the princess saves herself in this one

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I really really loved this one. It could have been a five star rating however there were times the author seemed rely a bit too heavily on verse when it was her words that should have been delivering more of a punch. Her format was effective most of the time, but sometimes I just wanted words. Not space. WORDS. Even though I've written quite a bit of poetry myself I don't read much. I'm not sure why but it's never been a big interest for me when it comes to reading. I've seen this book around for a little while and absolutely loved the title as well as the simplistic design of the cover. It stands out and drew me in instantly. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ebook copy of The Princess Saves Herself in this One By: Amanda Lovelace in exchange for an honest review.

Facetiousness aside, Lovelace’s poetry book asks an essential question. How much has the fairy tale princess and the fairy tale itself shaped the female psyche? Lovelace’s speaker is obsessed with books and has transformed her life into a story. Anyone with even a mildly literary imagination can fall victim to this. The monsters hiding under the princess’s bed become the boys waiting to tell lies. The ghosts in the room are not ghosts but the haunting memories of sexual assault. Now let’s get onto style. This is where I Split into four parts, we follow Lovelace through being a princess, becoming a damsel, finding herself a queen, and finally turning to the reader. In the beginning, we go from a girl fighting with dragons to a queen who can finally best them. The last section is broader, looking at the rest of us. This is the section where Lovelace turns her attention to the reader directly. She begins reaffirming us all and reminding us that we are powerful women. I loved the way that Lovelace used fairytale ideas, like princesses, dragons, and queens, to tell her story. RELATED | HEART OF IRON – AN IMAGINATIVE AND THRILLING NEW NOVELThis poetry book was just mesmerizing. I saw a lot of people raving about this book and I decided to give it a try as well. And oh, my, God! I thought this book would take some time to read but once I started, it was impossible to stop. I finished it in less than half an hour.

It’s not going to be for everyone, and that’s okay. I’m no fan of certain overhyped classics. It is what it is. the damsel": In the second section, our poet's pain gets much more specific. Family members falling ill, losing siblings, and bad relationships form the bulk of these poems. I didn't love this section quite as much as the first. Many of the poems in "the damsel" felt like pretty Tumblr quotes or angsty teenage Facebook posts. For me, the redeeming qualities of this section were the poems about her mother's illness. Those poems were full of solid and heartbreaking imagery, and that was what carried me through this section. (As someone who also has a history of cancer running through her family members, it also kept me the most emotionally engaged, and I really felt for our poet here.)

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What I love most about this poetry collection is the progression from beginning to end. The front cover plainly states: the princess saves herself in this one. Flip it over and you’ll see the following: the story of a princess turned damsel turned queen. You see a story building from beginning to end and you feel yourself rising up and becoming a “queen” with the poet. I was excited to read A Princess Saves Herself in This One, but I didn’t really know much about it or know what to expect. As soon as I saw that it was dedicated to Harry Potter, the boy who lived, I had a feeling I’d like the collection. The Princess Saves Herself in This One is separated into four sections: I. the princess, II. the damsel, III. the queen and IV. you. The way the themes are approached is brilliant. Lovelace has taken so many deep, and often times depressing, issues and given them light without romanticizing them. She gives women who are, or were, in situations she has experienced in the past empowerment to endure their hardships. Even though I couldn’t relate to quite a few poems’ set-ups, the energy and positive vibes Lovelace was sending had a big positive toll on me. I am so happy to have gotten to know about such a kind individual and see such positivity be translated onto paper. A girl can never have too much chocolate, and a guy who gets a girl chocolate obviously knows the way to her heart. 🍫

I saw my own relationships with my dragons -- boys who loved me, but not enough or well enough, and girl friends who did not understand the friend part of that word the way I thought I did, or we did. I loved the discovery of self. Confused and faltering, fledging and demanding. The whole of love for the self, claimed slowly, and always with the ghosts of yesterday's which never leave entirely. Does that make sense? I’m not sure, but I’m really trying to explain how this collection affected me. Basically, I laughed and cried and hurt and healed and it was all so abrupt and yet the journey was slow and enjoyable and changing. Lovelace’s words were arranged so beautifully and helped me in ways I didn’t even know I needed. The fact that Rupi Kaur has taken up the reins from Angelou in a modern age and is still shouting about these issues today tells a sad story about the “progress” that has been made over the past few decades.

1. Wonderballs

I received ‘the princess saves herself in this one’ for Christmas from one of my best friends, so it only makes sense to start here. This book is a little out of my comfort zone because I don’t read full poetry books often, but I enjoyed it anyway. That being said, I’m not a poet and I don’t study the poetry craft. Take everything I say with a grain of salt because it is only my personal opinion. I don’t pretend to have the knowledge required to critique this book based on craft alone. So make sure to ask your poet friend their opinions if you want more of a “literary” discussion. Yet, Lovelace does something that Kaur does not do, which is to take a single theme and trope and push it to its limits. Lovelace explores and explodes the trope of the fairy tale. If you were a little girl raised on Disney fairy tale princesses, this book of poetry is for you. On the other hand, I do understand why some people will not fall in love with The Princess Saves Herself in This One in the same way that I have. The poetry is intimate and personal, but also speaks to some of the writer’s core beliefs – political and otherwise. Some of the poems might be considered controversial or turn off a potential reader.

After I read Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur earlier this year I was craving something similar to read and found it with The Princess Saves Herself in this One. The covers are similar, the writing style is similar, and the themes in the books are similar. This book is filled poems about love, feminism, healing, and more.

Have you read the princess saves herself in this one? How did you feel about it? Let me know in the comments! OVERALL RATING