Limelight

"Calm your busy mind, / Because tomorrow awaits, / With only greatness."

eBook ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Actual rating: 3.5 stars.

Limelight by Solli Raphael is an excellent introduction to slam poetry -- especially slam poetry about social issues -- for middle school-aged kids. The book begins by explaining how to create a poem, what slam poetry is, and what Solli has done in his career thus far. I couldn't relate to a lot of the poems (as I typically do for slam poetry), but I think that was mostly due to the age difference. The illustrations and design choices in the book were absolutely beautiful, and Solli Raphael is incredibly talented for his age, and I'm interested to see where his career goes next.

I found myself charmed by this book. I was only expecting a poetry collection by a very young slam poet, but got something even better in my reading.
First, I'll briefly address the poetry-- it's pretty solid, particularly for a writer so young and inexperienced, and I'm sure it is even better when performed at a slam rather than just read on the page. But the main thing I want to address in my review isn't the poetry, but rather the first major section in which he explains the process of writing poetry. I found it simpler, more direct, and easier to grasp than many other texts on the subject, and I think it will definitely help some other budding poets learn the basics of their craft and get started at a much younger age.

Outstanding book by a 13 year old slam poetry genius! At such a young age he is not ashamed to broach tough subjects that effect us all. A little lesson in the development of such poetry and admiration for his talent make this a worthwhile book.

Solli Raphael is a champion slam poet from Australia. Within this book we get to not only read his poetry that focuses a great deal on important social and environmental issues, but also advice surrounding, poetry, slam competitions, writing, and performing in front of an audience. Solli's advice and poems could easily serve as great mentors to teens looking to write their own poems or to learn more about Slam Poetry. I highly recommend checking out his slam poetry on Youtube, especially as a way to introduce this cool book to young people.

this poetry collection/little non-fiction book contains not only writing advices and poetry documentation, but most important some amazing poems.
Solli Raphael is with no doubt one of the most talented poet of his generation, at only 13. The poems are impressive, they're very good, diverse and full of hope. (maybe too much for me) It was very interesting seeing him experiment with various kind of poetry, both traditional and modern, and everything in between.
Obviously, i wasn't really the target audience for the non-fiction part, wich would however benefit hugely to young reader. This book should be studied/read in school, i think it would be a very fun and good way to get young teen interested in poetry.
Would recommand for younger readers, and people who needs some innocent hope in their life.

Limelight features a variety of verses to share from a talented voice. This collection, with all its word play and lyrical quality, would be center stage for me in a course on poetics.

Wow! As a fellow (less accomplished) poet, Solli Raphael's book, "Limelight" is an inspiration! Mr. Raphael is only thirteen, but he is a true artist and poet who uses his voice to incite positive change in his beliefs with those around him. At his age, what he is doing, is so inspiring!

Solli won a Slam Poetry competition hosted at the Sydney Opera House as a pre-teen and now has written his first book for kids (and adults) to teach them about writing, poetry, slam poetry, about having confidence, about the issues that are near and dear to his heart, and it is amazing! What a wonderful collection and story that this young man has. He started learning about slam poetry in the 7th grade, fell in love with it, and is now an emerging voice as a young person to rally others around the causes he cares about most.

I love this book! I would recommend it to all of my poet friends. I would recommend it to all of my parent friends who want to inspire their children. I would recommend it to all of my teacher friends with students of all ages. This book is really that good. Go get a copy and be inspired by this young person with such a powerful voice and immense talent.

I received this eBook free of charge from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Gotta give Solli Raphael some credit as he is so young. I really liked the message of several of the poems and I thought it was neat with the various chapters in part one, talking about writing techniques and so on.

"And sometimes we need to breath out, just so we can breathe in kindness and passion."

Solli Raphael is thirteen-year-old award-winning Australian slam poet and a young humanitarian. His debut book, Limelight, consists of inspiring poems and writing techniques.

Every poem in this book is inspiring and thought-provoking. A genius piece of work with amazing rhymings (Oh my gosh, those rhymes) syncs with the reader in a very astonishing way. He talks about the changes, big and small, with his vivid poems with lyric quality. I ended up singing some with my own tunes. And the writing tips and techniques which give a headstart to the book totally works! Some of them are similar to mine and few are all new to me. I cannot wait to try them all.

Solli is a poetry genius and not only can he make people give him ovations for his poetry performances, he definitely makes people reading and experiencing his poetry do the same! I loved each poem, his easiness with flow and rhyming, and young poets like him are what we need! His poems explored the topics which I am concerned about: Bullying, Climate Crisis and many more topics. This masterpiece will be one of the must-read recommendations to everyone! The poems have left an impression in my heart.

Let us all be a gamechanger with Solli Raphael 'Because no matter how many days you live, not one will be the same."!