Open, raw, heart-rendingly beautiful. Parker Lee has captured, gorgeously, how it has felt to be a woman questioning themselves.

“this is where i wrap myself in a blanket of stardust — no — become starlight and let myself shine oh, so radiantly.”

Parker Lee gives every woman permission to forgive themselves, to heal from the pain and trauma inflicted on us by others and, especially, ourselves. forget-me-nots, a letter to my future self, a letter to my past selves, sunset, hrt is alchemy, dysphoria iii have all stuck with me. Have resonated and made parts of myself deep inside ache for all the versions of myself, as well as for Parker Lee.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Parker Lee, and Central Avenue Poetry for this opportunity.
Starlight She Becomes is a beautiful book of poetry that takes us on a powerful journey. Parker Lee's experience with transformation and self-love is told through her words of a trans woman who reclaimed her identity and found herself along the way.
The poems contained on these pages are from all stages of her journey, from beginning to where she is now. The words are beautifully written and while reading them, it takes you along for the journey and gives you a glimpse in her life.
From stardust to starlight, Parker Lee shone brightly with Starlight She Becomes.

Parker Lee once again pulls me into her orbit, never once failing to hit right in the feels! I love sitting down and losing myself within her poetry.

This collection of poetry goes on a journey of self-discovery, particularly as Parker grows confident in her queer identity. There are poems of depression, self-doubt, and loneliness. There are also poems of strength, defiance, and hope.

Overall, this collection was deeply emotional and thoughtfully crafted. I didn't feel deeply as I was hoping to, but I might just not be in the right place for these poems. There's a healthy mix of lovely wordplay alongside Instagram-friendly declarations. I like the former much more than the latter, but I realize which is more popular right now. Speaking of popular but inexplicable choices, Parker ... why aren't there any capital letters in this book? I've seen poets do interesting things with capitalization. But if you're not using it because it's trendy, you're really missing out on a way to connect with your readers. Punctuation and capitalization are tools for clarity. Please use them. Please.

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley, Central Avenue Publishing, and Parker Lee for sending me this advance review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a variety of poems, and also just some sections that were pure streams of thoughts. It was an interesting mix

There were a ton of deep emotions, especially about how the world has changed the last 5 years, and especially dealing with the vulnerability of being Trans. There are a lot of hard things to read here, but the struggles are common ones we all share. Everything is so exhausting, and we are all struggling to keep going while the world around us keeps getting worse.

Always down to read works, especially poetry, by a trans folx. Unfortunately I didn't find the poetry particularly moving or powerful. They much resembled casual woolgathering rather than a strong culmination of ethos. Each poem felt like it could lead from one to the other in a rambling diary entry. Perhaps all poetry is some version of that and different poets hit differently for each reader. This one did not offend me in any way and there's plenty in this collection that is relatable, but nothing that I found to be particularly deep or resounding to my own experience of dysphoria. But it may very well work for literally anyone else, with or without dysphoria.

Poetry is such a transcendent form of writing. It never ceases to push me outside of myself and my comfort zone. It forces me to look inward and really assess how I perceive the world. Poetry is more vulnerable than fiction, it has to be. It allows the reader to see the world through the eyes of the poet in such an intimate way. Parker Lee is no exception to this vulnerability. Their writing is not only beautiful and poignant, it is raw and open in a way that is unlike many other poets.
I experience a myriad of emotions while reading this book, delight, heart sickness, loneliness, but most important was empathy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue for the Advance copy!

I want to thank the author for sharing this work, although it’s written without fancy poetic techniques it does have exactly the vulnerability and emotion that poetry is all about.
A lot of these really spoke to me, with some stunning pieces on body image, eating disorders and queerness.
Trans and sapphic love and acceptance.

I’m personally not a fan of how these were structured, and would love an editor to tweak the layouts of each piece, but the content of the actual writing is good.
I did love the titles and sestet/end lines.

For such a heavy themed collection it’s surprisingly hopeful and heartwarming, with great tone, flow and prose. It also has some lovely honesties and metaphors.

Thank you for this ARC copy

‘inspiration isn't always easy to come by when you've stopped being your own worst enemy.’

‘i needed to acknowledge my shadow instead of pretending it doesn't exist.
i needed to understand it to understand myself.—//
because try as you might, there's no outrunning the very thing that lives inside of you.’

‘IS THE POET STILL A POET WHEN THEIR PEN HAS RUN DRY?’

‘dead soil can only grow other dead things, and i'm tired of being a graveyard.’

‘this isn't who she wanted to become when she grew up, so add my name to the list of people i've let down. i just hope my battery lasts long enough to keep the darkness at bay until i find redemption.’

‘existence is an exhausting thing— it's hard, and it's ugly, and it hurts, but it's also fragile, magical, and beautiful, and the fear of leaving you behind or worse, losing you, is infinitely
more frightening than anything
that has made me so apathetic to living. when i awake the next morning
i pause. i listen for your breath, i look for the rise and fall of your chest. i let out a sigh of relief knowing our tomorrows haven't yet run out. it is a part of my morning ritual now. before brushing my teeth, before the first sip of coffee, i allow myself to be grateful that we are here, breathing, because that's all that really matters.’

