I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The title initially caught my attention the most but I really enjoyed the book once I started reading it.

Thank you for providing me with an arc so ling ago. I apologize for not getting this posted sooner. This was such a fun, nostalgic read. I can see late 90s, early 2000s kids resonating hard. I have ti be honest, I did nit have high hopes, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Was not able to view before title was archived. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next! Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next!

these poems were really well done, the poems were what I was looking for in this type of book. I enjoyed the nostalgic trip from this book.

Never before have I felt so validated by something 😂❤️ Like, my bipanic as a child/teen is really shown here, and I can relate to a lot of the examples they chose!
Some of the pieces were better than others in terms of writing and engagement, but overall really liked it!

I was very excited to read this book but unfortunately I couldn't seem to download a copy! My phone doesn't support Netgalley shelf and I couldn't open it on my computer. Seems a real shame, sounds like a great book and I was so looking forward to. I may be purchasing a copy for myself!

This collection of poetry is a time capsule for Gen Z and Milennials. Every poem hits you with bitter-sweet nostalgia as you relive teenage angst, coming-of-age memories, the fears and anxieties of teenagers searching for their identity.

I LOVE each and every poem in this book, most notably Self Portrait: Danny Phantom, Murder Ballad: Raven's Patricide, Black Fire Ballad and Zuko's Palinode. The poems feel close to my heart as they conveyed the emotions I felt during my teenage years really well.
However, this book isn't for every generation. The authors referenced a lot of cartoons watched by Milennials and Gen Z during their childhood, so other generations might find it hard to relate to the poems.

So let's talk about why I love this book:

1. The writing.

Azura Tyabji and Jackson Neal served every poem like a five-Michelin-star dish. Every word and line captured the tender hearts of teenagers, from childish anger and repressed emotions to innocence and confusion. The cartoon references add depth to those emotions by weaving them with nostalgia.
The writing is also smooth and easy to understand, so beginners to poetry can enjoy this poem as much as others.

2. The themes.

The main theme of this poetry collection is coming-of-age experiences, which is really close to my heart. The authors touched on toxic masculinity, acceptance of sexuality, environmental issues, experiences of POC, motherhood and patriarchy. Through the poems, Tyabji and Neal managed to portray the angst and emotions felt by teenagers regarding those issues perfectly.

Here are some excerpts from the book:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧
𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦?

- Zuko's Ode -

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭
𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞?
𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐬?

- Murder Ballad: Raven's Patricide -

All in all, this book was a joyous masterpiece that Gen Z and Milennials would thouroughly enjoy.

#DearAzulaIHaveaCrushonDannyPhantom #NetGalley

Fun but disjointed. I wasn't wild about this one, but I definitely see the appeal. Some of them resonated greatly, while others were complete skips.

I loved the concept of this poetry collection, that each poem was inspired by cartoon characters. It was a nice little flashback having grown up with a lot of these characters. However a lot of the poems weren’t as impactful as I had hoped. This may have been a personal preference but I felt as though a majority of these poems went completely over my head. I even tried re-reading some of the poems thinking that it would help me better understand the message the authors were trying to convey, but it just wasn’t working for me.

Super unique and nostalgic! I love the concept of using prominent characters and figures of pop culture from "millennial" youth to explore deeper topics such as sexuality, gender, and the relationship we have with ourselves. Definitely written for a certain group of people, but should definitely be checked out if you're a fan of poetry, especially the more modern poetry coming out now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available..

I enjoyed the thought of reading poetry about the characters I grew up with. I tried to imagine what the authors where going through whilst they wrote this book but I just couldn't. Some of the poems were nice and I found myself truly imagining it but the rest of the book just seemed like they were making it up on the spot.

“Dear Azula, I Have a Crush on Danny Phantom is a crossover of our coming of age universes. Exploring the interplay of adolescence and media, Dear Azula is a masterclass on how Generation Z see themselves reflected on screen, how they find themselves in characters when the world does not grant them the possibility. These poems pay homage to the cartoon characters who made us the wicked lovestruck people that we are. These ubiquitous stories of teen ghost boys and water bending women gave wonder to a generation raised by recession. In illustrious villains we learned our own glamour. In chiseled chins and 2D teeth we learned desire. In Dear Azula, I Have a Crush on Danny Phantom we bring the early 2000s renaissance of animation into our modern lives to unpack, celebrate, revel, and remember.”

