I enjoyed the collection and will be checking this poem out again. However, I must admit it took me a while to connect emotionally with the work. A lot appeared said before by other poets, but every now and then there were some true gems that made me stop and think. For that, I will definitely repurchase this poet.

I'm not a poetry reader so I was eager to try this and I really enjoyed it. It's so interesting that poetry can talk about many topics with such delicacy and beautiful way, I was really impressed wth how much I liked this.

What a beautiful collection of poems! I really enjoyed this book and the beautiful writing, it always makes me feel good to read nice poetry.

This isn't my favourite kind of poetry, I usually enjoy poetry that uses poetic devices such as imagery and enjambment cleverly. I do think that this poetry collection is very accessible, and will resonate with many people who are discovering the genre.

This wasn’t my favorite book of poetry but I did really enjoy it and I think many people will really love it!

Simple but very beautiful.
I really connected with the poems
.Thank you very much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The cover of this book is simple but eye-catching.
I'm a sucker for emotional and raw poetry, and this book was spot on.


I'd definitely purchase a copy and check out other books by the author.

Becoming by Renaada Williams

Synopsis: Poetry book covering feminism, sexuality, race, and mental health

Review: I really enjoyed Renaada’s poems; they were short, sweet, and to the point. It took me a few pages to get into her writing style, by the end, I liked it, the poems in each section flowed together beautifully.

Thank you Netgallery and Andrews McMeel for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, my apologies for the delay.

Unable to download before archived as my tablet was damaged and I had been unable to afford a new one until recently. Apologies.

This modern poetry is still brave and bold. The universality of feminism, love, and self-care are on point. Deep and Relatable. The simplicity of this book really captures my heart. This book will speak for you, no matter what race you are, how you handle your anxities, and how you handle yourself. The last part marks the whole book a total powerful one. Can't express how much i love this book.

I have received an advanced reader's copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

becoming by Renaada William's was a beautiful collection of poems. I was looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint! Each topic addressed was insightful and meaningful. I look forward to reading future material from this author.

Thank you for this opportunity and apologies for the late review.

Renaada's collection of poetry was absolutely stunning. Each topic that was addressed hit close to home, and was meaningful. I'm definitely interested in reading other poetry from this author. This was beautiful and inspirational.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley.

Full of emotion and longing. Heartfelt and clear poems on love and living. This poet is on the way to growing into a unique voice.

I originally read the self published version of this book and really loved it so when I saw it was getting published again I knew I had to grab a physical copy. i really liked this collection! The new edition doesn’t disappoint! New poems and revised old ones, i really recommend this collection.

"you
were the definition of
what a man
father
and a friend
should be.
you
always make something out of nothing possible"

I just got lost in this collection.

It's genuine.

It's heartwarming.

It's emotional.

It's liberating.

I just felt that this collection ended too soon.

I am always going to read whatever this author writes in the future.

Thanks NetGalley for the copy.

Unfortunately due to time restaints (or known as having a mental health worry time) this book expired before I was able to pick it up. I'm sure itll be a good read and I'm likely to pick up a finished copy too as I was genuinely interested in reading this.

Sorry I missed out tbh.

4.5/5*

This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley!

"you
are the prettiest bouquet
of dying flowers
i
have ever seen."

becoming. is a poetry collection about mental health, heartbreak, sexuality, race and feminism. Most of the poems in this collection are short, but beautiful and meaningful. becoming. is divided into 6 chapters and they talk about a different theme.

"i couldn’t find the balance
of loving you
while holding on
to me."

As I mentioned before, becoming. is divided into 6 chapters and there’s this chapter that talks about race. I think this chapter was even more emotional to me, because of the Black Lives Matter movement at the moment. I think Renaada William’s poems were so beautiful and I think non-POC people can learn more about POC’s feelings by reading these poems.

"you
are not here to be
everything
for someone else
and
nothing
for self."

Some of the poems had a title, but not every poem, so I couldn’t make a list of my favourite poems. I think the list wasn’t even necessary because I loved every poem. becoming. was such a beautiful yet sad poetry collection, and I loved every bit of it. This is the first poetry collection I’ve ever read by Renaada William and I cannot wait to read more of her work!

I thought that this was a good poetry collection. It intertwined universal feelings with feelings that only the black community can feel. I think it was effective and powerful. Some of the poems I was not a huge fan of, but overall I thought it was good. This collection made me think about the bad"loves" I have had and some of the red flags I should have seen. This collection also showed the depressive side of love and all of the baggage that comes with that.

I LOVED every minute I spent reading Renaada's glorious written word. Be prepared to be stripped straight down to the core of your emotions and feel ALL the feels.

I think poetry is a genre you either love or hate and for me, this book was a simple yet beautiful collection everyone should read.

It consists in 6 chapters: acknowledging, message to you, love never lived here, matter over mind, everything BLACK, and my favorite, save yourself.

"the thing about art
about magic
is that some people will get it
it’ll move them in ways they could never imagine
and for some
they won’t understand
they’ll have more reasons than a few
to make it seem as though
this
as though you
aren’t as beautiful
and powerful
as though you
aren’t as realistic as they would want you to be
and you
have to know
that you don’t require an explanation."

The style is easy to follow and if I’m being honest, there were a lot of poems that I bookmarked because they resonated within me. Recently I’ve learned that some words stay with us because they mean the things we cannot say aloud, or the things we wish someone would tell us. These advices, these poems that are like looking through a crystal clear glass: everything is easy, yet we complicate it.

"I was never looking for the light
at the end of the tunnel
I didn’t go into the belly of the beast
thinking it would be something pretty left over for me to
grasp
I knew inside there was a jungle
I knew I had to
be hungry enough
strong enough
and passionate enough
to surive"

Like I said, save yourself was my favorite chapter because it talks about strength, self-love, self-worth and all the positive things that help me motivate myself on a daily basis. To learn how to love yourself is a slow, worthy process. You can learn so much about yourself when you give yourself time to appreciate the little things you are, your abilities, your values, the things that make you simply you.

I would totally recommend you to check this out! I’m sure I’ll be picking more books from this author! Also the cover is beautiful, so kudos to the designer for that.