This collection of poems written by teens is a powerful read. It includes pretty deep content with a handful of swearing, so it may be better for mid-upper teens. I recommend this for a teenager that needs reminded that others are going through serious issues, too. All of these poems were a good reminder that as a teacher, sometimes what is going on in our classrooms is the least significant issue in a student’s life. I was particularly struck by the poem “Diary of an Abusive Father” because of the strong vocabulary and the irony of the story. All of the poems include young adult topics such as teenage relationships with friends, significant others, and parents. There isn’t one main character because the poems are submitted from various young adults and put together by one publisher. What are that month’s colors? What does it say? What does it eat or sing? An example provided was to pick a month (October) and describe how it feels. I can see myself using a few of these more descriptive possibilities in my effective writing or creative writing courses. I loved the writing exercised provided before each new sections. They also make it possible to pick a single category and read from there rather than reading from beginning to end. These categories helped me know what I was getting into before I started each one. I liked how the book was organized into categories including “Artists”, “Friendships”, “I too am American”, “Why I write Poetry”, “As we sit here”, “Furious”, and “The Tree that was in front of my house”. It’s nice to have a book that you can pick up and read from anywhere, as it doesn’t need to follow the beginning to end format. However, the organization and easy-to-read elements of the book made it appealing. I rated this book of poetry in the middle of spectrum because although many of the poems individually are terrific, there are some less than great poems that don’t begin to touch any feelings and/or are too vague.

Paint Me Like I Am by WritersCorps