I've been getting back into poetry after many years of busying myself with practical things, and it's been so disappointing to find so many Instagram style poetry books of just generic words put to paper about how the poets feel with nothing to them. These all feel like angsty but dull diary entries in free verse form, with no playing with words and using poetic tricks to turn words into something more. I have luckily found a few poetry books lately that are not like this (I'm reading Swallowtail right now, just a few poems at a time, precisely because that poet actually makes the poems really say something and makes me feel something), but I was discouraged to see that this is just more of that stuff. I was half expecting it since the title reflects the fact that the author is only 19, but was really hoping that since this was her second book (at least) that it meant she was really good at it.

I'm sure that others who are her age or who don't have high expectations about poetry will like these poems quite a lot. As someone who was a poet several lifetimes ago, this didn't speak to me.

Sample poem:

There are days
when the sun hides away
and the sky is just a little grey
but I'm not sad
or happy.
I'm just there
feeling empty,
paralyzed in the center of the spectrum.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

I absolutely loved this book. Makenzie Campbell knows how to make the reader feel just what she felt, she guides us through the feelings and very few words are necessary for us to have a clear image in mind.

I did not know this author before reading "Nineteen" but I sure will read what else she wrote! Beautiful and strong words!