This poetry collection allows for a glimpse into the life experience of Estlin McPhee. However, "In Your Nature" is not just a collection of personal experiences but also gives you the opportunity to see famous characters and figures in a new light.

From Harry Potter and the comparison between his life and transgender life experiences (especially clever with that series' author‘s transphobic mindset) to Joan of Arc, characters for poems that will be stuck in my mind long after reading them can be found throughout.
Besides the people presented in the story, I also loved the thoughts on religion and relationships, no matter if romantic or familial, in connection to realizing your gender identity. Regardless of how much you can relate to the story being told, you will be left pondering these lines.

Incredibly personal and filled with intriguing concepts, this book is for everyone interested in reading about gender exploration in a magical and fantastical world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Brick Books for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.

A biting (please excuse the pun) and wolfish look at trans identity through the lens of religion, grief, nostalgia, and mythology. "In Your Nature" starts off slow but quickly picks up as the reader moves through the dichotomy of childhood nostalgia and adult disdain for Harry Potter into the swirling darkness of lycanthropy. I was blown away with McPhee's way with metaphor, especially how they work divinity into the trans identity.
A refreshing and visceral read.

My favorite poems are: "The Dream Jar", "Prayer for What's to Come", "Lycanthropy", "Gay Messiah", and "Young Hearts Run Free."

A short, quick poetry read with a good heart that explores coming of age, trans identity, family, religion, and love.

The religious themes are very heavily and overtly explored, some of which I really enjoyed and a lot of which (as a non-christian) went over my head.

I was also surprised to see Harry Potter so prominently featured. I think a lot of writers shy away from mentioning popular media in deference to feigning an aura of sophistication, but it was done really well here. I myself was a huge (like huge, huge) Harry Potter fan, and I just completely blocked out all memory and recognition of it when I learned J.K. Rowling is a transphobe. But I think the way some of these poems navigated feeling the grossness of J.K. Rowling and also relating to a Harry Potter character was really interesting.

And from a narrative standpoint, it flowed well into my favorite thing this poetry collection did--using the character of Remus Lupin and the concept of werewolves to explore things like transformation, change, and being viewed negatively by other people and society.

Some of the poems didn't really hit for me, but that's almost always the case in any collection of work. Overall, I'm glad I read it, and it made me think.

A unique, bold, witchy and lupine exploration of growing up bookish, imaginative, and queer in a religious environment. Of discovering your identity, losing and grieving friends, the strings connecting mother to daughter to grandson, the calls of nature, and the lives of historical figures. Jesus and Joan of Arc really have continuously been fixations for lots of LGBT youth, understandably so. Both broke gender roles in tons of ways and are surrounded by divine imagery and grace often denied to others who do the same. They transcend. I loved the generational family poems most, probably because I'm a drama fly who loves messy tea, by I also loved the poems more about nostalgia, childhood, and nature.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy, I'm eager to see more from this author in the future!

This is a beautiful written poetry book about intersections of trans identity, magic, myth, family, and religion.
It's easy & fast to read.

Not a lot to say other than that.
Just very beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley & Estlin for the e-copy!