Beautiful poetry, some lines just wowed me. Few poems made me feel so good about myself. Some verses seemed a bit of a drag, but there are some really powerful lines.

I really enjoyed reading this one.
It is told from a woman's perspective about life and it was kinda true. At some points, there were some parts that really hit me like crazy because they were such real events for me. If you want your experiences told through poems, I totally recommend you pick this one up once it's released!

I loved this poetry collection. It perfectly summed up what life is like in the modern age for women of all ages. It does not shy away from any topics and allows you to feel seen and accepted. I can wait to see what else comes from this author.

🌞🌞🌞 4.5/5⭐
I was surprised by this book.

I love it. It's such a good poetry book.

I liked the way it was written, the way that the author talked about women and how women should be independent, smart and to love other women.

I really liked the message of this book and how it was written. How it was expressed through poetry rather than a normal non-fiction book.

It reminded me of "The princess saves herself in this one" (my favourite poetry collection) and I felt so good reading it.

The single minus point that it has is that it was to short, but at the same time exactly how I wanted (it's weird to explain), but it's missing something, that spark to give it 5⭐. In rest, it was fantastic.

“Dear Girl” is a poetic journey from girlhood to womanhood. This talented poetry collection is in five sections as the prologue poem below hints at.
“It is the search for truth in silence
The freeing of the tongue
It is deep wounds and deep healing
And the resilience that lies within us
It is a love letter to sisterhood”

The poet Aija Mayrock mentions in the beginning of her collection that she comprised her poetry to portray personal to widespread views. The poet also mentions it is not a memoir per say, but more of an exploration of the inherent spirit everyone shares. For me, I enjoyed her “With Love” section best, but I feel many people would be able to pick from the sections that best suits them personally.

“Step out of your own shadow.
Step into yourself.
You have come this far
by showing up
with your own two feet
and that alone
is enough.”

I am the first to admit I’m a sucker for Instagram poetry, especially words that empower women, but something is missing for me here. She scratches the surface of heavy topics without digging deep enough. I enjoy free verse, but these felt too brief and impersonal. Some pieces read like a motivational speech, but the messages are all positive and I admire her as a solid role model to young women.

3.5/5*

Dear Girl is a debut poetry collection about feminism and about becoming a woman. I think it’s a good debut collection and I really like reading poems about feminism. We, women, need to stand together and fight for equality!

"you were not born an ember
you were born the flame"

I really liked the poems in Dear Girl because I could relate to them and feel the empowering message behind them. I think a lot of us women struggle with a few of the topics that are mentioned in this collection, which makes it a book for every woman.

"I know that if this world harms you,
attempts to break you,
you will rise
broken and bruised.
The world is no match
for that flame in your eyes."

Dear Girl was a good poetry collection only too bad that the poems didn’t have titles. I usually make ‘favourite poems’ lists but I couldn’t make one for this collection. But besides that, I really enjoyed this collection!

ARC thanks to #NetGalley

Each piece in this debut collection reads like a diatribe, an irrefutable incantation to be read at dawn while assuming a power stance. What makes it extraordinary is Mayrock's self assuredness, her conviction, her idealism and belief in sisterhood. Each line is powerful by itself and the collection as whole is cohesive and ultimately healing to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC of 'Dear Girl' and giving me the chance to review this poetry collection. 'Dear Girl' is an empowering book of poetry for women of all shapes, sizes, colors, sexuality, etc. I think the most enlightening point Aija was making it that women should never devalue other women. Society has told us to be perfect and society tells US what perfect is. We become envious of the women who start showing any success but we should be praising everyone's success. Aija speaks a lot about equality in her poems and I think it's an important message for everyone to understand. Although we, as women, have gained some equal rights, the equality is not completely there for us. I read this selection of poetry feeling like I was being given courage and that's impressive! I certainly enjoyed this collection of poetry and will be keeping my eyes peeled for more poetry by Aija Mayrock.

