These words captures how I feel, how I've felt. Who I hope to become, and who I've been. This book helped my hand in the dark, and walked me into the sun.

The Surrender Theory is fierce, divine, and something every young adult should read. I'm only disappointed because I cannot share my favourite quotes, because I forgot to screenshot them before the book expired.

Rated 4.5 stars

Thank you to netgallery for giving me an advanced copy of this beautiful collection I'm exchange for an honest review

I was lost all the time.
Es un muy buen poemario, no se confundan, pero me perdía un montn de tiempo, no conectaba con los poemas.

There was not a single thing I didn't love about this book. Caitlin Conlon's debut (<i>debut!!!</i>) poetry collection is an incredibly beautiful depiction of loss, grief, and heartbreak in which every line speaks to the deepest emotions within you.

I had no real expectations for this (yes, I did pick it based on its cover) but I've now found what is probably one of my most favorite books of modern poetry. Once it's officially out (towards the end of February), I'm definitely going to buy myself a copy and, if you're a fan of modern poetry, I definitely recommend you do too!

The Surrender Theory isn't something that you read, enjoy, and forget about. These poems nestle into your bones. Lines will hum through your mind like your favorite song. The metaphors will embrace you like a best friend, leaving you feeling held and validated. I've read hundreds of poetry books, but this is easily my favorite. I was completely captivated by the first poem. I had tears running down my cheeks by page 4. The poems aren't beautiful because they are full of big, fancy words. Everything is written clearly and honestly. Everything is raw and full. There are many books that feel like they have filler poems in between a few outstanding pieces. Everything in this book was outstanding. Everything in this book had substance. The kind of substance that you could read 100x and still feel as moved by it as you were the first time.

I also want to specifically reflect on the way The Surrender Theory addresses grief. I had lost my grandmother, who was my entire world, a few years ago. In the years since her passing, I have never found any words to talk about that void. In the years since her passing, I haven't truly talked about that ache with anyone. I am SO grateful that Caitlin shared her own experiences with grief within this book. Reading the poems that she wrote about her grandmother gave my own grief the validation that I had yet to find (the validation that I didn't even know existed).

"If you remember anything about me, I hope it is how brave I became in the aftermath."
Everyone who reads The Surrender Theory will remember Caitlin Conlon's bravery in sharing the most intimate reflections of the things that had filled her heart and the things that drained it. I know that I won't just remember her bravery, I'll admire it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for allowing me to preview this beautiful work in exchange for an honest review.

Caitlin Conlon, thank you for sharing your outstanding work. Congratulations on your latest masterpiece.

Cliches abound in this collection, which, despite being deeply personal, is neither memorable nor moving. Void of lyrical or narrative technique, the language is flat and the voice generic. Not recommended.

I enjoyed many of the pieces in this collection. Conlon discusses themes of grief, heartbreak, and mental health with gorgeous vulnerability. I highlighted many lines of strong metaphors, lyricism, and imagery. Conlon really takes the reader on a journey through the most painful stages of grief, to new love, and settles on a tone of acceptance. All of the themes presented are beautifully layered throughout the book, like memories that continuously come back to you.

I don't think all the pieces in this collection are equally strong. There were some that didn't keep my attention, making it feel a bit long. I also didn't find the use of repetition powerful in every poem. Some just came across as distracting to me. I noted "The Red Room" as one example. The color red is so striking that it paints the whole poem right away. At times I thought pieces were overexplained, one example being "Linguistics." I think the end lines identify a feeling of desperation that is already evident throughout the poem.

I did have a few favorite pieces. I liked the form of "Titles For Future Breakup Poems." It reminds me of "Notebook Fragments" by Ocean Vuong. "Ours, Away" is so beautifully written and filled with vibrant images. It's definitely one I'll be saving to look back on. My absolute favorite is "Ode For The Girls That Camp Out For Concerts" (though I felt "Ode To Girls Who Camp Out For Concerts" may sound nicer). As a frequent concert-goer, I thought this was such a cool idea for a poem, and I connected with every line.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for an honest review.

4.2 (4 stars)

The Surrender Theory is a collection of beautiful poems about grief, love and mental health.
This book had a different range of styles, with some using references from pop culture, film , music, art , etc. Each poem were written incredibly deep and packed emotions.

Overall, I recommend reading this book if love poetry and learning and connecting to love and loss.

‘The Surrender Theory’ by Caitlin Conlon recounts her emotional journey navigating through grief, loss, heartbreaks, and anxiety. Her tone is quite powerful, bruised and comforting.

Throughout the entire book, grief is never absent, it is always there, sometimes lingering in the background. She knows her voice and craft so well and thus succeed in making readers ache for her.
Her playing with space and line breaks, page breaks adds so much texture to the work.
To compare her heart to ‘monster of tenderness’ that scares her more than anything showcases her brilliant style.

The one-sided conversation with her journal and doubting herself whether she is on the wrong side of her life denotes

Do you ever get the impression
that you are on the wrong side
of your own life?

The earnest attempts (of someone in enormous grief) to erase the past into memories is described quite beautifully.
Her verse captivates in recounting the memories of her grandmother in ‘Observation’

Look at her, sitting up with a pillow behind her.
Orange juice in a sealed cup on the side table.
This is what an ending looks like, waving at me
From the doorway. Gown catching on a thin blanket.

