Is Taylor Swift a poet? Absolutely, she is!

I loved this book! As an over-analyzer myself, I’m always captivated by the way Taylor Swift weaves her stories into the world. But this book takes it to the next level.

It dives deep into the meaning behind the lyrics, unraveling the metaphors, symbolism, and Taylor’s artistic evolution over the years. The detailed analysis offers a richer understanding of her creative process and the layers within her songwriting.

If you’re passionate about music and poetry, this book is a must-read. And for Swifties? You definitely don’t want to miss it!

I took my sweet time, reading it two songs a day but it could have been a much faster read!

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book, this is my honest review.

I already knew Taylor was a lyrical Mastermind, but Elly McCausland's annotations really made me realize Taylor is a poet as well. The author chose a variety of songs from each album to annotate, pointing out the various poetic aspects to the lyrics.

Though I did enjoy this book, it did give me some minor flashbacks to my high school AP English days of over analyzing books read in class. I feel like the majority of the conclusions the author drew were valid, while others felt like a bit of a stretch. My main grievance with the book, though, is the varying layouts that the analyses were presented. Most songs were annotated and then an analysis summarizing the annotations was at the end. But there were a few songs where the analysis was written out and inserted within the lyrics. Not a huge deal overall, but it did feel a little jarring.

This is the book for the Swifties! I had a marvelous time reading about my favorite lyrics. I feel like this is a book I will reread many times just like I continuously listen to the music and each time I’ll notice something new that blows my mind! I 100% recommend this to Taylor fans, especially those who are fascinated by the poet that is Miss Americania herself! Thanks to the author, Net Galley, and the publisher for the ARC!!

4/5
A good book for any Swiftie you know. The author delves into the deeper meanings behind a number of Taylor's songs. I also like the fact that the author didn't speculate about who the songs may be about (except for some obvious ones like Marjorie). The only thing I didn't like was that some of the writing felt really squished when trying to read it. Maybe it will be easier to read with a physical book as opposed to an eBook.

The thing (among many) I love most about Taylor Swift is her writing, so this book was beyond interesting to me. I absolutely loved how the author annotated the different song lyrics (poems) and broke down the words and their meanings. I couldn't even begin to tell you lyrics from other artists, but when it comes to Taylor Swift, learning what the songs are about is one of my favorite parts of being a Swiftie. Stars Around My Scars is a must read for fellow Swifties. Exactly what we need as we mourn the end of the Eras tour.

Thank you to the publisher, author and Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. As a new-ish Swiftie who is the best friend of a veteran Swiftie, I thought this book was a great intro for fans new and old to the lyrics and meaning for Taylor's songs. Beautifully put together, and would make a great gift!

There’s a lot of satellite merchandise and content connected to Taylor Swift out there. Some of it feels really valuable, even if it’s just a charming piece of fan art. And some of it feels completely unnecessary, which is unfortunately where this book lands.

To call this poetry analysis seems almost absurd. It’s probably the least sophisticated interpretation of Swift’s lyrics that I’ve ever seen. If you’d just like to pick up a few poetry terms, I suppose you could do it here, but I don’t need someone to tell me that a little black dress is “a piece of clothing that is often highly symbolic” or that red is “typically a color of passion.” I doubt there are too many people out there who don’t know these things, and I doubt there’s a single Taylor Swift fan dedicated enough to buy a book about her who needs this kind of remedial education.

In the end, there are probably just too many people trying to cash in by riding Swift’s coattails in some capacity. The artist has historically been fairly generous in not pursuing fans selling art that uses her lyrics or image, and it’s led to some truly lovely displays of creativity. But it also leads to books like this, a money grab with zero substance.

Stars Around My Scars is such an enjoyable dive into each of the eras of Taylor Swift to take a close look at the lyrics to beloved songs from each. I had so much fun diving into this and thinking critically about lyrics and their various interpretations from a literary standpoint.

This book is a must have for all your favorite Swifties!!

I would like to thank Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If my English classes in school were annotating and breaking down Taylor Swift’s songs, I feel like I would’ve had way more fun. This was so interesting to read and I typically steer well-clear of non-fiction as it can’t hold my attention.

