Alicia Cook

Sorry I haven't texted you back, I've been so anxious and depressed I haven't had time to catch my breath! Returning to the form of Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately, Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back is a beacon of light for all who struggle or have struggled with their mental health. Structured similar to her first book, "Side A" is the poetry and "Side B" (the second half of the book) is "remixes," blackout versions of the poetry. The focus on mental health doesn't sacrifice universal appeal; the book includes the evergreen issues of love, loss, and heartbreak. Based on her viral Instagram poem, Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back, this collection lands in the crossroads of self-help and poetry.

Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back

Melsriana

Love how this book is a combination between poetry and art. This book is actually good, finally a poetry book that doesn’t feel like a compilations of tweets or facebook posts. So beautifully written and I could relate to a lot of the writings ❤️

Emily Insinna

This really made me think about myself and how I view the world around me. I found myself taking screenshots and mental notes of certain poems to share and re-read when I need them.

Jen Estrella

This was great. Track three and track sixty really hit me hard. Track three
We may sleep together, 
but my dreams are my own.
That's always been a problem. I shut
people out. I only let them see me from
certain angles, in certain lighting, at
certain moments. My mother says it's 
because I am independent. My therapist 
says it's my defense mechanism. My ex
says it's why we broke up. My friends 
say they love me anyway. 
I say it's because I feel
safest in half measures. 
I'll love you - but not completely. 
I'll hold your hand - but won't
interlace our fingers. 
I'll take pictures - but won't tag you. 
I'll miss you - but never enough to ever
question leaving.

cossette

Something that I really loved about Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is the way the poems were titled as tracks, and each track came with a “currently listening to” — I hope there’ll be an attached playlist upon publication, since I’ve been making my own as I go along. I really appreciated the content warnings in the beginning of the book, and from the songs I do know from the “currently listening to” section, I could see how each poem was influenced by it. A lot of the poems were incredibly relatable, and I felt like Cook was able to voice so many thoughts and feelings that I’ve struggled to express myself. I felt like Side A was a little long, but I loved Side B — The Remixes. I thought it was just so clever to create and reconstruct new poems out of the ones that were already written; like another point of view.

Carolina Lopes

My favourite part of this book was its format: the poems are divided between Side A ("regular" poems) and Side B (blackout poetry versions of said poems). Every poem is also accompanied by a song which the author was listening to as she wrote.

In regards to the content itself, I enjoyed it but didn't find it outstanding in comparison to a lot of other "modern" poetry I've read. The writing style seemed to fluctuate a lot between pieces and I found myself losing interest several times along the way. It wasn't bad, but it didn't mesmerize me either.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back

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