Because I Am Furniture is heartbreakingly real. I was profoundly moved by these poems and curious to discover how well a novel-length story would be told through them in a way that would appeal and speak to young adults. It’s been a while since I immersed myself in writing and reading poetry. It felt very good to get back into it and see how forceful and powerful poems can be in conveying raw human emotion, longings, fears, and honest thoughts we’d rarely, if ever, say aloud…
I was worried when I checked this book out of the library that I might find it more of an experiment on the page of breaking a prose novel into lines and calling them poems, but I was pleasantly floored by this poignant poetry and how well-crafted each piece of the story is—lyrically and in a literary sense.
Because I Am Furniture reminded me how beautifully naked emotion and serious conflicts can be arranged on the page as well as how essential it is to keep in mind that every word, every syllable counts. I needed such jarring evidence that we do a major disservice in whatever we write if we add fluff to cushion the blow or water down the stark reality and piercing pain that exists in real life.
I found myself praying for victims of all types of abuse as I read this. That’s the only way I could keep going when I know that there are people who are actually living in such terrifying situations as this one.
The fear of speaking out against the perpetrators of such horrifying acts is quite tangible in this novel, as is the heartache of someone who carries the burden of seeing what’s going on and knowing it needs to stop, but who isn’t sure how to end the vicious cycle in effect.
To read more about Because I Am Furniture or to order your own copy, click here.