I’m one of those people that can’t identify or understand words the first handful of times when listening to a song, so this was extremely helpful in dissecting lyrics from some of Taylor Swift’s songs (how did I never realize Ivy was about an affair????).

This book also proves that Taylor Swift is much smarter than the general public gives her credit for, because she utilizes SO MANY tools of poetry to write. I think this could be a huge reason why her music is so popular, it is intelligently and intentionally written to invoke thoughts or feelings from the listener.

This was fun and I enjoyed being able to sing along to the songs in my head and learn more. So good.

This was such a great book. Elly McCausland breaks down different songs Taylor Swift wrote and gives an "insight" into the writing. I really enjoyed it.

Taylor is an incredible lyricist and I absolutely loved this deep dive into her words. She is incredible and I recommend this to every Taylor fan!!

ugh i loved reading about the metaphors. it's also very visually intriguing which i loved, with summaries to your favourite songs at the end. it ate fr. all my swiftes need to read asap!!

This was such an interesting read! I enjoyed seeing how someone with an educational background broke down Taylor's songs like poems.

I gave it four stars because as in-depth of a read as this is, it's not Taylor giving us the real scoop - just someone's opinion.

As a Swiftie and language student it´s really interesting to see how other people interpret the metaphors, imagery, word play and other figures of speech. It´s also fair to mention that you do not need to be an expert in Taylor´s songs or have studied language on a deep level because the glosary at the end makes it easy to understand some terms.
I loved it!

As a big Taylor fan, I really enjoyed this book. The way it breaks down the lyrics and dives deep into the poetic meanings behind her songs is fascinating. I loved how it highlights recurring themes and literary references in her work.

Even though I was already familiar with many of her lyrics, the annotations and analysis offered a fresh perspective that made me appreciate her songwriting skills even more. This book is perfect for any Swiftie looking to explore her music on a deeper level.

A great read for fans of her music and anyone who loves literary analysis. Highly recommended if you want to understand more about the art behind her songs.

This book was a really fun way to go about making learning enjoyable. I often find myself passively listening to music. This book reminded me that there can be plenty of depth to things that have become less active in our lives.

The annotation style made it easy to follow the authors train of thought. Comments were kept concise to create a keen understanding of what themes/writing techniques each song utilized.

I very much appreciate the text that appeared after a breakdown of what the author found in the composition.

A quick, fun read. Especially for Taylor Swift fans. Bonus : fun for English majors.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the arc!

I wish I had thought of this idea sooner.

Stars Around My Scars is a compilation of Taylor Swift's most notable songs annotated by Dr. Elly McCausland, a professor of "Swifterature".

I love the acknowledgment that Taylor Swift's songs should be considered as poetry, and we should appreciate the use of literary devices in them.

I had expected to learn more about Taylor's skillful use of language through a literary analysis of her songs; but for a good portion of this book (especially anything before the Folklore era), some of the content can read more like fan theory than lit theory. I had thought this was just something in my head, but then I picked up a book with a very similar concept to this one, and it had exactly what I was looking for.

Regardless, Swifties who love language or reading will have a good time with this book and bask in the shared appreciation of Taylor's craft.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stars Around My Scars will be available January 28, 2025.

This book took such an interesting deep dive into all of Taylor Swift’s songs. It includes both a detailed line-by-line analysis as well as an overarching analysis for each song. The author noted connections between songs that I never noticed. A great read for any Swifties!

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book!

This was such an interesting deep dive into the poetry of Taylor Swift. As a huge Swiftie, I thoroughly enjoyed the different annotations and takes on lyrics as well as insights into the songs. This is a must read for any poetry, english loving Swiftie as I feel like I have a deeper understanding of some of her most hard hitting songs after completing this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this E-Galley in exchange for my honest review.

Perfect book for fellow Swifties!! Loved the deep dive into some of her popular songs.

Must have book for any Swiftie bookshelf.

Stars Around My Scars by Elly McCausland is out January 28, 2025. Thanks NetGalley for the early viewing.