Official Review: Unhinged by Olena Rose

[Twylla]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Unhinged" by Olena Rose.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Unhinged: Putting the Pieces Back Together by Olena Rose is a collection of poetry that tells the story of a romantic relationship that has fallen into turmoil. The 67 poems in this collection take us on a journey of releasing grief and pain, so the heart can experience healing, forgiveness, and new beginnings. All of them are free verse poems with no particular structure or pattern.

Unhinged: Putting the Pieces Back Together begins with a poem that has the same title as the book. The romantic relationship is represented by the metaphor of a completed puzzle that has been broken apart, not just once, but time after time and the pieces tossed about. Life is viewed as a work of art that has been tarnished and ruined. But through a process of letting go, a new life, a new masterpiece has begun. This poem sets the tone for the rest of the book, discovering the deceit and lies, recognizing the red flags, acknowledging the pain, and finally the healing and forgiveness. The remaining 66 poems are organized into three sections: Falling, Holding On, and Letting Go.

In the section called Falling, there are 10 poems that describe the deception and manipulation in the relationship. The first poem in this section is called “Deception.” It asks the question “Why is it so hard to see? How do we fall for it so easily?” I think most people are good at their core, and good people expect the best from others. To discover a deceitful dimension to your partner would be devastating.

The next section is called Holding On. There are 20 poems in this section. They all have a theme of acknowledging the problem, feeling the pain, looking for the red flags in the relationship, and separating emotion from logic. My favorite poem in this section is called “Listen.” It reminds me of a talk I had with my parents when I was in college. They told me to fall in love with my head, not my heart. Evaluate your potential life partner and his situation objectively. Don’t let yourself be carried away by your emotions.

The last section is called Letting Go. There are 36 poems in this section. These poems have a theme of healing, forgiveness, courage, starting fresh, and the power that we all have inside ourselves to change and overcome. My favorite poem of the collection is called “You Think.” It uses the metaphor of a crisp dollar bill tucked away in a pocket that goes through the washing machine. Repetition is used to emphasize that defeat is not an option. “You think it’s destroyed. You think it’s a mess.” But once the dollar bill is dried out, it comes out clean. It is almost as good as new, and it hasn’t lost any value.

I love this collection of poems by Olena Rose. It is so deep and powerful in its simplicity. This book is well written and professionally edited. I didn't find any errors. The tone is uplifting, courageous, and emotionally charged. I am pleased to rate this inspirational debut collection of poems as 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves poetry about the transformation and healing of the heart and the human spirit.

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Unhinged
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[Samgum50]

Wonderful review! I'm always up for reading poetry books by modern poets. This book seems like it would be very interesting to read based on your reviews. I'm definitely adding it to my bookshelves.

[LinaJan]

Poetry is far from my go-to genre but... It seems like I have come across this book just at the right time. And, having read your compelling review, I am adding this to my shelf Thank you

[sirbobthewise]

I love, love, love the way that this book is structured; walking with the couple and listening to their story through these poems is so clever. I can imagine that the freestyle voice added a lot more freedom for raw emotion and depth due to not having to restrain the words by rhyme or rhythm. I’m all for it. Fantastic review!

[Jeremie Mondejar]

Wow, I guess I can relate with the poems. Forgiveness seems easy to tell, but hard to do. I love this insightfully review.

[Mutai_]

I've always wanted to read poetic books. This one is a great piece to start of as it instills values such as live and forgiveness. Thanks for the review

[book_fanatic_]

Poetry has always been my kind of thing. The way poet has portrayed various themes of healing, forgiveness and letting go in three sections is intriguing. Looking forward to reading it. Thank you for the beautiful and honest review.

[KerriG 20]

I fell out of love with poetry somewhere on my journey of growing up. I find most of them too complex and unraveling one takes lots of time I might not have. This sounds like a collection I should look into.
Thanks for the good review.

[Gabrielle Sigaki]

I'm really into poetry and this book seems to be dense. Love is a complicated feeling, it has a great effect on everybody who feels it, and the process of forgiving and healing is difficult. I'm interested in seeing how the author portrayed it. Thanks for the great review!

[Nwaogazie Goodness]

Poetry is a genre I struggled to put up with for some time. I just love those written in free verse, haiku, sonnet, ode and just a few others. Truthfully, I love how you put this review out.

[Nzube Chizoba Okeke]

I'm not a lover of poetry but this book in particular makes me want to check it out and it's all thanks to your review and the idea of love. Thanks!

[Munachimso_Nwaogazie]

I really appreciate modern poetry. The way this review was written makes me believe that this must be a good read. Thanks!

[Marion Jepkosgei]

Wow! Your review in itself is uplifting and I totally am going to read this collection. I am a poet and I love poems that resonate with me and I feel this collection is my kind of thing.

[Nedbrian]

This is a poetic representation of the stages when dealing with heartbreak. It would definitely serve as a great company for people in such category as the review explains

[Sharandhaliwal]

I really love poetries and this book is really deep and dense . Great poetries. I really appreciate such poetries . One should definitely go for this book. It deserves 5 stars.