Book Review :: Lord of the Butterflies

Book: Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson
Series: N/A
Genre: Spoken Word Poetry
Publisher: Button Poetry
Source: NetGalley.com (Review copy)


“[Andrea Gibson’s poetry] will change the way you think about gender.” —Buzzfeed

“They seamlessly spin hopelessness into hope, fire back at social norms, and challenge what it means to be alive and to be human.” —THEM

“Andrea Gibson is an amazing queer, spoken-word poet who can make you weep with a heart-wrenching love poem and then swiftly inspire you to action with a powerful political poem.” —Seventeen

Where to Buy: Shop local! Available at your closest Barnes and Noble and BN.com

Goodreads Summary: 
Andrea Gibson’s latest collection is a masterful showcase from the poet whose writing and performances have captured the hearts of millions. With artful and nuanced looks at gender, romance, loss, and family, Lord of the Butterflies is a new peak in Gibson’s career. Each emotion here is deft and delicate, resting inside of imagery heavy enough to sink the heart, while giving the body wings to soar.

My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Check out my full review after the jump! Click "Read More" below to continue!

! I received a copy of Lord of the Butterflies from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review !

When I first saw this book on NetGalley it was the cover that immediately grabbed my attention. It's so visually striking that my eyes went straight to it. The other thing that captured my attention was the title, which of course, caught my attention because I LOVE to teach Lord of the Flies and so I decided to read further into it.

What I was not expecting was a short book of poetry. I don't typically like poetry because I find it hard to comprehend what I'm reading at times, but this collection of poems was WAY different. What I didn't know at the time is that the author, Andrea Gibson, is a queer non-binary poet who is famous for their spoken word poetry. And let me tell you, they are completely out of this world. Each and every poem in this collection is gut-wrenching, powerful, and incredibly moving. The main reason I decided to pick this one up was the fact that it dealt with topics such as LGBTQ+ and gender, suicide, anxiety, and other tough topics. Each topic was eloquently done and I consistently had to go back and reread some lines because they were just so excellent. 

One of my favorite lines from the collection is "Heaven is in the other direction. Please do not let gravity play god." which is from one of the most powerful, emotionally charged poems from the collection: "Living Proof". This poem in particular will stay with me for a while, it was truly haunting. 

Out of curiosity, I looked up Andrea on Youtube and was ecstatic to see them performing this poem live. It is just as excellent as they are speaking it as you are reading it.

Overall, this collection of poems will definitely have a spot on my classroom library shelf and I can't wait to use some of these poems as I teach spoken-word. My students constantly struggle with poetry (as do I) because they believe every line of poetry has to rhyme. This book will hopefully change that viewpoint for them and I hope they love it just as much as I did.

Thanks again to NetGalley for providing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

And because this will likely be the last post of 2018, I want to wish all my readers a happy new year! Hold your friends and family close, be safe, and read lots of books! See you soon!