Youtube personality The Gabbie Show released a book of poems recently titled Adultolescence relating to her life, career, and insecurities. I admire her persona, so I was thrilled when I found out about the release and purchased it immediately. Here’s my honest review.

Illustrations: 8/10

Not only does Gabbie write, she also illustrates pictures to accompany some of the poems. The cover is well done and conveys exactly what the book is about – the voices in her head, pulling her in different directions. The self portraits of her in poems like ANXIETY are drawn accurately and look like her (almost exactly). However, as good as the images are, some of them don’t connect to the poem they accompany. For example, next to a poem about hiding from her feelings, Gabbie has a picture of a monster holding a flower behind its back. The monster is clearly hiding something, however I’m not sure the connection between the two.

Poetry: 7/10

In the book, I found myself marking pages of poems that really spoke to me – few and far between. She starts off with a corny poem about sleep that lacks substance, and that theme continues as she writes about rushing to get her book deal completed, why it’s good to smile, etc. She uses an “ABAB” format to rhyme words, giving it a simplistic, almost childish tone. Some of her other poems are actually stories in verse format, one being about the insecurity of bullies; they always have a good message at the end. The most interesting poems written are titled “Advice” with a number after it, and honestly, they seem like fillers. One of them is about her mom touching a hot iron, another one about a buffet, etc. They don’t provide actual substance except one: my favorite poem of the book. It reads “Don’t let someone else be the reason you wake up in the morning.” The last category is my favorite, her short free-form poems featuring life lessons she’s gathered over the years. Those are exceptional, and if she spent more time putting substance into all of her poems instead of fillers, the poetry would be a 10/10 for sure.

Content: 9/10

Although I talked a little bit about the content above, I felt it should get a separate category. Some of the poems, mentioned above, I perceived as fillers because they had no real direction. There were the hidden gems, however, that really dove into the purpose of life – those poems made the book worth it as a whole. Considering all the fillers, I probably should have given the content section a lower rating, but the 5 star poems made the book worth it.

Form: 9/10

Although most of her poems are in verse form, Gabbie adds a few oddball forms to the mix. Some notable ones include upside down text, lines in text bubbles, and a verse in a typewriter. I gave the form a high rating simply because the way she wrote most of her poems are the way poems are typically written, so I expected nothing more.

Overall: 8/10

Some of the poetry is lacking, however the illustrations add life to the story. The content is relatable, and I found myself re-reading the book over and over again. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick, enjoyable read!

You can purchase the book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Adultolescence-Gabbie-Hanna/dp/1501178326