I have kind of been a poetry kick and I found this debut collection from Aija and I was very intrigued. I think this is such a beautiful collection for women of any age who just wants to feel brave and strong and like a warrior. This book was so empowering and she shows a full journey from childhood until now and beyond. Very powerful read and I would definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. I felt that it was a timely read. This collection truly explained the story of girlhood and womanhood. It showed the many lives that girls live while in grade school and what the world has in store for a woman. I think this is a great collection that both girls, women, boys, and men should take time to read.

Empowering and touching. Some poems were highly relatable and inspiring for women. However, some of them seemed a bit too generic. I felt like I have read that poem before in another poetry collection. This prevented me from connecting to them emotionally.

I am not really a fan of free verse but I found the poems quite impactful. However, some poems did sound like motivational sayings rather than poetry. Poetry is entirely subjective of course, so if you love free verse I recommend you try this collection!

Overall, a good poetry debut!

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

A heartfelt collection with some particularly wonderful poems in each section.

Dear Girl by Aija Mayrock

3 stars

This is a poetry collection addressed to women. It's all about women and celebrating women. It's mainly a call to action as well as a calling out in complacency of how women often allow other women to be treated. I think Mayrock is probably a fantastic spoken-word or slam poet. I would love to watch her read some of these poems. That ability shines through a lot of the poems. I personally didn't love this collection. It feels like every other collection that is targeted towards feminism. This poetry collection has some great messages, but it doesn't really stand out to me. I would recommend it for poetry fans and readers who are specifically looking for poetry about feminism.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

Plotastic Scale: 3

Cover Thoughts: I like the cover and the font is striking.

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

Aija Mayrock gives us a powerful, unapologetic collection if poetry.

I'm not gonna lie, some of this is hard to read and it may deserve a TW. That being said this stuff needs to be talked about!

This is about girls and woman and how society treats us no matter who we are or where we are from. It is also a sharp empowering narrative encouraging woman to support each other and have their own voice.

What I didnt like about the collection is that it feels so familiar. I've read Rupi Kaur, Amanda Lovelace etc that all have the same tone. Overall I did very much so enjoy this collection and appreciate the messages throughout. I will continue to read the author future works.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this collection.

This poetry book is split into 4 parts:

The search for truth in silence: About the #MeToo and Time's Up movement, gender inequality

The freeing of the tongue: About strength, body image, gender inequality and being a girl

Deep wounds, deep healing: About rape and sexual assault, pain, trauma and healing

With love: About love and heartbreak

To the sisterhood: About strength, growth and feminism

I preferred the middle segment of the book. There were quite a few poems that resonated with me. Some felt more well-written than others. Overall, the book is a strong symbol of feminism and empowerment.

This book of poetry was so inspirational and beautifully written. I was so blown away with the use of words and prose and how beautifully everything flowed together. I want to own this book to reference and build up my self confidence and those of others everyday. . I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a collection of poems aimed at woman and girls, on a range of topics which we face as females! Some are much better than others and the content is very varied. Poetry isn’t massively my thing, so my rating might bias? I didn’t love it but it wasn’t awful, as I said, some poems were better than others! ⭐️⭐️/5!

I really loved the topics Ajia Mayrock chose to deal with this collection of poems. According to me, words can really change the way people think and act. Ajia writes beautifully and I mut admit that I was on the verge of tears several times.

"Dear Girl,
you ask me what I wish for you.
I simply say -
never allow any soul to clip your wings
you were not born an ember
you were born the flame."

The only thing I regret was the lack of insight for some topics. I was expectign more. But it stil is a wonderful book to read! a real journey to womanhood and its hardships!

This poetry collection written by Aija Mayrock is a true hymn to feminism. Her poems tell us to fly high and be proud of ourselves as women. The author talks about gender (in)equality and how that affects our daily lives. This is such a powerful book. Rating: 4/5 stars