His and Mine (Benet Stoen)

One of the awesome things about writing these reviews and sharing them through social media, is that independent authors who are trying to self publish are sometimes looking for someone to read their work and tell the public. That was how I found this week's book.

His and Mine by Benét Stoen

His and Mine by Benét Stoen is a story told in free verse. That's pretty different from what I've been reading and posting about lately, but years ago I lived in poetry. (Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, an asshole professor in college kind of ruined it for me, that's around the time I stopped seeking it out and enjoying it as much.)

That doesn't matter though, because I fell into this book like Alice into the rabbit hole, and I didn't find my way out until the end. Actually, I might not have found my way out at all yet...

It tells the story of two truly fucked up individuals, and as the story unfolds we learn what happened in their pasts to make them this way. Its beautiful, because we, for the most part, find out in their own time, experiencing it the same way they are. Neither one truly understands or has really ever felt love, and so they can't see that the chance for it is right in front of them. They are both broken by their pasts, and as each tries to help the other, they find that they are also being helped.
I don't want to give too much away because honestly every step of the story was mesmerising, and I don't want to ruin that feeling of discovery for anyone. I will warn you, I teared up several times, so if you're a cryer you might want to have your tissues ready.

 The Book
🌹🌹🌹
This is based purely on personal taste, and I need to refine my love for poetry more to truly appreciate the book as a whole.

The Writing
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
Stoen's writing is lyrical and draws you in, she captures what I have always thought free verse was best at: really expressing how erratic a person's internal monologue can be. Not to mention how erratic a young adult's mind can be, even at their most put together.
Readability
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️
I read almost the entire book in one sitting because I was so captivated. And I was, honestly, surprised by that simply because of the tremulous relationship I've had with poetry over the past decade (thanks a lot, Professor Dick Face.)