the princess saves herself in this one (Volume 1) (Women Are Some Kind of Magic)

See the full review at my blog Ampersand Princess: [...] Overall Rating: 5 Stars This book isn’t something you are going to enjoy. No. This is a book that unwinds you, tears you, rips you apart and leaves you open to pain—to your own and to hers. This is a masterpiece, delicately and expertly written that will hit you hard with painful emotions and self-reflection. I highly highly highly recommend this book for in it you will experience a catharsis. However, this collection deals with abuse and loss so it is not for the faint of heart. I knew I was going to love and hate this book, not by the first page, but by the dedication. I haven’t even started the book at the paint and it was already clear that this book would be an emotional rollercoaster and make me remember things about my past that I would much rather forget. "for the boy who lived. thank you for inspiring me to be the girl who survived. you may have a lightning bolt to show for it but my body is a lightning storm." I knew from this dedication that Amanda Lovelace was two things: a wordsmith & a fighter. Which from my experience one hell of a combination. This collection took me longer to read than I originally thought. Not because it was boring to read, quite the opposite. I soaked up her words like a sponge. I had to read each page several times because each time I read a line I discovered something new about the story and something new about myself. I usually don’t annotate my books. I am the type of person who keeps her books organized, clean, and in great condition so I avoid writing in books unless absolutely necessary (or in school). However, in the case of this book, I couldn’t not read it without adding little sticky notes that either helps me understand her story or a revelation about mine. I will be honest, I wasn’t abused the way the narrator was in the book. My family is alive and well and I’ve had a pretty good life so far. I am an only child and still learning about the world and how I play my part. For the most part, I am very different than the person in this book. But the feelings she goes through, the feelings of loss and pain and suffering and loneliness—I’ve experienced all of it and the way she describes it is like a shot in the heart. To put it simply, I was severely bullied in middle school. But no stories are that simple. Not hers and not mine. I was a transfer student, a shy girl who didn’t speak up much, but an excellent student. I had unknowingly entered a lion’s den. For reasons I could never understand, I was ostracized and ignored and an outcast. My whole grade (which consisted of less than fifty students) collectively decided to make sure I knew that I was not like them. So I spent my three years of middle school being harassed by whispers and rumors. One time, a girl who sat in front of me switched our names and I ended up with her low score and she ended up with my high grade. That was when I stopped using pencils. Vicious rumors spread like wildfire about my parents and who I was. I never stood up for myself. They made me believe my voice was worthless and that I was worthless. I got death threats in my locker saying that I should kill myself and how the world was better without me. I threw the anonymous letters away and never said a thing. "silence has always been my loudest scream." I turned to reading and books and found myself in fantasy worlds during middle school. I had no friends, no one to turn to or trust. I felt utterly and completely alone. At one point, a boy in my grade faked being friends with me so he could pull a nasty prank and record it and show all of his friends. I was humiliated. I never showed my tears to anyone. All that could comfort me was the words found in fantasy books. "when i had no friends i reached inside my beloved books & sculpted some out of 12 pt times new roman. – & it was almost good enough." The collection is a source of inspiration and a comfort. You are not alone, no matter how alone you feel. That your feelings and experiences… others have them too. And that’s why I highly highly recommend this book. To people who feel as if they have no voice, aren’t being heard, or believe they are worthless. You. Are. Not. Worthless. And this book will teach you and show you and prove to you that you are worth it. You are not alone. And that you can find happiness even if you feel trapped in darkness. She is one story—a story that will undoubtedly inspire you to continue even when you can’t see a light and you feel lost. What’s more is that her words come to life in a way I have never seen. They dance across the page and you can see the image she is describing as you are reading it. When I read her work, I have a sudden urge to draw (even though I am not that great at it) because the image is right there, clearer than day. I honestly will say that this is one of those books that you just have to read before you die. Did you like it? Let me know in the comments of any other books that are like this one! –& Princess

5/5 (I have a feeling that this will be on my top 2016 books) I kept seeing this book around, so when it was free on Amazon I decided why not try it out? I AM SO INCREDIBLY GLAD I DID! This book was incredibly powerful, it is just.... so so SO powerful. But more on that later, first here is the summary! The Princess Saves Herself in this one is divided into four separate parts, The Princess, The Damsel, The Queen and You. I don't read poetry books often, honestly, I don't like poetry all that much. The only other poetry book I read was Poisoned Apples, which like this book dealt with some heavy topics, although Poisoned Apples was more of a feminist book... I'm not entirely sure how to review poetry, so I wrote down some thoughts for each part, but first, here's the short of it! In its entirety: This book deals with some heavy topics, but they are IMPORTANT issues like anorexia, depression, and abuse just to name a few. The poetry was just so... AMAZING. I can't explain it but the way the words moved was fast paced