Disclaimer - I received a free digital download of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid reader of poetry I really enjoyed A Strangely Wrapped Gift. I found many of the poems to be very uplifting and encouraging, something very much needed in a world rife with negativity, particularly against the feminine form.

That’s not to say that the book didn’t have its dark and heartbreaking moments, a lot of which I wish I couldn’t relate to but unfortunately I can. I really enjoyed the authors style of writing and ability to capture emotions in her poems.

Full of emotion and heart, this is an extremely readable and accessible collection. The author's discussion of OCD is especially poignant.

The author invites us into her world through sparse sentences, well-crafted metaphors, and beautiful verses. Some are simply a sentence or two, while others are lists and paragraphs, but all of them give us insight into the author, and in some cases, ourselves.

This poetry collection deals with a lot of heavy topics, especially mental health.

For me the most important aspect of poetry is that it should make mee feel something and this collection did. Some of the poems were extremely emotional and relateable.

I really enjoyed this collection and can recmmend it to everyone who needs a feeling of being understood.

I did not make it through the whole book but liked bits and pieces of it. I'm not a huge poetry fan but decided to switch it up and read something else. I know that I will revisit the book at another time.

I absolutely love poetry, I always have, thus I am always looking for new poetry books to read. I really, really enjoyed this one. I loved all the topics covered, and I thought that the author's voice was so refreshing and different. She just had a true way with her words, and I really did love this book, and hope to read more from the author in the future!

The 2020 edition of A Strangely Wrapped Gift is actually a re-working of a previously self-published collection, but with revised edits and new content. I haven’t read the previous version and was given this in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, I’m disappointed. I love reading poetry – especially modern poetry, so I was truly hoping this would join my list of favourites. Sadly, it just didn’t quite do enough for me.

When reading poetry I really want to be spoken to by the poems. I want something to resonate, or an emotion to hit me, or just anything. It doesn’t have to be something I completely connect to, or something I have had a personal experience with, but just to have some kind of emotional connection. And with this collection, there wasn’t any. There were a few quotes that I liked, but no more than maybe 3 or 4. Even then, I’m not sure they are quotes that I would remember or have that urge to plaster everywhere.

The poems felt lacklustre. Either a short statement of a sentence or a mash of random imagery that wasn’t quite tied together well enough. Whilst it sounded nice, it didn’t quite make any sense. I couldn’t quite understand what Emily was trying to say. It got lost in these bizarre metaphors that weren’t linked together. There’d be salt tears, rabbit heart, and nothing to tie the two together.

It also felt like Emily Juniper had some incredibly ideas but I didn’t get enough out of them. One poem begins to list injustices and things wrong with the world, the things we ignore, the things that we need more attention on, just for her to turn around and say, “I could continue with this list, but I’ve run out of paper and I’m bored” (Okay, maybe not exactly that, but that’s how it came across.) That instead of truly making a point or any kind of social commentary she just left it there so she wouldn’t have to deal with such a statement or idea.

" Cry for Syria. Cry for FGM in Somalia that will never make the news. Cry for veal calves and bullfights and elephants and bees. Cry for girls who think their worth is measured by the size of the gap between their thighs.
I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of paper and tears "

The layout of the collection was interesting, but felt like there could have been more of a distinction. It’s separated into five sections; Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring & Leap Year. Out of the bunch, leap year was my favourite. This was the place where a load of ideas finally start to spring out and they were all different and interesting. If Leap Year could have carried on throughout the rest of the collection it would’ve been rated higher. Otherwise, there was not much of a distinction between the sections for it to have really been worth it.

Some themes explored within the collection is depression and anxiety, as well as OCD and LGBTQ+ which helped to add unique ideas into the mix. However, there were limited poems in slight reference to each, so if you are looking for poetry that specifically explores either of the two, I wouldn’t say that this collection exclusively offers that. Possibly easier to look elsewhere.

Overall, I’m just incredibly disappointed. I feel like there was so much potential. There were so many incredible ideas within these poems, but were always cut short as soon as it felt like it was really starting to say something. I would be interested in reading more from Emily Juniper to see how she as a poet progresses, and of course – this is poetry, it’s entirely subjective. The best way is to read it and just see where you stand.

