this collection Wasn't for me. I did not like this collection. I will only be giving one star at this time.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED! The details, dedication, and good writing made this an enjoyable read. I highly recommend to anyone who wants to enjoy poetry and thoughts of a writer.

A great book with words well chosen! Heidi Wong wrote Turning to Wallpaper with no mercy for words but a lot of grace for her readers. Thanks for creating this masterpiece! Heidi Wong is, in a nutshell, a worthsmith—her choices of words, perfect in every word altered. Each sentence carried meaning so deeply construed and yet visible to its reader. I can't NOT mention the interior layout and portray in this book. Genius designed! The artwork was done with a lot of thought. Great stuff! For fans of exceptional poetry, I would highly recommended Turning to wallpaper.

Turning to Wallpaper by Heidi Wong is a poetry collection that tackles issues such as growing up in a foreign country, being a woman, death, rape and many more.

Wong provides beautiful imagery and I am impressed both by the way she handles the language and by the way she talks about so many serious topics.

In a sense, Turning to Wallpaper reminded me a bit of Dead Dad Jokes and Dear Azula, I Have A Crush On Danny Phantom because of the topics they tackled and because of the writing.

Although, I will have to admit that since I am very picky when it comes to poetry, I didn't enjoy all of the poems. Some of them felt like they were dragging on for too long and many of the metaphors fell completely flat for me. Maybe it's the language barier? I don't know.

Anyway, this was a decent read. If you enjoyed the other two books I mentioned above, you will probably enjoy this one too.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.*

Well-written poems and beautiful artwork by Wong. However, unfortunately, I just didn't feel that strong emotional connection to most of her poetry. Poetry is, ultimately, very hit-or-miss.

I fear this book was wasted on me. I haven’t read much poetry and find it difficult to truly understand poetry. Even though I was often lost while reading this particular work, I could still enjoy the beauty of the words. I could feel the emotions though I wasn’t always certain of the meaning.
There was also gorgeous artwork included among the poems, most of it dark or brooding but still beautiful.

The poems are beautiful and the art is even more so. The author did a lovely job curating poems and artwork that have a darkness to them.

The poetry is trauma-focused and raw. This could be triggering for some readers, so keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to hard topics.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow, this book is a gut punch, in several very excellent ways.

First, ofc, there's the art, all by Heidi Wong, which is primarily dark to macabre. My review copy was a black and white Kindle version, so there's only so much I can say about something I can't observe in its full glory, but the renditions I had available to me were striking and invited long scrutiny (and it's easy to tell just from the cover photo on this page that I definitely missed out on the vibrancy of her use of color.) While much of the art was a bit too lushly Gothic for my personal taste, it did compliment the text quite well. My favorite pieces were the ones that combined Tarot imagery with the use of social media, two of my most <a href="https://dvaleris.itch.io/tarot-telling-for-two">recent preoccupations</a>.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the poetry in the book also spoke to issues that have been in my head for this last longest while. Dealing with topics of family, illness, immigration, alienation, death and sexual assault via imagery courtesy of Shakespeare and Ovid, the rawness of the emotions is for the most part cleverly, impactfully channeled through Ms Wong's intelligent use of wordcraft and construction. Our Story, Told In The Wrong Order is a particular favorite, tho I'm hoping it's less confessional than metaphorical! Another of my favorite poems of this collection, After The Breakup, is particularly impactful for its dissonant ending. I loved the callbacks to and correlation between Lavinia and Philomela throughout.

But the overall very good construction of the poetry and art was somewhat dampened by the lack of arrangement in the volume itself. The poems would have felt more impactful had they been grouped thematically, where repetitions of phrase might have served a theme. Instead, the scattered references made it all feel a bit same-y.

