I would like to thank the publisher of this book for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I found the poems by Emily Perez extremely dark and sadly I stopped reading right before the middle of the book. Do not let though my review stop you from reading this collection as many readers have loved it.

There are certain things I look for when browsing NetGalley. First and foremost, I look for books I want to read. I mostly request horror and poetry because those are two genres that I am always in the mood to read. And I do judge books by their covers. Authors should not underestimate the value of great cover art. Something that I don’t necessarily look for but always catches my attention is Latino authors, particularly if they write about border life and bicultural life experience because that is something to which I can relate. And she grew up in my neck of the woods. Naturally I requested Emily Perez’s Iowa Poetry Prize winning book, What Flies Want.

Perez tackles a lot of familiar issues in her way, but it’s not hitting the mark. Perhaps I am desensitized to some of those shared experiences. The formatting made it somewhat difficult to read. Every poem is stylistically different. Some read like rants, others like run-on sentences that leave me breathless. The whole collection seems disjointed.

But there are some that stand out, like How I Learned to Be a Girl. It’s not even really the poem that stands out, it’s the feelings that it evokes. I think of the time I told an ex that he frightened me. He laughed at me, declaring that it couldn’t possibly be true, but he backed off. We learn to tiptoe around the landmines.

If the beast is unpredictable you must traverse
in postures of submission. Easier to crawl
with your face down toward the earth, nape
exposed, expecting to be struck, which may draw
cold contempt, at best compassion. Fragility may
inspire a desire to protect. I learned young to dance
those careful steps around the unexploded mines
where ground was not yet gutted.
How I Learned to Be a Girl

Then there are poems like Yes, All Women which expresses sentiments of which most women are familiar. The reader knows what it’s about despite the vagueness of the words. Maybe that’s intentional. It’s that thing we all understand but haven’t really talked openly about until recently. #MeToo, anyone?

My favorite is probably Correccion/Correction. I found I could relate to this one more than any others in the book. My mother is German and my father is Mexican American. They also chose names for us that sound good in multiple languages, though fortunately they did not decide to call us by middle names. I can’t imagine my life as Irene! I feel like I have probably spent more of my life in the RGV though, so while my experience does not match the author’s, I do understand what she was saying.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars for me. It’s certainly not bad, but I’m not seeing the groundbreaking revelations that other reviews claim are there. This is the type of poetry that makes me feel like maybe my reading comprehension skills aren’t quite as sharp as I think they are.

Big thanks to Emily Perez, University Of Iowa Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book wasn’t for me, but it might be for you! Check it out. You can buy What Flies Want, by Emily Perez on Amazon and other major booksellers.

What Flies Want (2022) is the third publication of poet, essayist and literary critic Emily Perez. This slim volume is a bold contemplative thoughtfully written collection of poetry featuring dynamic and controversial themes related to family life, mental health issues, school shootings assault and gun violence. Emily Perez has held positions in high school education and writing education and workshops, her writing has been featured in several publications including Poetry Magazine and Copper Nickel.

Combined with the unusual title of the book with a doll on the cover, the book at first glance seems like it may be an eerie collection of Gothic horror—this is not the case. Perez recalls her impoverished childhood where sheets and tin foil were placed on the windows to block the unrelenting heat of the dry South Texas border town near the Rio Grande. Perez “white” mother (the whiteness of her hair, snow, the pages of a book) her father, from Mexico, the bicultural aspect of their marriage is mentioned briefly. Perez recalls her childhood (sexual) abuse in powerful brief bursts and readers can’t help but feel sympathetic and sorry for the bright sweet imaginative child portrayed.

Occasionally Perez seemed to resent the (unjust) expectations and demands of her husband and three sons in her personal space and time. In the poem ‘Dinner Conversation’ the topic of mental health is a topic freely discussed, accepted and understood with emphasis placed on the toxicity of medication and environment. The medication is necessary for a functional wellness in life. The tragedy of Columbine High School Shooting (1999) ignited a movement that demanded stronger gun control legislation. As a high school educator, the issues that involve gun violence were of utmost concern for Perez: from the school safety drills to the unsecured and unlocked guns in her elderly parent’s home waiting to explode. **With thanks to the University of Iowa Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

This poetry collection stunning and moving as it dealt with many issues that prevail in the modern day America.. With themes ranging from womanhood, motherhood, violence, privilege and heritage.
Perez questions the society and raises accountability from those who are in it.
Each poem as raw as it can be and comes straight from the heart.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

4/5

I have always been a lover of poetry that are really confessional and raw to the core. The way all poetries were written by the author and penned with such beauty was phenomenal. Definitely recommended to everyone as it leaves feeling homesick with a sense of nostalgia. Beautiful <3

I enjoyed reading many of the poems but as a collection, I found it difficult to follow.
Thank you to the poet and publisher for an advanced copy.

I put this down about halfway through. The subject matter didn't interest me, and I felt each piece ran into the next.

What Flies Want is beautiful and striking verse, with images that linger. A literary collection to be savored.

Raw, visceral, and haunting. The themes present are unfortunately very timely given our current social and political climate. I would read more by Emily Perez.

