Teen Review: The Sun and her Flowers
Review by Lily, member of the Brentwood Youth Advisory Group
The Sun and her Flowers is written by Canadian-Indian poet and illustrator Rupi Kaur. This is her second collection of poetry, her first one being Milk and Honey. Both of these collections have been bestsellers and amazing reads.
In this collection her stories and ideas are all divided into the stages of a flower.
“This is the recipe of life said my mother as she held me in her arms as I wept, think of those flowers you plant in the garden each year, they will teach you that people too must wilt, fall, root, rise, in order to bloom.”
The first section is called wilting and she writes about the experience of heartache that many people go through. She questions love and speaks of moving on and closure.
Falling is the next part where she shares her struggles with love and what seemed like rock bottom. Many of the poems are about her low self esteem during this period of time. It seemed like she lost faith in many people around her.
The next stage is rooting and in this chapter Rupi Kaur goes back to her ancestry and family life. We read about her parents’ story as immigrants from India and the things she wishes she could have told her mother before. She shares her mother’s struggles and thoughts more so in this chapter and focuses on staying strong.
Rising is the second last section and she writes about how she has now found a new love. You can see that she is much stronger and happier and is on her way to blooming.
The final chapter is blooming. This stage is when anyone is at their full potential and loves themselves the most. This is about self acceptance and teaches us that in order to love others you have to love yourself first.
Overall, the book was very good and might be in my top twenty. You could probably read it in a day if you wanted to, as each poem is quite short. It is very simple and light, and very nice if you are looking for a quick read. Each poem captures her emotions perfectly and relates well to the theme of flowers. The illustrations are very well done and detailed. They add to the poetry and the collection as a whole. I would recommend this to many people; it’s a good book to cheer you up. 8/10
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