Milk and Honey

When my 8th grader asked for this book I read the reviews and ratings and ordered it because (1) yay, shes reading and (2) totally on board with womens empowerment. I did not see anything in the information about the sexually explicit poems or graphics sprinkled throughout. There will be a page with something totally appropriate for a middle school/high schooler, then bam! you get hit with a shocking graphic or verse. (I tried to post an example and my review was denied because it was too obscene. Enough said.) Thank God I picked it up out of curiosity so I could explain to her why I was going to shelf it for a couple of years before giving it to her. There are some good messages for girls/women, but on the other hand I may never be able to eat another cantaloupe again. The quality of the writing (meh…) is not the issue here because the shock value screams out so loudly.

I am so disappointed in this book. I finished this book in under 30 minutes. I only liked maybe 3 or 4 poems. Most of the poems sound like the tweets and Facebook statuses of a whiny 14 year-old. Other poems were just uncomfortable to read. I think there is power and something unequivocally beautiful about poems that eloquently speak about pain, the strength to overcome, and the growth that ensues. The poems were awkward, overrated, and underwhelming. I can’t get over the format either. There were poorly drawn sketches next to a many poems. One poem was even placed in-between the sprawled legs of a woman as if the poem was her vag. Also, all the letters were in lowercase which drove me NUTS. It would be worth checking this out in the library before purchasing it.

Based on the dichotomy of positive and negative reviews, it’s clear that “Milk and Honey” isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I enjoyed it, but then I could relate to many of the stories of love, heartache, grief, pain, and healing conveyed throughout this collection. I fully understand that others may not find any such connection with Kaur’s writing, particularly if they haven’t experienced the human condition through a lens similar to Kaur’s. In a medium like poetry, the essence of the author’s personal expression is as an individual sharing something that is both honest and personal not everyone is going to appreciate it and that’s okay.

kudos to the marketing team behind this book that have
managed to hype up a
steamy turd of literature.
the author
may have lived a very
traumatic life
but this is not poetry or anything that resembles poetry.
very dumbed down,
maybe would have gotten a C-
had I written any of these in middle school,
how are people actually enjoying this book?
My
14 year old
requested it
(trendy)
and even she read a page and was disappointed…
bland and unimaginative.

PS: I have now written poetry according to the example set by milk and honey

Borderline x rated at times. Feels like reading poetry from a teenage girls diary, delving into depression, rape, and suicidal tendencies. Probably not a book that you want in a teen’s hands to say the least.

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