**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

This book is very intresting. Despite having editing problems, it is a good book. The interesting ones are the ones I don't quite understand at all. I would read them again and again and still don't undetstand. There is a little bit of everything in the book. Even though I did not understand a lot of the poetry, it's a must read.

I received a free copy of the book and is voluntarily writing a review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, this poetry book was not for me.
Some of the poems work really well and evoked emotions in me, others... not so much.
The layout didn't really make sense to me, it was as of the poems were randomly placed. I think it would have made more sense to split the book up into sections and place similar themed poems together.
That being said, I did enjoy a few of the poems.

I loved this collection from beginning to end. I would recommend it to anyone who is always on the lookout for some complex, fleshed-out and thoughtful poetry.

"What Flies Want" comes out swinging full force as it takes on themes ranging from mental health, school shootings, racial inequality, and feminism. The writing style keeps you on the edge of your seat as Perez uses unorthodox stanza breaks alongside classical styles. I was particularly drawn to the poem "My Children Use the American Flag" and it's breaks/diction, specifically they way she seamlessly incorporates asides in parentheses so well. Deep, a little dark, and most of all beautifully written collection of poetry.

My favorite poems are: "Dinner Conversation", "Accounting", and "Lockdown, 1st Grade."

This was a really great collection of poetry. The author does a wonderful job of utilizing standard poetic forms and devices while also utilizing some more modern techniques. These poems are refreshing, poignant, and very relevant to the US today. Some standout poems were: The Door / Locked, What Flies Want is Not, and How I Learned to be a Girl. I think this collection is perfect for fans of Aracelis Girmay and Emily Skaja.

Highly recommend!

I had a hard time rating this the way I did because I love poetry. However, the stanzas and verses throughout didn’t flow clearly to me; they seemed like a continual run-on sentence that didn’t make sense in my mind.

What Flies Want pushes readers to a precipice where something is about to go over the edge. Bubbling under the surface of many poems are the #MeToo movement, the white privileged that causes biracial children to embrace their whiteness over their heritage, and a world obsessed with guns and violence. Perez questions the society we live in while also holding ourselves accountable for it in each decision we make: going along, to get along. The tension between the public world and the private world is palpable in these poems. Perez is a stunning writer and her poems will have you second-guessing your decisions and looking for better paths forward.

Unfortunately I did not really enjoy this book. I couldnt click with the words written and the way that it was styled I didn’t really feel any emotion with the words. Usually when I read poetry books I love the fact that the poet is able to male me feel a certain way however this was missing from this book.

What Flies Want by Emily Perez was my introduction to this poet, and I was immediately and easily drawn to the strong feminist voice that is undeniably one with which to be reckoned. Themes of motherhood, womanhood, and violence intermingle throughout, and Ms Perez's emotions ring raw and true in each and every word. This collection is bold and ambitious, and each virtually simmers with unresolved tension, providing much food for thought and demanding further contemplation.

Many thanks to NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for an ARC.

Its difficult for me to rate this ARC book of poetry not because of its content but because of the order of the poems. In one poem it will discuss school shootings and the next will be discussing girlhood. There was no flow from one to another it seemed very disjointed. The poems themselves were very well written and emotional.

Emily Pérez is an English and gender studies instructor and grade-level dean at Colorado Academy. She is the author of What Flies Want, winner of the Iowa Prize; House of Sugar, House of Stone; and the chapbooks Backyard Migration Route and Made and Unmade. She lives in Denver, Colorado. What Flies Want, her newest collection, is a dark collection of poems that deals with very real traumas—mental health, marriage difficulties, self-harm, etc.—and their very real consequences.

What Pérez does well is create poems that have this lingering sense of dread that permeates through them. There’s nothing overtly scary or gory in these poems, but there is a mood created of ominous fear that works on a primal level. For example, her poem “I Want These Problems to Stay Quiet Problems” begins
let no light alight upon this larva
or visit this virus newly named. don’t tap
the glass before this adder, attempt to tame
this tempest in an Erlenmeyer flask.
These lines are sonically rich and fun to read out loud, but while they seem light and almost sing-song on the surface, a closer reading reveals something very large and scary and threatening about to happen. Pérez never states what it is, exactly, in the poem, and that almost makes it worse for the reader.

Elsewhere, Pérez taps into some mythic images to create the horror of the experiences of her subjects. For example, “Once I Learned to Be a Girl” begins
Once upon a time there was a little box,
a wooden vessel filled with tiny wants.

Once upon a time the box was buried,
the map and key tucked high upon a shelf.

And when her hands were free she cut
and colored, drew straight lines and crafted
This poem explores, with mythic and folkloric imagery from childhood stories, the pains of growing older and becoming more aware of the very real horror in the world. This approach is subtle with its horror, but like her other poems, the scary things are just at the edges waiting to grab the unsuspecting reader and leave them awake at night after reading.

What Flies Want is a solid collection of poetry. While it isn’t overtly horror (no zombies or werewolves or vampires, oh my…) it is a very strong collection of scary poetry. The monsters in this book are real, and Emily Pérez masterfully draws the reader’s attention to them and makes the reader afraid of them, which is a profound talent. This is a strongly recommended book for anyone interested in horror poetry.