but oh so interesting and I just could not put this book down. It was captivating and heart breaking but near the end, it became warm/had a good message. The Princess Saves Herself in this One started off very dark, and sad but near the end things get better. Like I said, the message was FANTASTIC (I think I'm going to buy it!) Very short and quick read, so people with not a lot of time can finish it in about an hour! SHARE IT with others! The Princess: This is probably one of the darkest beginnings I've ever read. But in the summary, it says that the first three parts are the authors life and the final is a message to the reader. The Princess (from what I picked up) deals with Anorexia, depression and bullying. Though this was really dark, it was POWERFUL and I can't say that enough. This book nearly brought me to TEARS. The message was just so GOOD and I just CANT explain how AMAZING this one, honestly, everyone should read it. The YOU part is what got to me the most D: well, all four parts go to me.... The Damsel: My interpretation of this was young love and broken hearts. There as a LOT of loss in this chapter, a LOT and I was close to crying. I'm not a fan of poetry, but this poetry was so beautifully worded and pieced together and it made me feel things. It (not this section) made me smile/feel victorious and cry (this chapter DID make me cry!) The Queen: This section was about loving yourself, and growing stronger. THIS is where the book starts to get a lighter feel and like all three other sections, was POWERFUL (I can't say that enough D:<) You: This final part of the book was one of the most POWERFUL (I said it again) endings ever. The first two parts are sadness and grief, bullying and hurt, The Queen is about growing stronger and healing, but YOU is all about the reader. You is a message to treat people better, to know your worth and love yourself, to care more and to not let anyone treat you like your garbage. Fable's Final Thoughts: THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE was a very great poetry book, I think EVERYONE should read it, including you so here, go to Amazon and read it now. Share it with your friends and family and that random stranger at Starbucks.

~~~Review posted on The Heart of a Book Blogger~~~ So as bit of a disclaimer, I would like to admit I’m not the biggest fan of poetry. In part, I believe this is because of how it was forced down my throat in school. As a result, I never really explored all it had to offer and I’m just now starting to slowly see what else is out there. I first started hearing great things about the princess saves herself in this one when Amanda Lovelace self-published this book of poetry last year. Even though I do not read poetry often, I put this poetry collection in my TBR pile right away because of the messages and themes presented in it. I picked up the princess saves herself in this one and could not put it down. The great thing about poetry is how short it actually is. Due to the length of the poems, I flew through the book. The poems were short but powerful, and I couldn’t help but feel a connection, even though I personally had not gone through what the author has. It was a very emotional and empowering read, and there were even some parts were I had tears in my eyes. The collection is spilt into four parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. The first three parts all focus on the author and her own life journey and struggle while the last part is addressed to the reader. The last part is so universal that many will be able to connect to the different poems woven into this last section. Overall, the princess saves herself in this one is a powerful read that even non-fans of poetry will enjoy. Definitely a must read for teenage girls! My Rating: 4.5 stars *This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.*

This poetry collection knows how to capture your attention from the very first page. The author starts it off by dedicating it to Harry Potter – the boy who lived -, and from then on out you’ll be immersed into a raw, emotional, and powerful journey of living, loving, self-acceptance, and growth. What’s so different about this book is the fact that the first three parts: the princess, the damsel, and the queen, are extremely personal to the author. The thing about Lovelace’s poems is that she makes you feel like you’re the protagonist- front and center. Even when these poems talked about things like grief and certain events in the author’s life, you could still feel as if there was something in there that called out to you and gave you an emotional punch. I could feel the pain between her words. I could relate so well to her personal struggles. In the YOU part, there are so many important and empowering poems that are both lovely and harsh at the same time. They talk about different things so relevant to society today, like feminism and race, which I really appreciated. I felt like Amanda took my thoughts and transformed them into poetry. All these poems are extremely heart-wrenching and beautiful; and I was easily bookmarking every other page. I loved how each section of the book seemed to flow seamlessly, and we could truly see as the “princess” in the book transformed with each poem. We could see the author’s journey from being damaged and broken to strong and whole. Each new entry seemed like a new side of the princess, and it was easy to love the character we were seeing before us. I really love that free verse poetry has been gaining more momentum lately, and it disappoints me that so many people look down on it because of it’s non-conventional formatting. I think it’s severely under appreciated. The structure of these poems in the book are actually so clever. The way each space between the words or between the paragraphs are placed actually invoke something in you while you’re reading. Overall, Amanda Lovelace has crafted a beautiful work of art in this collection. She has given us a piece of her soul and shown us the transformation of a princess into a queen. This is for sure, a poetry book you shouldn’t miss!

