Great imagery throughout all of the poems. I found there to be a simplicity that made them enjoyable. Fun group of poetry.

When I read this collection of poetry I was not sure what type of imagery would come to life while I was reading. I read this collection in one sitting and enjoyed every second of it! The way this poetry was written just kept me wanting more and I was sad when I got to the end of the collection! I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys poetry or just getting into reading poetry! I will definitely keep my eyes open for more collections written by this duo!

something about this book felt rushed, unfinished. i know all poetry is different and some styles aren’t for everyone, so i’d like to think that this style just wasn’t for me. i couldn’t find myself connecting to many, there were a good 3-4 that i liked (hense the two stars) but overall this wasn’t my favorite read ever.

I wanted more....

This poetry was so refreshing and it painted a picture through every line. Definitely something to read a few times a year with it being such an easy and simple read. Not the biggest fan of the formatting on my Kindle, but I easily got over it.

Unfortunately these poems did not speak to me, I find it hard to engaged myself with the style.

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

Very interesting poems. I am so glad that I read. I will buy it as soon as it releases and read it again. Thank you so much for letting me read in advance.

Cheeky, quirky, quick fun read. Format was off on my Kindle but worked in the app, so I resorted to reading it there. Didn't get anything deep or meaningful out of this but I enjoyed the poems nonetheless.

2.5 stars
While this wasn't my cup of tea oersonally I do think people who like poetry especially more comical and in some cases seemingly non-sensical poetry will have an amazing time with this one.

This wasn't entirely for me I felt it was a bit all over the place and a bit bizarre.

First and foremost, art is subjective. I did not resonate with the poetry in Grass Animals, but someone else may. The description declaring minimalism was spot on, and for me, a bit too little. The poetry was vague in a weird way, yet somehow too specific.

I felt as though the writing was someone's brainstorming notebook that they got published. A few poems felt like a one sentence synopsis of short stories or videos, with no real direction. I did find a few I enjoyed that felt fun and simple enough to understand the base meaning. These included Front Stoop, In the Wild, Clown, Successful Outing, Bucket, and She Hated Him. A couple of these made me laugh too.

As a reader, the poetry did not feel like there was any passion behind it. I would not have suspected there were 2 authors writing the poems, mostly due to how short and abstract these were. Some of these felt like very niche experiences that a reader would not connect with, and others felt like someone writing a joke with deeper meaning.

The overall collection felt messy and disconnected. This felt like a half-finished outline of ideas that got thrown together. I think there is so much potential in the writing, and minimalistic doesn't mean it needs to be as simplistic and vague. Creating some connection points and making the collections intentions much clearer will provide a better experience to the reader.

I had read a few reviews prior to downloading my eARC and opted to read from NetGalley's app. I believe this prevented formatting issues that others experienced via Kindle. I do not think the formatting did any favors regardless, but I believe I was viewing it as intended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the authors and publisher for giving me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I do agree with other reviews that it feels a bit unfinished. It's just missing something. My favorite poems were "Spice Channel" and "Court". Some of the poems felt a bit lackluster but overall I saw a lot of potential and would love to read more from these authors. 3/5 stars.

It was a short, lighthearted read but it's definitely not to everyones taste. I had to reread a lot of the poems because the formatting was a little off-putting and I didn't understand them. At first I was like what on earth is this? Is this satire? It felt pretty pointless to read because I felt as though the poems were just mundane words put together in order to get a quick buck.

It got to a point where some of the poems started to paint very specific imagery in my head and I started to see that the poetry collection wasn't all that bad. "Camper Park" was so silly and made me chuckle, and "Two-Piece" was quite touching. Overall, I just don't think it was for me but perhaps I'll give it another go some other time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC ♥︎

I have mixed feelings about this collection of poems. Many of them left me feeling quite lost, as if I wasn't the intended audience. I tend to lean towards poetry that evokes deep emotions and brings tears to my eyes, whereas these poems often leaned towards humor and wit. Admittedly, there were a few pieces that did make me laugh in some way.

Each poem is short and offers a glimpse into lives without much backstory, which can be intriguing in its own right. I can see why some readers would enjoy this approach, but for me, it didn't quite hit the mark. I would still encourage others to give it a try, as personal taste plays a significant role in poetry appreciation. This collection just didn't align with my preferences.

Such an intriguing batch of poetry! I never know what to expect on the next page. Some made me giggle, others made think. I really enjoyed the poems that told a very short story of everyday life that one had to think just a bit to piece together. I am not a big fan of the spacing and I find that it is the most difficult for me to understand the purpose of, but that is probably due to my novice level of poetry comprehension.

Thank you NetGalley and the authors for the ARC!

I don't know these authors, but Brian Koppen follows my reviews on Goodreads, which is how I ended up reading this (courtesy of Netgalley).

I read it using the Kindle app on my phone and, like others have mentioned, the formatting was crazy. No idea if that was deliberate, but once I knew what to expect, it was fine.

These reminded me of haiku. Short, funny little looks at life, many from the point of view of a younger person. I especially liked "Train to Chicago," "Camper Park," "Kitchen Table," and "Magic Grow."

In tone, these reminded me a little of Mark Cunningham's <i>80 Beetles</i>, so if you enjoyed this, check that out.

There's no supporting text with this ARC, so I ended up googling Brian Koppen and discovered that he had a podcast for several years where he interviewed NYC comics, which is a pretty cool thing to do.

The poetry in this collection is simple yet quite captivating. Once piece in particular, titled "Chicken," stood out to be due to the voice, and how the simplicity could create such a deep rooted message; it quickly became my favorite of the book. The main issue was formatting, the text was awkwardly placed and small, which obviously needs to be overlooked and cleaned up by an editor. There was no introductory pages at the beginning and it felt like much was missing, which makes it clear that this book is unfinished, so hopefully it will come together upon further editing.

This was an extremely easy read, which doesn’t necessarily mean bad. The format was a little bit all over the place (which could be a kindle problem) but I actually found it added to the general tone of the poetry. Humorous at times. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to a friend. I think if I dedicated more time to analyse the poems i may discover I liked this work more but unfortunately the poems as they stand don’t attract me enough to do so. It feels a little bit unfinished but like another reviewer said I am excited to see what it looks like when it is published. 2/5 ⭐️

Poetry is pretty hit and miss for me, but I wanted to give this a go. The formatting when sent to my kindle was a bit all over the place and I struggled with it a bit, but I still enjoyed the reading experience for the most part. However I found that the poems themselves didn't really grab me much. I absolutely see that these poems are good and can be interpreted and analysed, but I personally didn't enjoy this very much.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

The poems are short but far from simple.. The collection features poems that feel like stories that have more hidden behind them, others like they are captioning a picture. The poems range from humorous to deep, but all of them are enjoyable. The collection feels weaved together and the titles are often clever. The collection includes poems that allow the reader to fell a full range of emotions.

3⭐️

Short, charming and hilarious poems on completely different topics.

I enjoyed the format of this little collection, although I wish the text would be aligned better on the paper, so it’s easier to read.

Thank you to Kevin Leal and Brian Koppen, as well as the publisher and NetGalley for the beautiful opportunity to enjoy this work ahead of it’s release date!

#GrassAnimals #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook!
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This was... interesting? I'm not sure if I am the right audience for this.

I did enjoy myself, that's true. But I am afraid I do not understand the art behind the poems. For me, I read it literally as black-and-white as it showed, but maybe there is more behind it than it shows on paper? I don't know.

This poetry book is an experience, that is for sure.

I liked 'House Sitting' a lot, because I can relate to that one. 'Expedition' is a wholesome one. Especially because of the last sentence added in brackets.