This collection is also at its strongest when not tying itself too closely to a particular setting. Amorphous dreams of New York City and Victoria Harbor work much better than the name checks of towns so small as to carry no cultural weight, which is then compounded by a complete lack of setting description. Better that these faceless places also remain nameless, so the mind doesn't try and fail to construct specificity out of nothing. Maybe that's just me, but my brain was completely thrown out of my immersive enjoyment of the poems by wondering where and what a Milbank or Kirkland were and signified (and once a chagrin at realizing that defaulting to Saint Petersburg being in Russia was perhaps not the obvious choice for interpretation here.) I get that these names mean something to the author, but the point of publishing poetry is to connect, to share meaning, to create for these words a weight and importance. Name checking only works if the name belongs to something consequential to the reader. In lieu of that, give me at least the bare bones sketch of these nowhere places so I understand what you're trying to make me feel.

Easier to construct specificity -- and universality! -- out of human emotions and situations. Even the obscure gods and myths invoked conjured a fresh layer on the poems they were attached to, simply by having a pre-existing cultural personality known arguably to millions through time worldwide. Ms Wong is deeply talented. Especially given her own predisposition to elegant construction, I believe she'd benefit from working with a poetry editor who'd push back on the intrinsic poetic inclination to excess and sprawl, in much the way a city planner can aid an architect's vision so that the end result is closer to harmonious marvel than impenetrable chaos. Turning To Wallpaper definitely leans towards the former, but could use a little more help to get all the way there.

Turning To Wallpaper by Heidi Wong was published September 28 2021 and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781771682466">Bookshop!</a>

There are several aspects of this book that I can relate too as a female such as the poem "3 in 4" and "After the Breakup". These poems have to do with being a woman and the feeling of love.
Other poems in the book, I could only read and try to understand the emotions that the author put into her work. Poems that dealt with the idea of a homeland and not feeling like you belong such as in the poem "Home Says Go Back To Where You Came From" and others like that.
It would do a disservice to the book and to the author not to mention the artwork that is scattered throughout the book. Each piece is truly stunning and elevates the poetry around it.

Truly a stunning work in both writing and art.

**I received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review!*

Heidi’s writing is immediately impressive. drawing from Shakespearian inspiration, Turning to Wallpaper is a much needed reprieve from your average modern poetry collections. the language the author uses is reminiscent of a time when poetry was complex and full of cadence. this book has a rhythm to it which is all its own. it flows effortless together, weaving a story of girlhood, life between continents, feminism, and the art of finding yourself. this is a must-read for fans of the genre. heidi fills a void in the world of poetry in a way that many of the biggest names out there have failed to do. the melody of words scratches the corners of your brain in the most pleasant ways while the digital art from the author herself is a visual treat for your eyes. do yourself a favor and add this one to your shelf.

Poetry is very hit or miss with me. I will either love it or be left super confused. Wong's stream of consciousness writing, unfortunately, fell closer to the miss side for me. She is brilliant at creating atmosphere and a whole story with just a few well-chosen words and lines, I will not deny that I walked away from each poem with something to think about and my emotions engaged, but it's not something I'm excited to share with other readers.
It ended up being something that I don't mind having spent the time to read, but not something I will be recommending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the early read!

I highly enjoyed Heidi Wong's poems and art! I always want to like poetry, but sometimes, they just don't resonate with me, but Turning to Wallpaper is something I really liked. I could really feel her emotions with each poem and understood her struggles with being Chinese during the pandemic. I would love to read more of her poetry! Her art is amazing as well! I really enjoyed having the art and poetry in one book.

‘Turning to wallpaper’ is my first experience with Heidi Wong and I really enjoyed the confidence and certainty within her words. She has a beautiful and macabre authenticity within her verses and she entwines her heritage within the modern world where everyone has ownership of everything. She claims a space for herself by producing this individual and bold collection which feels as rich and intense as art on those walls she breaks down:
‘...watching another girl read Macbeth like she was the poetry her cheekbones/ gather july, her hair us the rust of a city that glows of a kind adulthood.’
She deals with traumatic experiences such as racism and assault but makes her survival part of her strength and although her poetry is dark at times there is always beauty.

This collection of poetry and art is dark, but so good. The author's experience s and pain clearly shine through the poems. The visual art accompanies the poems perfectly, or the other way round.

I'll certainly seek out Wong's other work.

