3.5 stars.

Firstly, I'd like to thank NetGalley, Central Avenue Publishing and Makenzie Campbell for gifting me an eARC for an honest review.

I feel like each chapter in this book got better and better. I wasn't really getting much from the first chapter but as I continued reading I felt that I could relate more to each piece. The title Nineteen is a reference to how old Campbell was when she wrote this book. Being 19 only a few years ago I could really see where Campbell was and how her poetry was important for people of that age group. When I was 19 I finally decided to take my writing seriously and accepted and embraced the road of becoming an author, however successful. I really saw this message nearer the end of the book which I think is a very positive message to put out into the world.

This poetry collection covers a wide range of topics, for example: heartbreak, love, loss, war, peace, and healing. I think that it's a great poetry anthology but maybe the writing needs some work. It felt very simple at times when I just wanted a little more. It was a very emotional and abstract book which made it hard to picture a lot of what the poetry was about. Maybe if Campbell focused on some concrete images in her poetry it would work a little better for her readership. I did enjoy the cute art work that was scattered throughout the book by Hannah Juth.

A collection of poems on all the different aspects of love -- heartbreak, hope, and healing. I think Makenzie's poetry is worthy of reading because it touches on the things we feel in any relationship not just one of a partner. I would reread this again and would recommend it.

Nineteen by Makenzie Campbell

3.25 stars

“I’ve been damaged and I use men as a bandage. But they always fall away the next morning leaving my wound exposed.”

This is a poetry collection that is reminiscent of a lot of the big poets the Andrews McMeel publishes. If you like amanda lovelace, Courtney Peppernell, or any 2020 poetry collection this year, then this will be right up your alley. I’ve read a lot of poetry this year. A lot of it was hit or miss, but I actually liked this collection. This collection is based off the poems that Campbell wrote when she was nineteen. This is a weird number for most people, especially Americans. You are an adult, allowed to vote and die for a country, but you can’t drink or buy cigarettes. Most people feel very stuck and confined by the age of nineteen. It is an uncomfortable number. I didn’t hate that year of my life, but it wasn’t a great or fantastic one. It was a year for me that brought a lot of change, so it’s nice to read a poetry collection that is dedicated to a year in someone’s life (even if that was a couple years ago). I liked this collection. It’s not a favorite, but it has some sweet poems and nice moments. I think it will appeal to a wide demographic- both young adults nearing this age and older young adults who are not yet thirty. Or poetry fans. Really this collection has mass market appeal for a lot of people. It’s not the best collection I’ve ever read, but I’ll recommend it.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3.5

Plotastic Scale: 3.25

Cover Thoughts: I love this cover. Total sucker for it.

Thank you, Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t particularly enjoy this collection. It felt like I was reading raw pieces from a diary, which I can appreciate. However, I wanted it to be more polished.

Poems were good and there was a good flow. I personally liked it, but it is not something I would suggest for the library.

This is my first time reading the poet. I really enjoyed this and will track down 2am Thoughts. I enjoyed the concept of this collection, poems focused around areas that hold specific memories of a lost love such as the coffee shop where the lovers met. The poems felt very real to me as if the poet was sharing her own memories and experiences with me. The poems aren’t necessary very deep but they felt very real and powerful at times. I connected with these.

I fell in love with this. I haven't read the first collection from Makenzie Campbell, but I definitely plan to after reading this one.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable collection of poetry, filled with relatable experiences and positive affirmations to help those dealing with relationship issues. Makenzie's writing makes it feel like she's a longtime friend that wants to share her joys and hardships and hear yours, as well.

I’m somebody who reads a lot of poetry and so I have quite a particular expectation when I read new books of poetry/prose. I enjoyed reading through the prose in this book, but unfortunately, I couldn’t completely connect with the words and phrasing. Personally I would have liked to see more formatting to the works to set each piece apart and draw all the focus into the subject of each, instead they all melt into one and I’m not always sure where one begins and another ends. This could just be down to the formatting of the digital download I was sent by NetGalley...

I think the poetry in itself does incorporate a lot of the sensations and feelings that come with heartbreak and may be a balm to a heartbroken soul seeking validation and understanding. The prose is of a long hand format with each piece usually being several paragraphs long and each tells a slightly different story. With a new poem comes a depiction of simplified etchings which I found to be quite nice and a good starting point for what follows.

All in all I didn’t find the authors writing style to be of what I prefer and led to the 3 star review. That’s not to say that others may not enjoy it more or find more solace in it than I could.

Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read this book!
"Nineteen" by Makenzie Campbell is a collection of poetry covering topics such as love, self-growth, going into adulthood, heartbreak and everything that comes in between.
While I mostly don't really read poetry that much, I have spent some time as a teenager reading quotes on Tumblr and other places on the internet. So this book reminded me much of that.
This book perfectly fits those times of one's life when being heartbroken or feeling like being in pieces and having an urge to dive into melancholic texts.

Overall score - 3-3,5

Nineteen is a beautifully written collection that honestly made me cry and reflect. I read this at 3 am after not being able to go back to sleep and it honestly made me think and feel so much reguarding the relationships i have in life and mase me excited to find my self again. So many people can take so many life lessons from this, especially our young or young at heart who are still growing up. Though, whose to say that we ever stop. It was refreshing to have a collection that wasnt short one or two line prose like so many modern poets (which isnt a bad thing) and maybe its just cause its now 4am but im feeling inspired.