Being someone (still) growing up in that era, I found this idea endearing to see these characters center focused in poetry of all things. Reading fanfic in my past, I completely understand the appeal of showcasing inspiration from characters on the screen in this form and these two poets did an amazing job. I loved Raven’s and Danny Phantom was the reason I clicked to read it so fast. The Last Airbender is another treasure trove of lines that keeps you locked into the story.

My only issue was that while I did love the poems, there were moments of odd pacing or breaks with a line or two here and there. Nothing crazy. I still enjoyed them. My favorites: Marrow (the genius behind that) Beast/Boy, Yzma Dresses for the Llama Funeral (that was just wickedly fun) and Zuko’s Palinode.

Rating: 3.5 Stars Rounded up to 4.

(Also posted at my blog <a href="https://cassieshauntedlibrary.blogspot.com/2021/07/reviews-for-arcs1.html">👻Cassie's Haunted Library👻 </a> and GoodReads)

This was original and moving. It was unique with its various pop culture connections, yet was still relatable. My personal favorite was titled “Yzma Dresses for the Llama Funeral”, it was a little dark (which I loved).
Thank you to Netgalley and Button Poetry for this arc ebook! I will be posting my review on Goodreads today.

I was given a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What I was promised: [...] a masterclass on how Generation Z see themselves reflected on screen, how they find themselves in characters when the world does not grant them the possibility.
What I got: Not that.

This colleciton doesn't seem to know what it is that it wants to be. The poems try to be a tribute to the shows and anime that they were inspired by, but they only half succed in doing so. Because they also try to explain why the show or character ment something to the person writing the poem, while ALSO trying to give it depth that goes beyond the characters. Which doesn't really go that well. It's kinda a combination of all 3 but it isn't doing to hot on either of them. What we end up with is a poetry writing stile I don't like because

It's just pressing space at
random times, that are supposed
to sound cool and stuff but they
actually dont.

Fandoms mean a lot to me as well. I often hyperfixate on them, so I hoped to see why this character and that show ment so much to someone else.

Maybe someone else will be able to get more out of this.

This is an awesome collection of poetry exploring identity: gender, sexuality, queerness, self-doubt, self-confidence. I loved seeing the characters of my 90s and early 2000s cartoons be worn as creative expression. Shego, Yzma, and the hyena’s poems were among my favorites in exploring ideas of villainism and sexuality.

I am grateful to these poets for sharing their voices and Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC. Excited to see more work from them in the future!

I liked the concept of this collection because I too am a huge geek and lover of animated media, but I found this to be ok. A couple of poems are very vulnerable, but I ultimately wasn't very emotionally stuck by any of them. Since this collection feels to be for a very niche audience, I don't think readers who haven't consumed the inspiration cartoons (such Avatar the Last Airbender) will get anything from the poems.

I was immediately drawn to the title and concept of this collection. While it was an enjoyable read, the book itself seemed a bit short. I would have loved to see a few more poems included, or perhaps an expansion on some of the already included poems.

This one just wasn't my thing. The only poem I really liked was the one the referenced The Incredibles. Much of the others were just hard to follow.

This was an interesting collection, but not quite what I hoped it would be. For one thing, it was far more literary than performance-like; the latter is more what I would expect from a Button Poetry title, so that was just not what I anticipated (not bad, but I had to be in the right mindset). Though it had some real gems in it--a Mulan-inspired piece was particularly resonant, as was one about Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender (and "I Have a Crush on Shego" was a pretty accurate description of the queer Zillennial experience)--the work as a whole felt unfinished. It was quite short, even for a poetry collection, it lacked a sense of unification, and several of the pieces just seemed to dance around their topics without the incisive clarity I would have liked to see. In such a short collection, every piece needs to have punch, and that wasn't what I got here. Also, it had a LOT of poems from some fandoms, especially ATLA, but only one or two from most others, which created an asymmetrical feeling.

While it is full of potential, this was a bit of a miss for me. 3 stars to acknowledge the strength of its good moments, but know that it has some significant shortcomings as well.

This review will be posted in the future on all my platforms.