Yesssssss!!!!!! Finally!! A poetry book that I can relate to. This book touches on mental health, OCD and so many other things that many people shy away from due to the huge stigma that is mental health. While the format of this is kind of hard to deal with it turned out alright. It’s a deep style of writing and once you start reading the next thing you know you’re done with it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that may be struggling or who likes poetry, esp some you can relate to. I give this 5 stars because it was very well written. Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange with an honest review!

This was an enjoyable poetry collection that focuses on mental health and in particular OCD, I hadn't picked up anything from Emily Juniper before but I'm glad I decided to give her a try. This poetry collection is raw, emotional and honest. My favourite section of the poetry collection was Autumn and Spring.

I gave this 3 out of 5 stars.

I've been exploring poetry more and more this year, but I realize I have trouble with actual poetry books (especially in e-copies). What's best for me is definitely the occasional poetry I stumble upon on the internet, or spoken poetry videos (I LOVE those). So it was very hard for me to get into this book and reflect on what I was reading.

A beautiful and personal set of poems. My version was not representing the format of the book perfectly, though I can imagine a physical copy would be gorgeous, along with the gorgeous words themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, this was an enjoyable read. However, I think a lot of things mentioned in this have appeared similarly in other poetry books I have been reading. Though it can feel somewhat repetitive that isn’t a bad thing. It just goes to show how many people have gone through similar struggles and that we are not alone.

I was chosen to receive an advanced copy of A Strangely Wrapped Gift through NetGalley so that I could share my review with you!

A Strangely Wrapped Gift, is a beautiful collection of poems by Emily Byrnes that deals with topics ranging from mental illness to love. I found myself completely lost in Byrnes’ word choice and the way that she captures raw emotion. Within A Strangely Wrapped Gift, her poem collection “OCD” was particularly resonant with me, as it really spoke to my experiences as someone who has dealt with anxiety.

You can get your copy of A Strangely Wrapped Gift today!

A Strangely Wrapped Gift is divided into chapters named after each of the four seasons, which help to separate the book into phases of life in a sense. Emily Byrnes has easily won my favor with this book of poems, and I will definitely be looking out for her future works!

My Recommendation-
If you love beautiful poetry and use of the English language, you simply must read A Strangely Wrapped Gift! It’s poignant depiction of mental illness is vital to today’s world. If you are someone dealing with anxiety, or if you would like to better understand what anxiety is like for some people, I cannot recommend these poems enough!

Thank you #NetGalley for the review copy of #AStrangelyWrappedGift

This isn't quite the kind of poetry I was expecting from reading the synopsis - I don't really "get" the purpose or appeal of this style, or what (aside from line breaks) makes it poetry. This collection would probably be most appealing to teens, but for adults I think it doesn't quite hit the mark.

I really enjoyed reading this! A very emotional collection of poems that tugged your heart. I especially enjoyed the chaotic way in which the poems were presented. They felt more like thoughts in the way that they came and went, some repeating in some way just like individuals personal narrative in their heads. This was so beautiful and i defintely want to check out Emily Junipers other work.
[I received this arc on NetGalley for an honest review]

I have never read a story written in poetry and to be honest I’m not sure this works. I understand the mental health issues and struggling with sexuality but I feel it could have been written a bit deeper.

This was a beautiful read. I received a copy from NetGalley for a honest review. This collection of poetry was written about heartbreak, longing, mental health with self-discovery at the center. For me the pieces written about the author’s battle with OCD stood at attention above the rest. It was refreshing, heartbreaking, yet relatable.

This poetry collection was not bad by any means. And there were quite a few poems I loved and felt really connected to. I wasn’t a huge fan of the format that the ARC was in, and I think that's what made this hard to read. The ARC’s format placed each poem right after eachother, there wasn’t any spacing in between them for you to think and reflect. Even though I took my time reading this collection it was still hard for me to digest each individual poem. Aside from the formatting being different for me personally, I found a majority of the poems to be similar to other collections I’ve read. And didn’t feel like anything new was really brought to the table. I did however love the poems that revolved about mental health, and related to those the most. Reading those were the highlights for me. I would definitely recommend this collection to someone who’s thinking about getting into the poetry genre, it’s a good leeway into the genre.

Emily Juniper’s writing is poetry for the social media setting, and this collection showcases this format, providing a free-flow of short poems, snippets and one-liners that are perfect for pairing with a beautiful backdrop and sharing with your friends.

There is a running theme of mental health, specifically in relation to OCD and depression, but the subject matter ranges widely across love, loss, politics, the world around us and the worlds within us.