Turning to Wallpaper is a collection to be experienced, and not just merely consumed. A very fitting testament to the author's creative prowess. Heidi has explored some of the richest elements of her expression, from her haunting use of language and imagery to the incorporation of myth and surrealism, to pilot the reader through her world as a woman and creative who has lived through grief - grief from the loss of love, hopes, belonging, a twin brother and other family, her own innocence, among others - and a society that deems her threatening and unwanted for not fitting into their boxes. Through these poems, and the accompanying art, the speaker comes to terms with her grief and bizarreness, embracing them as a found power. Not surprisingly, my experiencing this work of art has felt like a journey through godly forces, through a high realm of emotion and expression. It was transcending to say the least, just as the book promises.

One appealing quality to point out is how the author has successfully threaded every theme to her main voice and intention for this collection, which, in this case, is the friction between her own existence, and the things, people, and places she loves and yearns to belong to, but cannot - and her embodying of, and living through, this, just as the title sort of suggests. You will find this excerpt in her titular poem, which was surprisingly (though effective in its intent) placed towards the very end of her collection:

"...the cage expands into a house, but you are still
drowning. so slice your human neck
for a pair of gills. this, too, is poetry.

to choose grief over love when the staying shrinks you.
to take your own hand and vow
to never again imagine yourself in the arms of those
who would have loved you if you were softer, smaller,
less whole, less alive,
to never again raise your voice
at those who would have understood your words
if you did not bear your culture, if you donned a different face.

to be a terrible, inconceivable, stunning woman,
and live."

This was one of my favorite parts of this collection, and it also does capture the major voice of the book to a good extent. In other parts of the book, the author skillfully threads other significant forms of her grief into this expression of what she has become. The loss of her twin brother is one of the recurring grief-themes. You will find this outstanding excerpt in "for henry", for henry, who is her lost twin:

"...did you leave your blood in mama's womb for me to eat up?
even one drop counts. maybe, then, your blood
turned into my eyes. my almond shaped rubies
housing the glare that makes men quiver.
or maybe it exploded into a heart. big enough
to eclipse mine, strong enough
to drain downwards. thick magnetic ink
hunting the wound of poetry.
or the top of my hairline, a ring of darkwater
that dares to lift continents."

This is one case where she brilliantly captures her aborted brother as the source of her masculine power that scares men, and the power behind her creativity and mysterious existence. A beautiful transformation of her loss, and she does this just as effectively throughout the collection.

In a poem like 'to be asian now,' Heidi also goes on to capture the her identity in a more universal scale, now as the friction between the Asian identity and the rest of the world, as unraveled in the times of covid. Here is the full short poem, which is also reflective of the diversity of shorter and longer pieces that she has managed to integrate into this collection:

"how godly, to be asian,
now, and love yourself.
a covenant of history, a scripture
to our goldblood. to be asian,
now, is to be the sun
shining. also, shining,
still, on those who both consume
and condemn its light.
when the world is a torch, to be asian,
now, is to be a witch
refusing to burn."

The entire collection of poems is written in very effective free verse that is reflective of the author's individualistic expression. I find her use of enjambment and other poetic tools to be inspiring to say the least. I am certain that it'll be a great candidate for awards and careful study in the poetry community. The art included is also beyond imagination and concentrated with skill, and they very perfectly complement the poems. I'm immensely proud of the author and her efforts. I look forward to her success, and the earth-shaking success of her book.

Heidi Wong's poetry is always amazing, but this collection has to be her best work yet. I was absolutely blown away by the poems included here, and they flow so well together, with themes running throughout the entirety of the book. So many lines made me gasp, and I wrote down the titles of probably a dozen poems that I wanted to go back to read later.

Wong is incredible at making specific experiences feel compelling to anyone; this collection has a lot of heavy topics and dark imagery, but more than anything else it feels defiant and inspiring. I would absolutely recommend this book to any poetry lover.

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to review this ARC.

Heidi Wong has a way with words. I've always loved poetry, and read a lot of it, so finding some that is different from the rest is hard. However, I was impressed with this one! One thing I really loved was the art throughout it. The paintings/pictures were absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could put them all over my walls as decoration. I've seen art in some poetry collections before, but they weren't pieces that looked like this. I would definitely recommend this collection!

