This is not just a lament for Mexicans, but for Americans as a whole. A compilation of poems and notes about living in a racist world. Mocking every single shit out of it. The poems written by the author are brimming with vivid descriptions that capture and convey intense emotions. Modern approach of using strike-through to express denied inner thoughts is such a modern way how we used to do it on Discord. I’m glad and appreciate how the author actually uses that in the book.

Amazing collection! I truly moved and inspired by the raw, modern style of the expression.

"The dead must wait to be judged,
but here we do that for free to each other,
like how you judge this poem,
like how a White lady's poodle barks at a colored man. Go ahead and name
your daughters something you never
had. Who knows, maybe one day you can
just call her Heather."

Equal parts conversational and musical, Mexican Bird by Luis Lopez-Maldonado is unapologetically itself: queer, Mexican, and in conversation with the world it writes about. I would have appreciated if the author explored more of his participation within the queer community (Estrella was an intriguing poem, and I found myself wishing for more like it), but I understand that this is a personal preference more than anything.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a digital ARC of this work.

This was really good. I was intrigued by some the rhyming structure and it had a few sentences in there that made me lie the book down for a second to digest it, they were so good. Like with every poetry book, not every poem is my cup of tea but I liked 99%. The themes of race and queerness where so beautifully woven together. This had me feeling as raw as the sentences were. I for some reason really wished it ended with the poem Estrella.4.5/5 stars.

It’s always tricky to give a rating to poetry because how does one assign a star to a person’s life story?

This was work is raw, I think that’s the best word for it. The author really exposes their feelings and life experiences. It is brutally honest and extremely difficult to read at certain points. Some passages really made the hair on the back of my neck stand. However, others made me want to turn the page because I thought it was somewhat repetitive and I didn’t connect to it.

Thank you to Goodreads and Querencia Press for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

Raw, Emotional. Honest, Vivid

I fell in love with this author and this collection. He touched on so many feelings, societal expectations and hypocrisy, self-acceptance, anger, living your truth.

This is an excellent poetry collection full of really poignant imagery. I did sometimes struggle to know whose perspective a poem was from, but it’s a great exploration of identity, queerness, and family.

This is a great collection of poetry, reading this was like embarking on a journey through the depths of emotions and the nuances of the human experience. The poems evoked so many emotions and hidden thoughts. Overall, a captivating and introspective read.