So I love Hollie McNish's poetry — it is honest and direct and she reads it with such a clear and lovely cadence. I am less fond of her prose; I find it meandering and unfocussed and adds little by explaining the context or rationale of each poem, even when I agree with 95% of the political comment she makes. Sadly, this latter is the majority of the book. One example springs to mind: an anecdote about Hollie being sent out of an English classroom for staring at her teacher's cameltoe and then bursting into uncontrollable laughter. This is at best irritating and at worst sexual harassment. I am a transgender English teacher and not only see nothing funny or endearing about this story but also wonder at its inclusion — it does not paint Hollie in a good light, it is never referenced in her poems and it makes me feel icky to read; newly self-conscious in my classrooms about my already unusual body.  Poets, in general, are commanders of expressing much with few words. This book is 475 pages long. I think that speaks for itself. 

I'm not a poetry person but I'd heard several people mention how accessible this was, both in terms of themes and style so I thought I'd try it. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. It's actually a mixture of poems, stories and essays and McNish covers such a wide range of topics. It's funny, sad and powerful and there are so many parts I loved. I thought I might jump back and forth at first but I ended up reading the chapters in order. I particularly enjoyed that she included essays which give more context to some of her poems. 

A joy of a collection. It's like having a brew and a chat with you best friend.
Hollie effortlessly combines poetry, short stories and essays in this wonderful collection covering all the things involved in being a woman today from periods to family relationships. Incredibly sharp, witty and heartfelt in all the best possible ways. Some passages feel like Hollie has a power to look into the deepest parts of you brain.
The passages about her Granny hit pretty hard too and I imagine everyone who had that one special relationship with a Grandparent will identify with.
My original plan was to read bits and pieces every so often but as soon as I started it last night I knew I need to absorb it in one go and that's exactly what I did. This will definitely be one to dip back into in the future, brilliant piece of work.