Fierce Fairytales
By: Nikita Gill
Grade: A
I read Wild Embers by Nikita Gill earlier this year and immediately ordered Fierce Fairytales. The book is made up of poems, stories and illustrations “to stir your soul,” as the cover says! I seriously connected with the work so I guess you could say my soul was indeed stirred.
There are so many fairy tale characters throughout this book I particularly loved ‘Why Tinkerbell Quit Anger Management,’ as a title. But you can pretty much find anything or any character you want. There’s even a poem about Gaston and toxic masculinity that I enjoyed called ‘How a Hero Becomes a Villain.’
Perhaps its the fairy tale element that calls to me? Gill deals with a great deal of issues I see cropping up in a lot of poetry these days but there’s something very life-affirmining about all of her work. It’s as much about survival and connection as anything else and by using the fairy tales to help us do both it makes a strong argument for the power of story-telling.
Hell, there’s even a piece about computer trolls and hatred!
There are also important lessons and things to remember in the work. Some of my favorite bits-
“The world is not allowed to make a meal of you girl.”
“But recuperation means different things
to unalike people.
It means survival to some.
It means healing to others.
And to others still it just means alive.”
“Which is to say that the energy that makes us
is as ancient as the beginning of time itself.
Which is to say that our bones could have been
fragmented together from the ashes of the library of
Alexandria.”
Which yes! I’m going with that on bad days we’re all made up of energy, stardust and the ashes of the library of Alexandria!
Recommend: Yes.
I’ve been really curious about this- so glad to hear it’s good! I’m especially curious to read “how a hero becomes a villain”- it sounds really interesting. hehe I’d love to think of us as made up of stardust and the ashes of Alexandria too 😉
This is my first time hearing about the book, but it sounds really cool! You know how much I like stories about the power of stories. 😀 I’ll add it to my wishlist, thanks for sharing!
I’m a sucker for the power of stories subject matter myself!
… I couldn’t even finish this review before adding it to my list. I’m so happy you brought this one to my attention!!! “why Tinkerbell quit anger management” 😂😂
Excellent! I hope you have fun reading it!
Already added it to my Goodreads 🙂 sound really good, thanks for sharing this!
Sure!
I have been following Nikita Gill’s work from early on,and always felt immensely motivated by her words,as soon as I saw your post’s title,I couldn’t stop myself from reading it.After reading your review,I do want to buy the book.Sooner the better.Take care.
She always makes me feel better as well!