Beautiful expressions like ‘to lick the wounds of a battered heart’, ‘you can lose things while holding onto them’, ‘I feel like a papercut that never stops bleeding ‘, ‘It’s true that I kept the bedroom door unlocked for Grief’ and ‘A warm house that smells like desire’ charm the readers.

Short poems like ‘Field Notes’, ‘Shame Lineage’, ‘Depression Revisited’ are impressive.

thank you netgalley and central avenue publishing for the arc of the surrender theory, by caitlin conlon. these poems evoke emotions i didn’t think i had. caitlin is a beautiful poet who knows her voice and craft so well. 10/10 for execution. emotionally strong, each poem really affected me on so many different levels - grief, sadness, heartache, loss, anxiety. caitlin’s choices with format and space on the page were masterful. i think playing with space and line breaks, even page breaks adds so much texture to the work. even though these poems relate to caitlin’s life they are super relatable. Some of my favorites from this collection are LIES, TITLES FOR FUTURE BREAKUP POEMS, New Voicemail, and questionnaire. i highly recommend this book for people who love deep, emotional, pop culturally relevant poetry. i would give this book to my cool older sister (if i had one), all my friends, and one very specific ex.

“Everything I’ve written for the past two years has
been about love, which means it’s all been about you,
in some way, and what I’ve learned about love
is that I didn’t know what the hell it looked like
until you picked it out of a crowd and introduced me.”

“Bless every person I had to be before I could be this one.”

Writing about such a heavy topic, Caitlin has tapped into the essence of grief beautifully with her talented writing style and all the details. I personally can relate to grief, and she carries the reader through a journey that is relatable. I LOVED the poem DRY SHAMPOO, (even though I don't use dry shampoo) because it hit home. I normally don't like long poems, but Caitlin's long poems were so deeply descriptive that it kept me reading.

NASA DIDN'T FIND A PARALLEL UNIVERSE WHERE TIME RUNS BACKWARDS is a beautiful ending to the collection!

- thank you netgalley and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I found this poetry collection interesting, as it touches topics i like to read about like grief, but it didn't move me like i expected. I needed more. As for the edition, not really enjoyed the illustrations, but overall i think Caitlin is a talented writer.

I did not really connect with the poems in this book. There were some which really struck me as emotional and well written verses. Something which irked me was that there were some illustrations however on the kindle they were showing on multiple pages making it very difficult to make out what they were.

These beautiful poems ache with sadness, vulnerability, and a fragility wise beyond its years. They know what they’re in the middle of is a lot, and they’re getting through it. They’re the stages of grief scribbled in a notebook thoughtfully. And, though a bit naval-gazing - but don’t we all retreat inside when we’re trying to make sense of heartbreak? - they’re an ode to giving yourself over fully and finding hope amongst life’s sometimes overwhelmingly heavy blankets.

im a fan of the author for years now and been following her on instagram. thats why im so thrilled and thankful and privileged to be able to read her upcoming book! congratulations. its raw and relatable, taking you in a journey of coming to face yourself in the mirror. holding your hand and traversing the journey of grief, heartbreak, depression and recovery into hope.

Conlon's writing is just really beautiful. There were poems or even just pieces of poems that I could relate to deeply, but most of them I couldn't relate to at all, and I still loved it. Most of the time, poetry that I find the most moving is poetry I can relate to, but I really adore the way this author writes despite my lack of shared experience with her because I think that there are kinds of pains or snapshots of nostalgia that don't have to be specific to be universal. She makes me ache for her, reminisce with her, feel for a complete stranger and I think that's the basis of good poetry.

4.5/5 stars.

"How do you forgive your name for being your name?"

A beautiful collection of poetry that deals with grief, love, heartbreak, and mental illness. Like grief, it remains constant throughout this anthology and is written with very personal events from the author's life.

Caitlin Conlon was able to create poetry with such heavy topics that related to everyday things like acne and dry shampoo, while still tapping into your emotions just as much. I found these poems to be eerily relatable and hit much deeper than I expected them to. The topics of not knowing yourself, being disappointed, and dealing with life surrounded by grief made me sit there thinking for a while.

I found the prose airy and pleasing to breeze through in one sitting. While I thought some poems were not needed for this specific collection, most were the perfect additions. I definitely recommend this collection to anyone, but forgo the existential crisis that I had after finishing.

This was a lovely collection of poetry. The main themes were love and grief. Although there were some poems that I didn’t relate to, overall the poems were great. I love that Caitlin included notes and references for a few of her poems at the end of the book.

I’m starting to get into poetry books a bit more, and the Surrender Theory was a great one to help ease me into the genre! I’ve read a few other poetry books before, but I can say I have never read one formatted in this way. The poems were very interesting, captivating, and emotional, and my favorite was “Linguistics”. I think this is a great, impactful read for anyone who is dealing with grief or heartbreak.

This is definitely an interesting collection! "The Surrender Theory" is a mix of poems about grief and breakups interspersed with handwritten quotes/drawings. I enjoyed many of the poems about the loss of the author's grandmother especially "Double Vision", "The Aftermath" and "Where My Grandmother Hides". There were also a few more experimental pieces of erasure poetry that were well done. However in my opinion the handwritten pieces did not mesh well and felt out of place, although the first handwritten section (a timeline of the author's life in relation to their grief) was promising. Overall, while I definitely took something away from this book I think it could be improved with some editing/development of the handwritten sections.

Thank you to NetGalley + the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.