Don't let the title fool you: this collection of poems isn't just for women. It's for anyone who has suffered and survived any sort of abuse, inflicted by others or oneself. Beyond that, though, it's a book for anyone who believes in the ultimate triumph of poetry and the written word. The book's cohesion recalls some of the great poem/sonnet sequences of history, especially Elizabeth Barret Browning's "Sonnets from the Portuguese." There is a definite narrative arc to these poems. Even if, as a reader, I can't relate to every single situation or emotion that crosses the page (though I CAN relate to many of them), I desperately root for the hero every step of the way. And spoiler alert, there is a happy ending. Speaking of heroes and happy endings: unlike most modern poets, who seem to treat anything that whiffs of fantasy or fairy tale as if it's some kind of disease, Amanda Lovelace revels in such imagery, from mermaids to Harry Potter--to whom these verses are dedicated. As someone who found solace from a whirlwind childhood of chaos and divorces in the worlds of Narnia and Middle Earth, I encourage others to see these kind of stories as life boats rather than ere escape pods. And it's refreshing to find a poet who espouses the same view. Modernism and post-modernism be damned! The verses themselves are relentlessly inventive, and playful even in addressing their most serious subjects. This brings to mind for me the mercurial e.e. cummings, right down to the mostly lowercase letters. Almost every poem concludes with an offset italicized epigram. These epigrams double as the poems' titles (as evidenced by Roman numerals at the end of a couple), but because they come at the end of the poem, they lend each verse a circular, cyclical quality, a serpent swallowing its own tail, as it were. These titles also function like the "kireji" or "cutting word" in Japanese haiku, that mysterious quality that gives you that peculiar butterfly feeling in your stomach like you've missed a step walking down the stairs--perhaps in an effort to step over the squeaky loose stair in the Dursley residence, Harry Potter's childhood home, or the trick vanishing step in Hogwarts. So although it's easy to make it through "Princess" is a single sitting (it took me three because I'm a slow reader), there are many acorns here that can be gnawed and worried at with squirrel teeth till the end of winter. I'd recommend Amanda Lovelace's work to almost anyone who loves poetry, but I will most definitely be prescribing it to anyone I meet who is suffering or has suffered any sort of abuse or trauma--and that's quite a lot of us. The seeds of healing lie herein. Actually, those seeds live in all of us, sometimes dormant, just waiting for the wind to blow in words that will wake us up.

I bought this book looking for something that could carve out my insides and splatter them in front of me, leaving me raw and emotional and relieved. A reaction which this book failed to accomplish. This is written by a woman who is just beginning define herself in her poetry, that much is obvious. It is a book of Amanda Lovelace's own healing, her own story -- it's hard for me to connect with. From the brief glimpses in the poems, her story is one of the darkest and most twisted, gut-wrenching ones I've come across... hard to believe it's someone's reality. However, the book is aimed at an (unusually limited) audience that can share her experiences or sympathize with them. In addition, the style is VERY, VERY similar to the style of Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey to the point where I cannot help but compare the two with nearly every poem I read in here. I have read Kaur's book many times over before I purchased this one and I very much prefer Milk and Honey. Kaur has this uncanny ability to transcend mere words on paper and pierce your heart with a thousand needles until you've bled out your emotions on the floor. Lovelace does not have this ability, but she has some potential. Despite the concerning similarity between this poetry book (published 2016) and Milk and Honey (published 2014), Lovelace did not mention Kaur as a source of inspiration for format or style... I wonder if she will credit Kaur at all. Though both poets write in the style of Warsan Shire, Kaur has adapted a unique stylistic prose that Lovelace seems to try and imitate. There are a couple of poems that seem almost exactly like ones from Milk and Honey, but those could be unintentionally similar. Still, I did not like many of these poems' format or structure... they seemed choppy, strange, and ill-fitting. I'm disappointed to say there were fewer than 10 poems that I connected with in this book. The book is split into 4 parts: 3 transformations of a woman and 1 address to the reader. "Princess" and most of "Damsel" I could not connect with because the poetry is specific to Lovelace and not as emotionally descriptive as I hoped it would be. "Queen" is inspiring but vague, and the entire chapter of "You" seems like a broad blanket to include as many issues of the audience in her poetry she could fit in (LGBTQ, rape, violence). The book is terribly emotional and deep, but with the way it's written, my eyes touch the words and the words do not touch my heart.