4.5 Stars

This poetry book is a work of art. The writing was lyrical and each poem was expertly written. I found myself emotionally connecting so much to each poem. I also loved the themes discussed. I definitely recommend to anyone who wants a short, poetry book that is both heartfelt and touching.

Nineteen

I received an advance readers copy of Nineteen by Makenzie Campbell from Central Avenue Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

By the author of the wildly successful 2am Thoughts, comes Nineteen - titled after the poets age when she wrote this new book.
Nineteen is a collection of poetry that broaches heartache, love, loss, war, peace and healing. For every place we go, there is a feeling or a memory that’s been painted on the walls. You can paint over it, but it will always be there. Even if you can’t see it, you know. You can feel the heartbreak inside the bedroom where you lost a love. You can feel the hope at the coffee shop where a beginning happened. You can feel the healing as you sit in the drivers seat, in charge of your own life.

‘Suddenly, the world picked up and ran away without me. I was not ready.
Time has left me broken.’

‘I know you are insecure and you have this wavering confidence that takes hours to build and only seconds to destroy.’

‘Let’s run through the woods with the wind on our face and the soil on our skin as we escape this sad place.’

‘I see things.
Then I feel things. And then I write them.’

‘Then October passed us quietly and he left me on his doorstep to rot.’

‘You do not have the authority to hurt me anymore.’
Read that again.
You do NOT have the AUTHORITY to hurt me again. That line is so powerful, you have no idea.

‘Hiding everything you ever feel behind a smile is protecting everyone else but weighing your own soul down.’

‘Letting your scars show is not a weakness. Talking about the things that have caused you to ache is not a shortcoming.
It is strength.
It is courage.
Is it self care.’

‘Don’t blame the scars of those who left on the ones trying to stay and heal.’
A lot of the time we try to blame the wrong doings of someone who hurt you before, to the ones who are here for you now and are trying to help you heal. We have to stop and take the time to learn that they are not the ones before them.

‘There is this double standard where a boy’s loss of virginity calls a celebration but a girl’s calls for derision and exclusion. The same act leads to congratulations and disappointment.’

Firstly, Full kudos to the author for publishing her SECOND collection at such a young age! If you love Rupi Kaur's poetry, I think you'll enjoy this take on modern poetry. In this collection Campbell talks about heart break and getting stronger because of it, as well as finding true love after hardships.

Set out in the current fashion, each poem is on its on page with lots of white space between. Some poems change things up and s t a g g e r the words across the page in a semblance of originality and some have little minimalist sketches. Which is unfortunately where my interest starts to wane. It's not that I'm against modern poetry (some of my fave is done my insta poet Yung Pueblo and his collection Inward) but it's hard for me to feel anything when the same metaphors, symbolism, and imagery is used on repeat. The blank page to me is not beautiful, I would rather see more words than a short 'poem' of "you can feel whole and empty at the same time". Or even better, the words that are on the page evoke enough emotion and oomph that my eyes don't drift around the page looking for more.

HOWEVER, I do recognise that part of why I disliked this collection is the content themes i.e. heartbreak. As someone who has not experienced heart break (yes I recognise how great that is and I am grateful) I could not connect to this collection. Perhaps someone who is going through a bad break up would find more comfort in the words written in 'Nineteen'. I hope someone is able to find solace within these blank pages and empty words.

I thought the writing was pretty simplistic and nothing special and I didn't particularly relate to any of the poems. As a result, they didn't evoke any emotion (which is weird because I'm only 21, so I would have thought I would have related to the poetry more).

This is definitely my kind of poetry collection. I love poetry that is both inspirational and thought provoking and these poems are both. You will be swept away by the beauty of these poems and there wasn’t one that I didn’t enjoy.

Overall, I gave this a 4 out of 5 stars and have every intention of picking up her other collection

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book. I loved all the poems. I found them quite relatable and realistic.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

This was an interesting collection of poetry, highlighting the ups-and-downs of being in your late teens. There were plenty of great passages that stood out to me, but overall the collection itself was just alright for me. I think being a little further removed from nineteen years old now, probably hindered me, especially in that my concerns now are different to then, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile read. What I thought was great about Nineteen was how Makenzie Campbell managed to impart the knowledge that just because things might be tough, it doesn't mean they always will be, and also that we're not alone in feeling that.

This collection of poetry is absolutely beautiful! I felt connected with the author the entire time I was reading their work! I will definitely be reading more of her work once it gets published!

Nineteen by Makenzie Campbell, 192 pages. POETRY. Central Avenue Publishing (Central Avenue Marketing), 2020. $15.
Language: PG (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Campbell opens herself to be vulnerable about love lost and a journey of self-empowerment as she shares her stream of consciousness thoughts with readers. The words feel like poetry because of the emotion fused into them, but the free verse is untraditional and seems more like a memoir.
As I read, Campbell’s words felt calming and comforting to read, and she evoked self-reflection. While not all of her experiences are happy, Campbell is able to create an atmosphere of empathy and encouragement for readers.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen