Take Me Back by Amanda Rodriguez - Review and Blog Tour

 

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for Take Me Back by Amanda Rodriguez. If you haven't been here before please do click around and read some of my other reviews. It's a pleasure to have you here! 

I don't often read poetry but when I do I like it, I get quite absorbed and I like to pick out individual phrases and words that really resonate with me. I think Amanda has a real way with words, especially rhymes, which she used in creative ways. I would have liked a few more abstract poems, I think, but I'm not complaining. The book as a whole is about the breakdown of a relationship Amanda had, how she fell apart a bit, how she healed, and how she put herself back together. I liked the collection as a whole and I liked how it was divided into clear sections too. I would recommend it!

I was provided with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. The book will be published on November the 18th 2025. Please find more information below: 

Book Info

Genre: Poetry

Number of Pages: 185 Pages

Publication Date: November 18, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242373381-take-me-back 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/5yQhL8t (Canada) https://a.co/d/5Pbp09J (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/8mUW5Wv (UK)

Blurb

Take Me Back is a powerful poetry collection by Amanda Rodriguez that explores the raw, emotional journey of heartbreak, healing, and self-discovery. Through deeply personal poems, Rodriguez opens up about the pain of toxic love and the profound strength that comes from self-awareness. This poignant collection is divided into parts that reflect the stages of love and loss, offering a relatable experience for anyone who has ever faced the complexities of emotional recovery.

Take Me Back is a must-read for anyone on a journey of self-healing and transformation. Whether you're navigating a breakup, overcoming past trauma, or simply looking to understand the process of emotional growth, this book offers a comforting reminder that healing is possible - and that you are not alone

About the Author

Amanda Rodriguez is a poet and writer from Miami, Florida. From a very young age she has embraced the therapeutic power of writing and never let it go. With a deep passion for soulful music and introspective lyrics, Amanda draws emotional inspiration from themes of personal identity, love, loss, empowerment, and spirituality. Her poetry reflects a raw and honest exploration of the human experience, and she finds great fulfillment in offering comfort and empathy to others through her words. Her work isn't just about self-expression; it's also about creating connections.

https://www.instagram.com/amandarodriguezpoetry/

There Is (Still) Love Here by Dean Atta - Review

 

My sister in law bought me this for Christmas, it was on my wishlist because as you'll know, I really like Dean Atta's books and I didn't realise he had released a new one. Someone mentioned it on Twitter so I added it to my wishlist. I read it really quickly because it's a small collection of poetry, but I really enjoyed it and am so glad I got it.

This collection of poetry isn't completely a collection in that there's just one theme or anything, but it fits together really well and feels really cohesive. There are poems about love, about loss, about ethnicity, about heritage, including Dean's Greek Cypriot background, about Covid lockdown, about his partner, and more. There's some really beautiful turns of phrase in the poems, including a gorgeous line about radiators, of all things. I really felt like I got to know Dean as a person as well as as a writer through this collection. 

I'm lending this to my friend, and I am giving it five out of five. I am so glad I read it. Sorry this isn't as long a review as usual, but I would definitely recommend this collection if you're already a fan of Dean's, and also, if you're not. 

Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan - Review

I saw a tweet way back in October where the publisher was offering proofs of this book to anyone who asked, so I sent an email and was thrilled when a few weeks later I was asked for my address, and then this gorgeous book arrived later that week! I love Sarah Crossan and have read everything she's written, so was really pleased to be gifted this as well. I was provided with a copy of the book for review purposes, but was not otherwise compensated for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Like Sarah's other books, this is written in verse. It is set in 1846 in Ireland, in the middle of the potato famine. At the beginning of the book, things aren't so bad. Nell has left school and got a job at the Big House, working as a scullery maid for Lord Wicken. He is a ruthless and harsh landlord of the land that Nell's father works. She lives with her parents and her little brother Owen in a small cottage. Their potato crops are failing and they must sell the oats in order to pay their rent. People are leaving for America or Canada or even Dublin all the time. Nell's friend Rose is falling in love with Eamon. Nell's boss, Maggie, is harsh and cruel to her, and rarely gives her enough to eat. Her family is relying on Nell's wages to pay themselves, but things are getting worse and worse. 

Lord Wicken's nephew, Johnny, is new to Ireland. Little by little, he and Nell get to know each other. She wants to avoid him, but she finds him quite irresistible. Other staff are suspicious and Nell knows what her family and neighbours would think if she and Johnny actually fell in love. But the famine is getting worse and people are getting desperate. 

I did feel that the bits where Nell and Johnny are actually together were a little confusing in parts and I wasn't sure exactly what had occurred between them as the poetry was quite vague. But that's really my only critcism. Thank you Bloomsbury for the book! 

Here Is The Beehive by Sarah Crossan - Review

I've read Sarah Crossan's books for teenagers, told in verse, so when I saw that she had written a book in verse for adults I was intrigued and wanted to read it. I was granted it on Netgalley by Bloomsbury, so thank you very much to them. Here Is the Beehive was published on the 8th of July 2021. I was provided with a free electronic copy of the book for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my final book of 2022, the 108th book I read in the year. I really wanted to break a hundred and I'm so glad I did - helped by the fact that I read fourteen books in July! I will write about the books I read in my next post. But this was a really nice book to finish on. I started it while I was away in Somerset for Christmas, and finished it just before New Year. I am just sad it took me so long to get to this book because I really like Sarah Crossan and her poetry.

So, Ana Kelly is a solicitor who deals with wills and such like. She is married and has two small children. She has been having an affair with a man called Connor for three years, on and off. The two are currently on a break when Ana gets a phone call from Connor's wife. She thinks she's been rumbled, but actually, Connor is dead, and Rebecca is trying to sort out his will.

Ana is devastated, but of course she can't talk about it to anyone. Not even her best friend, Tanya, knows that Ana has been having an affair. The only person that knows is Connor's friend Michael, so Ana tries to talk to him but he rebuffs her. She goes to Connor's funeral where Michael tells her off. Ana is just alone. Her marriage is crumbling and her teacher husband accuses her of being a bad wife.

I liked this book just as much as I've liked Sarah's novels for teens. I'm giving this four out of five. 

Only On the Weekends by Dean Atta - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it on Amazon as a holiday treat for myself. As I was travelling by plane I only took my tablet so I thought I would buy this to read as I've heard good things about it and because I loved The Black Flamingo so much. 

What's it about? Mack is sixteen and gay, which everyone knows about him. His dad is a famous film director, and Mack's mum was an artist who died when Mack was only a few months old. Mack has two best friends, Femi, and Sim. The three of them spend a lot of time in Mack's den, playing video games and hanging out. Mack has a huge crush on the school's star basketball player, Karim, aka K. Mack is put with K's cousin, Maz, in home economics, and starts a friendship with her. He gets to know her, and K, and Maz's dad Uncle O, really well. Eventually he and K start a relationship, but as K isn't out to anyone, he asks Mack to keep it on the downlow. Mack agrees, but really he doesn't want to - he wants PDAs, he wants all the cuteness of being in a relationship. There's definite friction between the two of them and while I do sympathise with Mack (the heart wants what it wants!) I also felt for K and how he was trying to feel his way through life. 

Halfway through the novel something happens which uproots Mack's life, meaning he can only see K on the weekends (hence the name of the book). I won't give spoilers about exactly what happens because I liked the surprise, but I also really liked the romance in the second half and the way Mack really came out of his shell. 

This is a novel told in verse like The Black Flamingo, but it's also really long so I really felt like I was getting a really good look at the whole thing. It definitely didn't feel too short. 

I've read a few negative reviews of this book on Goodreads and I think most of them are missing the point that sixteen years olds can often make very very stupid decisions. Because they're sixteen! Their brains aren't fully formed yet! They want everything they want, and don't often think about consequences! I don't think you can criticise this book on the grounds that Mack is just a bit daft. Of course he is! Adult readers of YA really need to bear in mind sometimes that YA books just are not for them! 