I wanted to read this book for months and I was so excited to find out it is free on Amazon till July 5. I squealed and jumped and rushed to download it. Oh boy, I had a feeling that this book would break my heart and it did, but it did so much more than that too. Princes Saves Herself in This One is beautiful, heart-wrecking and inspiring! I cried my heart out reading about mother dying from cancer. Unfortunately, I can relate to this pain... anyways. The collection of poetry is very intimate and personal; with simple words the author creates such powerful images that leave me speechless. Body image and finding self-confidence are repeating themes and imo every girl should read it. ( also slaying fuckboys/dragons topic is a very satisfying thing to read.) Important and eye-opening. Truly a must read. I feel like the book swept me from my feet and punch me in the face but at the same time gave me an energy to stand up and try to be who I want to be. The book doesn't cuddle you or soothe you. It opens your wounds and encourages you to act and stand up for yourself. What can be better than this?! Thank you so much to the amazing author Amanda Lovelace for sharing her poetry with us and thanks to Amazon for making it possible for me to finally read the book.

The Princess Saves Herself in This One is a collection of poetry in four parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. Honestly, I have a hard time calling this poetry because it’s more than that. This collection is raw emotion and life experiences manifested as words. It’s pain, suffering, self-reflection, self-discovery, love, loss, and more. I could spend years reading and re-reading it, carefully editing this draft, and I still wouldn’t be able to do it justice. As I read this, I had a couple of thoughts between sudden outbursts of tears. One was that I hadn’t read a collection of poetry that I related to and felt the words so deeply since my first encounter with Sylvia Plath’s poetry when I was a teenager. The second was that I probably should have read it with tissues and wine. I’ve had book hangovers before, but what I’m experiencing after reading The Princess Saves Herself in This One isn’t a book hangover, it’s a haunting. The words won’t leave me, and I’m ok with that. I bought the Kindle edition of this because A) I could have it and read it faster, and B) money was tight when I bought it. But, I think I’m going to order a physical copy ASAP because I want this on my poetry shelf. Something this important, something that touched my life in the way this book did (which I can’t convey in words, so I’m not going to try)… it deserves a spot on my shelf. I’m certain this will be something I read again…and again.

Amazing poetry,a must

Este libro es muy conmovedor. Habla de la vida de la autora en diferentes perspectivas y está muy bien escrito. Es muy entretenido y recomendable. Me gustó mucho.

It’s a really great book and u can learn a lot from it

I have read this so many times now. It is wonderful and beautifully written. I have it as a kindle but I wish I had it as a physical copy to admire because it is definitely one of my favorites. It is a magnificent bundle about depression, heartache, pain, fear, family, death, and anorexia. I have fallen in love with it. It is however a very depressing and painful read for me. I still would gladly go through this pain for the beautiful poetry that is in it.

the princess saves herself in this one is a poetry collection from Amanda Lovelace, who tells about her own experiences with love, loss, grief, healing and violations. Although it deals with topics such as death, anorexia, abuse, suicide, self-harm, alcoholism, sexual assault and so much more, it's overall a positive poetry collection which shows you that you have the strength to choose the life you want and that you are good enough. „there are no dragons. there is simply a girl faced with the difficult task of learning to believe in herself." p. 1 The poems are not traditional type of poetry, they are modern, simple and direct - and I love them! Most of all because I can relate to so many of them, because I somehow know those feelings or have been through same or similiar situations. This - of course - made those poems so much more relatable to me and so much stronger and more emotional. Some pages only have a snippet, or a fragment - only few words, but they are enough to show what the author was thinking and what she want to say with them. „silence has always been my loudest scream." p. 32 The book is parted in four sections: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. And they all tell a different kind of story: her relationship with her mother and her sister, battling with an eathing diorder, self-harm, her first kiss and sexual assault, death, self love and encouragement - by reading those poems you just have to admire the bravery and courage of the young author. The poetry collection takes you on an emotional roller coaster with highs and lows, tears and laughs, hate and love. This book is without doubt my reading highlight for a very long time! „but your failures are just what happened - they don't have to be who you are." p. 177 While reading you fall in love with the poems, with the author - and with yourself. And this is so important and so powerful! We are not defined by our failures but how we overcome and rise up from them. And I want to thank Amanda Lovelace for her strength and courage to share her thoughts and her story with us. I always did try to overcome difficult situations by writing poems about it - even when I was very young - so I know the feelings, poetry can release and how it can help - not only by writing it, but also by reading it. And this poetry collection helped me a lot! It was like Amanda was somehow writing right out of my heart and thoughts and probably this is why I loved this book so much and why I shed so many tears while reading it. I love it. Result I can't say anything else than: I love it, I love it, I love it! This modern poetry collection touches deeply and makes you cry, and love, and laugh and hope and won't let you go so easily. My reading highlight!