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for early access to this title in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Such a great collection of poetry that focuses on learning to love yourself, sobriety, and recognizing that while it can be hard, seeing the growth you’ve made as a person.

Parker Lee truly has such a way of storytelling through her poetry and I enjoyed every minute of it!

No surprise here, but I loved this collection of poetry. Full of reclaiming identity, embracing softness and self love, The Starlight She Becomes told such a powerful and beautiful story. I always think poets are so incredibly brave making their experiences, especially the difficult ones, into works of art and Parker Lee is no exception. I found myself drawn to several of the poems, but repetition, i dream about a version of me that still has friends and a letter to my past selves. One of the things I loved most was seeing the way Parker writes about Amanda and their relationship. As a longtime Amanda Lovelace reader, I’ve read her beautiful poems about Parker and so it was such a cool experience reading Parker’s point of view and how she sees her. I’m so happy I got to read these poems and I highly recommend them if you’re looking for new poetry to enjoy!
CW: transphobia, homophobia, suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, mental illness, death, pandemic disordered eating

Thank you to Central Avenue Poetry for the digital reader’s copy!

Starlight She Becomes is a marvelous work that gives voice to the experience of a trans person. It has been very beautiful to have the opportunity to read this poetry collection, as the strength of this work lies in the raw honesty of lived experience transformed into verse: the courage, vulnerability, resilience, and joy articulated on the page are genuinely moving and important. However, I must say that, personally, I didn't much care for the author's poetic style, as it is very similar to what could easily be phone notes. The dependence on this prevalent aesthetic can make some pieces feel less distinctive as poems and more like poignant, emotionally charged journal entries presented with line breaks.

A fast paced, simple collection of poems about identity. Emotion and tenderness does come through in some poems, although others read as very young - perhaps because the writer is and I am not!

This would be a wonderful collection for anyone in the midst of exploring who they are and beginning to embrace that.

This book of poetry has a good mix of lineated free-verse poetry with proper stanza breaks and prose poetry. I liked the various sentence lengths, use of enjambment, and overall tone of the book. I especially enjoyed the notes at the end of the book to explain some of the references that I for sure did not get on the first pass. I did enjoy the Pokémon mention every once in a while. I personally would've liked more capitalization to be used but I get the stylistic choice. Sometimes there wasn't a clarification of the pronoun/subject that Lee was speaking about so I was confused who the poem was referring to. But overall, I liked the emotional exploration and journey that the structure set up. Some poems I enjoyed:
- i dream about a version of me that still has friends
- pocket-seized rebellion
- this isn't even my final form
- lake michigan
- when the poems are closets
- "are you a boy? or are you a girl?"
- conservative v̶a̶l̶u̶e̶s̶ hypocrisy
- text me when ur sober
- purple aster
- forget-me-nots
- on titling my poetry
- a letter to my past selves
- a letter to my future self

I found this really moving and emotional. I don't read poems often, so when I do find such an incredible collection like this one, it feels special. Everything about this was so perfect, there were a couple that made me emotional.

Thank you for the ARC, I appreciate it so much.

thank you to NetGalley, central avenue publishing and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this arc !

this was a beautiful poetry collection about being queer, more specifically coming out as trans and coming to terms with being trans, and overcoming addiction. im not trans but I am queer and some of the poems about being trans resonanted a lot with me. this book felt like a journey through the authors life and her working through some difficult time!

"there is nothing more delicate in the universe than a love between two women"

“Say goodbye to who you were to make space for who you are meant to be”

The reasoning behind 3 stars is because the poems didn’t feel like poems and instead were more-so notes.

Let me add in by saying that didn’t take away from the messages behind the poems. I quite literally got chills multiple times when I read them.

Most of the poems focused on the author finding herself, accepting herself, and then allowing herself to BE herself.

The main focus is coming to terms with being transgender and the struggles of transitioning. Not only internally but as well as with everyone around.

I do think that it was a beautifully told story and pulled at my heart strings more than once, but I do wish I got more of the “poem” feeling behind them.

Please note: I received an arc copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you NetGalley and the author Parker Lee for a copy!

This book was great! Opened my heart and eyes to another world. The poems hit hard and some were like looking in the mirror. I think it's a must read.

4.5 stars. A very accessible and in places relatable joyfully queer collection of poetry that at its heart is about transformation, self-acceptance, self-celebration, growth and love. I especially enjoyed the poems about sapphic love, and the pieces that touched on the rawest parts of the author's experience of transitioning.

Not really my cup of tea since I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but Parker Lee’s Starlight She Becomes is a deeply personal and vulnerable collection. The poems offer raw insight into a trans woman’s journey through hardship, self-discovery, and acceptance, with moments of genuine beauty and hope. Even though the style didn’t fully resonate with me, I appreciate the emotional honesty and the celebration of identity throughout. It’s a powerful, heartfelt read for those who connect with poetry and queer experiences.

While I couldn't personally connect to many of the poems in this collection, I celebrate with the author her journey and lament with her the struggles to get to her now. Thank you for making this collection, for sharing the experiences, and the catharsis of finally being the you you were always meant to be.