I can't wait to see what Dean writes next - I think he writes really complex characters. I liked how in this book there was a juxtaposition between Mack and his financial privileges and his friends who were from much poorer backgrounds and who in many cases were living in difficult circumstances - I felt like that was nicely explored. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Of course! There's gay characters, ones who aren't quite sure who they are yet, bi characters, and a dreamy trans character... 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, most of them! 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No I don't think so. 

Is there any sex stuff? A little, it's not graphic and it fits perfectly within the story. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so 

Is there any talk of death? A little bit about Mack's mum, but it's not graphic 

Are there swear words? A few 

 

What criticisms do I have? My only criticism is a spoiler so I'm not going to share it here

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I wanted to treat myself on holiday, as I said! 

 

What do I think of the cover? It's cute! I think I forgot to mention that Mack is also fat, which I think could have been indicated a little bit stronger in the artwork, but there we go 

How many stars? Four out five! 

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Hepperman - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it a few years ago when I was looking for YA books which featured abortions. I must have had it recommended or googled it, and bought it. I had completely forgotten about it and it was on a shelf, but then about two months ago I pulled it off the shelf and added it to the huge pile of books next to my bed. I'm not sure why! But I did! By which point I just couldn't remember what it was about at all, so it was a total surprise. 

What's it about? It's a novel told in verse (which you already know I love) starring Addie, who is in high school in Minnesota. She has a boyfriend called Craig but he's cheating on her. She then starts seeing his friend Nick and they have sex multiple times. Addie is on the cross country run team and is very good, she's one of their best athletes.

She realises she is pregnant and tells Nick, and then her parents. She doesn't want to tell her parents because she's afraid of letting them down, but she has to because an abortion in Minnesota requires parental consent for minors. The actual abortion is barely touched upon, which I liked. But Addie goes to a Catholic school and in one of her classes is a girl who think abortion is a terrible sin. Addie also writes poems and Nick, who is in a band with a terrible lyricist, wants her to write some lyrics for him. 

She doesn't regret the abortion at all. She does start missing running practice though. She starts to go to a different coffee shop while pretending to her parents that she's at practice, and while there she meets Juliana, who used to be on the running team but is now at college. The two start to get close, and there's a bit of a relationship/crush between them. Addie is pulling away from everything she knows - but can she find herself again? 

I loved the poems, they were just lovely and really got across the whole novel in such a good way. I read this quickly because it was just so nice. 

What age range is it for? 15+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yeah kind of, definitely there's something between Addie and Juliana even if it's not explicitly labelled by the end of the book 

Are any main characters people of colour? I don't think so 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Juliana has mental health problems 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, it's a bit explicit (in a very good way!) 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No, the abortion drugs are barely mentioned either 

Is there any talk of death? There's a little bit about an attempted suicide, it's not graphic 

Are there swear words? No 

 

What criticisms do I have? I wished it was longer! I wished we'd seen more of Addie and Juliana falling in love! 

Would I recommend the book? Yes especially if you like books told in verse.

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I pulled it off the shelf to get to it, so I did! 

 

What do I think of the cover? I like it, it's cute 

 

What other books is it like? Well anything by Sarah Crossan definitely 

How many stars? Four out of five 

 

Where is the book going now? I think I'll keep it!

God Save the Teen by Andrew Graves - Review

I bought this book of poetry in the Waterstones Christmas sale, it was only a pound or so. I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of poetry but for that money I'll take a chance on it. I picked it up at the beginning of March and ended up really enjoying it. There's a lot of really personal poetry in it, and a whole bit which was originally a stage show and which tells the story of Andrew's work as a social worker, as well as some stories about his own early life, including when his mam left when he was eleven. I really liked the poems about Johnny Cash and punks, and several of the personal ones about his own life. It's a really accomplished collection of poems and I would definitely read something else by the same author. He's a little older than me but several of the poems reminded me of my own life. I'm giving this five out of five! 

Gut Feelings by C G Moore - Review

 

I saw C G Moore talk about this book as part of NYALitfest back in January, and I liked the sound of it, so I bought this and three more from that weekend from the bookshop that was part of the conference. I think there was like 10% off RRP - I know I got all four books for around £30. 

