherent in being related by blood. That being anchored is not necessarily a good thing.
But I digress.
This poetry collection, particularly in the way it was presented and arranged, talks of coming into your own. It portrays how, most time, self-love is hard-earned. How the journey of getting there is brutal and sometimes, necessary. How vulnerability is strength and opening up to people takes courage as much as any other battle you fought.
but I hope, one morning,
you wake and realise that
you’re the whole damn garden.
This was a quick read, but a meaningful one at that. As poetry collections go, this is a book rife with metaphors to love and life that are, at times, too piercing to be read in one go. It turned into an emotional read in the latter parts of the collection. But in the end, you just project your personal story to the work you consume; proving once again that love — yearning for love and the urge of creating it for yourself — is as universal a feeling as one can get.
Side note: It also doesn’t hurt that the book is gorgeous. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to describe a book as “beautiful”, but it is. Besides, the actual words, the illustrations in the book were a thing of beauty. This book was illustrated by Straecy Lee, who is a budding illustrator from the Philippines as well (Filipinos, represent!). You can find more of her work at @northernroseart in Instagram.
RATING
This book is set to be published on November 11, 2020. Also, this is self-published so I hope you could check this book out and support the author! 🙂
GET THE BOOK! PRE-ORDER HERE >> Amazon | Kindle | Local Order (PH)
About the Author
Reina Regina is a writer, professional tarot reader, Instagram influencer, and former nurse.
She is published online as Reina Bambao on 8List, The Manila Times, Play Without Apology, and the Fully Booked First Look Club.
Reina resides in Manila, Philippines, and is the lady of the house for a doctor and two dogs.
You can find her mainly in Instagram: @reinaxregina.
I’ve always been a lover of poetry so it kinda surprised me that this is the first poetry book review that I am posting in this blog. And maybe, I should start reviewing more of this in the future.
Pages and Coffee Cups 