Preface: Heidi Wong still manages to exceed my expectations, even though I have very high ones in regards to her writing. She's one of the most powerful impactful poets and painters I have ever had the pleasure of reading and viewing.

Background: I read "The Blue Velvet Dress Says I Told You So" with the infamous turning to wallpaper poem so, "Turning to Wallpaper" came as a very pleasant surprise. I had been so excited to get my hands on the book so I was ecstatic to receive an ARC copy AND review it.

Plot: The book is centered around the idea of woman, how she can transcend her body and become more than the "docile, domestic" stereotype that is written around her. The pain and experiences told in this book and how she so beautifully describes them both breaks and heals my heart simultaneously.

Emotion: This book was so powerfully reassuring to me, yet so deeply profound in the message it delivers. I felt like I accompanied Heidi in this sense of exile, longing, aching, displacement, and heartbreak. She never fell into one monotonous tone or one style with all her poems, and the fact that paintings gave a visual depiction of each experience just absolutely fascinated me. Both of her books hold such genius in their lines (and not the type of genius that simply holds to itself, but also delivers itself to its audience in such clear and simple terms).

Takeaway: If you're thinking of reading this book, buy it. Do it. Trust me on this one. She's a phenomenal writer and always so well worth the read.

Heidi Wong has a way with words. She uses strategic imagery to paint pictures in our minds. Her collection wasn’t an easy read but it was definitely something. It’s clear that a lot of her influences derive from classic poetry, not the new wave of poetry that many of us see in this time. I think that makes her poetry all the more unique. It has depth and makes you question. It makes you reread to get a grasp on what she’s saying. This is not a poetry collection for someone who just wants a quick read.

Heidi expresses heavy topics in this collection. From death to rebirth and everything in between. She even shows the duality of women. That they are not just soft but also fierce. She brings hope and encouragement to others. The collection is hard to get through in one sitting. Expect to take breaks.

The artwork itself is beautiful. Poems in their own way. They also match with the poems surrounding them. It’s Visual representations of her thoughts and emotions.

Overall, I enjoyed Heidi Wong's poetry. She is a talented woman and can teach us all how to hone and utilize our voice and talent. I can’t wait to what else she brings.

“𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒓.”

Poet, artist, feminist and TikTok sensation, Victoria Wong, has published her third collection of poetry and her first collection with Central Avenue Publishing. The poems in 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 are radiant gems which emit a strange, alluring glow.

The beauty of 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 resides in its fierce and imaginative language together with Wong’s eerie, surreal artwork — expressionistic oil painting and hyper-realistic digital art — which changes the ordinary into the wonderful and odd.

The collections themes include loss, love, death, family, displacement, isolation, foreignness, body image, self-mutilation, authenticity and transformation.

I highly recommend 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 and look forward to reading Heidi Wong’s next collection.


𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑫𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝑰 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝑶𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑴𝒚 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘
𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒋.

i could barely hear it sing,
but i saw it’s wings
beating against the wind, as if
they had known flight
beyond this lifetime.
i pressed my hands to the glass
and imagined you, too, were somewhere
in the sky, wings stretched out
in open air, still trying to sing.


𝑻𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏, 𝑵𝒐𝒘
𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄

how godly, to be asian,
now, and love yourself.
a covenant of history, a scripture
to our goldblood, to be asian,
now, is to be the sun
shining, also, shining,
still, on those who both consume
and condemn its light.
when the world is a torch, to be asian,
now, is to be a witch
refusing to burn.


𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓

Heidi Wong is a poet and artist who grew up between Beijing, Hong Kong, and New York.
While specializing in expressionistic oil painting and hyper-realistic digital art, Heidi’s poetry is equally packed with intensity and boldness. Since posting her work on social media at 15 years old, she has developed a unique voice composed of the stark juxtaposition between surreal and macabre imagery with intimate and beautiful language.

Her third collection, 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓, focuses on the idea of transcendence–transcending the silenced and demonized female body, conceptions of femininity and masculinity, tradition, and even nation in order to ultimately reconcile with and escape one’s past.


A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @centavepub for a DRC of 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 by Heidi Wong.