Okay, so this book is told in verse, in poetry, like The Black Flamingo and Sarah Crossan's book. I think it'll be compared to both, and I think it's a fair comparison in both cases. It has really, really gorgeous illustrations that I think added a lot to the story, and I think they deserve praise.

I think this book is all a true story. At the conferece, Chris was talking about living with a chronic illness, which is what piqued my interest in the book. The book details his disease - a condition called Familial Adenomatous Polyposis - where polyps form on the large intestine. Chris was diagnosed aged 11. His mum and grandma also had the condition. Chris had surgery to remove the large intestine and had a stoma, and an ileostomy bag. He had this reversed later, but had a bag for five years. At the end of the book he is a student in Dublin. He is gay and has come out to his family by that point - which were some of my favourite although heartbreaking poems within the whole thing. A lot of the poems talk about being disabled, and how that feels, and about having an invisible illness and how Chris sometimes gets abuse for using disabled toilets because he doesn't 'look' disabled. This is obviously something that often happens - it has happened to me! - and I liked that the book highlighted it.

The early poems talked a lot about surgery, and about what being in hospital was like. I thought that the pain and misery really came across here; the poems were really well written.

In all, I liked this book and would read something else by the author. I'm giving this four out of five. 

Shut Down Strangers and Hot Rod Angels (Anthology) - Review

This book is an anthology of words inspired by the work of Bruce Springsteen. There's poems, fiction, and memoir and life writing. You may not know but I'm a big Springsteen fan and have used his music as inspiration in my own work. I even wrote a zine about Bruce, which you can buy here on Etsy. I wish I had seen the call out for this anthology because I would have definitely submitted sometihng. I was raised on Bruce's music - my parents both liked him. Listening to him now reminds me of my dad, who we lost tragically nearly twelve years ago. It reminds me of going on holiday and sunshine and wide open motorways with Bruce playing loudly on the car stereo. So when I saw this anthology on Twitter, I ordered it immediately. And then picked it up as soon as it arrived because I wanted to read other fans' thoughts and feelings and stories.

As with all anthologies, there's some pieces I connected to a lot more than others. I especially liked the life writing, where people wrote about their own lives and experiences. I really liked the pieces set in New Jersey seaside towns with delapidated boardwalks and faded glamour. I think this is a really accomplished collection of works, and I'm really happy to have read it. I'm giving it four out of five, and I love love love the cover!

Shut Down Strangers & Hot Rod Angels is available to buy here. I am just sharing this link, it's not an affiliate link or anthing!

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it on Amazon in April 2018 when it was just 99p, and kept meaning to get around to reading it. I finally did! 

What's it about? It's a novel told in poems, like Sarah Crossan's books. Xiomara lives in Harlem with her parents and her twin. Her family is from the Dominican Republic and her parents are strict. X constantly feels like she's too much for everything, her body, her family, her life. She's not allowed to date, but she's developing feelings for a boy in her biology class. She writes poetry that she keeps to herself, but a teacher at school encourages her to join the slam poetry club. X is risking a lot but she can't help it, and along the way she writes some gorgeous poetry about it. 

What age range is it for? 13+ probably

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yep but I'm not spoiling anything! I thought this was a fantastic element to the book, though. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Obviously. I liked how X wrote about her family background and about her home in Harlem. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I don't think so? 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Not as I recall? 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, a little 

Are there swear words? Gosh I think like two. 

What criticisms do I have? None, it's gorgeous. I loved X, I thought she was such a fantastic main character, I would like to be her friend! I liked her family and the sometimes difficult relationships she had with her parents and her twin, and I liked the boy X liked (whose name escapes me now, sorry)

Would I recommend the book? One hundred percent 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I needed something easy on my Kindle because I was away, and this fitted the bill perfectly. 

What other books is it like? It deserves its comparisons with Sarah Crossan's novels in verse, but it also reminded me a lot of The Hate U Give. 

How many stars? Five out of five. I can't wait to see what Elizabeth writes next!