Whilst the style and language are quite simple and straightforward, the poet doesn’t shy away from complex and emotional topics and presents her thoughts in a format that is direct, honest and intimate. The reader feels that they have been invited to witness the inner workings of the author’s busy mind; that the purpose of the writing is connection, rather than self-conscious cleverness.

This collection really resonated with me. The thoughts and feelings felt familiar, and the overall message of hope, strength and optimism left me feeling understood and uplifted. Responses to poetry tend to be deeply personal, but if you are interested in any of the themes explored here and enjoy short, inspirational (quotable) poetry then you are likely to find poems here that resonate with you.



Sometimes gifts look questionable until unwrapped. Sometimes bad things happen and good things spring from them. Sometimes gifts are as strange as they are beautiful.

– Emily Juniper, from the author’s foreword in A Strangely-Wrapped Gift

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this poetry collection in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to review this ARC since it promised to reflect on mental illness and I strongly believe that poetry is a fantastic medium to do this. The author’s foreword was beautiful and I felt extremely connected to her. I liked the idea to split this collection by seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring) and looked forward to seeing seasonal growth if you will.

Unfortunately, this didn’t shine through as much as I had expected. The poems are incredibly personal; there are love and loss, there is profound sadness, there is encouragement, there are struggles and understanding, but what there’ isn’t is a feeling of change. I was rooting for the author and her prose described movement in her life but it just didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel something was actually changing. And honestly, maybe that is the point. Maybe sometimes we don’t grow even if we’d hoped we would.

Another frustration I felt was reading this book came from the lack of pervasiveness of mental illness in the collection. Mental illness is still wildly underdiagnosed and the stigma society puts on people suffering from it is a real issue. I was expecting the poems to echo this. Instead, while a few of the poems dealt with this in an honest way, the overwhelming majority didn’t mention it at all. I wished for more. I don’t mean to say Emily Byrnes (Juniper) is not talented because she is (more on that in the paragraph below) … I just think she missed an opportunity here.

The present collection features poems of various lengths ranging from a few lines, almost a signature of modern poetry, to more complex ones. In my opinion, her shorter poems too little punch, grit, or darkness that is needed to really hit home for me. Yet, the lengthier ones highlighted Byrnes’s craft and her expertise. She wonderfully played with metaphors and allegories. Her sentence structure was intriguing and evoked emotion. Her word choices were unusual and kept me engaged. Indeed, I would have loved to see a collection in that style. Overall though, despite the lower rating of this book, I am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future, and I hope that she raises her voice even further to bring awareness to mental health through this genre.

A Strangely Wrapped Gift is a modern poetry collection centred around themes of love, mental health and loss.

I was initially interested in the collection because of the mental health and OCD themes, as it seemed reminiscent of one of my favourite poetry books 'Captive: A Poetry Collection on OCD, Psychosis, and Brain Inflammation' However, there were probably about six poems total around the subject, and the rest were majorly about love and heartbreak.

I prefer my poetry to have grit, darkness and a subtle message to it. Because of that, I liked the section 'winter' the most but even then I felt like some of the ideas were underdeveloped and stilted.

I tend to evaluate my overall feelings about poetry by the amount of passages I highlighted. In this one, it was around 15 pages or so out of almost 200. While that doesn't seem like that impressive a number, I think I have just read so many bad modern poetry collections that this improved in comparison. I felt like quite a few poems were filler, and didn't serve any purpose except to elongate the book. For example:

"she plants
her feet
and
mountains
rise
for her"

(why are
there
so
many
irrelevant
line breaks?)

or

"You didn't have to break me, just to prove that you are whole"

Some examples of poems I really liked are:

"Cry for Syria
Cry for FGM in Somalia
That will never make the news.
Cry for veal calves and bullfights and elephants and bees.
Cry for girls who think
their worth is measured by the size of the gap between their thighs."

and

"they will try to make their ignorance louder than your love.
They will try to make their fear louder than your cries for justice.
They will try to make their comfort zone louder than your safety.
They try to make it about the constitution or bathrooms or god,
but there is nothing godly about hate"

Overall, I think this was a solid collection, but not life changing. I liked how it tried to stray outside typical modern poetry themes by including political commentary, but I wish it went a little further. Poetry is very personal and subjective, so if the themes interest you I would recommend picking it up when it releases!

Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing for this ARC

Release Date: 10 March 2020