Book Review: Ache. by Zen Mateo

Having won a Goodreads giveaway, I was sent a copy of this book from the author, signed personally. Receiving book mail is an amazing feeling in and of itself, but opening up the book’s front cover to see that the author had signed it, addressed to your name is something even sweeter. She wrote: “for Veronica, with love and gratitude,” but it is I who is grateful for receiving and having the opportunity to read this book. 

Ache. by Zen Mateo is a book of poetry. At the start of the book, there is an introduction which is just “love. above all, with love.” It’s fitting, as from there on the poetry is all about love, and its abundance and lack in her world. There’s lots of mention of blue, lots of night, and lots of hearts breaking and trying to mend. In the first few pages of the book, there is a poem about manicured fingernails and their shine, and somewhere near the middle of the book it turns to chipped fingernails; like a symbol for the depression and regression one can take over a short time. 

I think this book should be read by mature middle-grade readers and up, but is geared towards young adults. I recommend it to those who are hurting or love someone who is hurting and want to feel how they feel without adding more pain to their loved one’s bed of swords. 

The book is unique. The subject matter is not new or noteworthy, but the author makes it her own. I enjoyed reading it. The poems were either amazing (see next paragraph), a little less than amazing, and a few were not quite there. It wasn't hard, it wasn't long, and it only took me about three-quarters of an hour, admittedly with quite a few thinking breaks. And though it didn't take long to read, I have a feeling this book will linger in my mind for a long time. 

What attracted me to this book was its giveaway, but what hooked me once I started reading was the poem called “depression.” It is probably one of the most relatable and realistic portrayals and explanations of depression and the havoc it wreaks on a mind and those around it, and in such an easily understood manner. I would quote it here, but I believe it will be more powerful if you take the time to read it yourself. If you don't read this whole book, just read this one poem. 

The cover is cute. I like the simplicity and the watercolor in the background. 
Some of my favorite quotes from this book are the following:
“softhardwetdrysmoothrough” (muscle memory) 
“yours is still a name I wake up saying, but only from nightmares.” (ex-boyfriend) Such imagery! Such a novel concept. I love this line. 
“…can make you reach for a curling iron and a knife in the same night” (house party)
“and for this, I would swallow a lit match every morning” (on being a dancer)
“you asked, don't you need an umbrella? and I told you, I’m not made of sugar. and you asked, are you sure about that?” (spring)

P.S. I would have given page numbers but this book does not employ their use. 

I’m a sucker for poems and poetry, so it was fate that I won this giveaway. I truly enjoyed this book and will keep an eye out for anything else Mateo writes. She’s got talent. She really does. She has a way of saying things with so few words but you understand it like she’d transcribed it with the words in your own heart.

xoxo, Veronica Nagorny

THIS REVIEW ON GOODREADS 

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by Veronica Nagorny 2017

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