Save Me an Orange

by Hayley Grace

In her debut poetry collection, Hayley gives voice to the roots of struggle and pain growing up, as well as the love and pursuit of self-acceptance that were fundamental in her own choice to live. Her verses weave a narrative that is both deeply personal and universally resonant–through shadows of the past and the fleeting moments of joy captured in the simplicity of sharing an orange.

“even when you think there's nothing left
life gives us oranges
so go share one with your best friend
maybe they thought the world would end
when they were 16 too.”

-- from save me an orange

Genres: Poetry, Self Help, Nonfiction, Love, Romance, Mental Health, Psychology

114 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

notes app poetry strikes again

[Petra Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"you are not unlovable because you didn't have time to straighten your hair
you are not unlovable because you ordered a coke instead of a diet
you are not unlovable if all you did today was exist
for every one person who could not love you correctly
i bet you could name five people who can, and even if you can't
your dog will still be waiting behind the door to love you when you come home"

[ashley ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“don’t think less of yourself because they can’t be more for themselves”

this book made me cry numerous times. it was a testament to all of the healing i’ve done over the past six months, and the healing that i have yet to do. it genuinely made me sad with the amount of young women than can relate to this because nobody deserves to feel this way, but it’s a great read for those who have experienced the things in this poetry collection.

i read it in one sitting and it’ll be a quick read for those who wanna meet their goodreads goal as well.

[Ada · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a huge disappointment and also a reminder to not trust the shit I see on Instagram.

Overall, I liked less than half of the poems. The rest were just normal words trying hard to act like a poem.

As a poet myself, I *really* wanted to understand the poems and even like them but I just couldn't.

[Alyssa Bowness · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure I should get a book based on one poem I saw on tik tok again

[Ashley Sebastian · Rating 1 out of 5]

RIP tumblr girls circa 2010 and also Freud you would’ve LOVED this. Maybe I should’ve done more research but I thought I was getting a cute little collection of poems featuring oranges. I instead received a collection of poems about how she basically just dates her dad over and over again. The symbolism is not varied at ALL. Everything is fruit, including her vag. Rotten fruit, ripe fruit (she got her period and a bush), bruised fruit, spoiled fruit. It’s everything you wanted to read when you were 14. Very milk & honey inspired. It kind of felt like reading someone’s diary

[Kait Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I think I was forced to grow up fast because my parents could not — I was only 9”

[Ocean Boudreau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Defined notes app poetry but I did like a few pages

[Natalie Nowak · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book highlighted everything i’ve felt but not been able to put into words. i will be rereading this many times. it was the comfort i needed

[Selena✨🤍✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

relatable. In every single way. This healed my high school self, if only she knew🤍

[sunny ≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of those hit a little too deep

[tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

further proof that
rupi kaur set
poetry back
100 years

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept seeing snippets of this book on my social feeds and decided that I wanted to read the entire thing and boy was I WRONG in doing so. This book was NOT worth my time and I would rate it 0 stars if possible. Social media did me SO wrong with my thoughts going into this. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt as I kept reading on, but honestly, I should have stopped and not finished it. So—if you see it on your social feeds, save yourself some time and money and skip on past it.

[ree · Rating 2 out of 5]

expected more from what i saw on tiktok, however it was just very cliché and tiktokfied, not sure how else to explain it. but it was a boring read apart from a few parts that went viral on tiktok.

[lali · Rating 1 out of 5]

rupi kaur but make it tiktok appealing

[Nyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this for Christmas two years ago because I've seen the author online. This has made me realise how much I adore poetry. All in all a fantastic read!!

[Julie Salverio · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a nice light read for me. To me, it’s a genre i jokingly call “TikTok poetry” that has very trendy or relatable lines sprinkled throughout the poems that make it very quotable. I enjoyed this book and finished it in about an hour or so. My only critique would be that most of the poems seemed a little unoriginal or familiar, but then again, almost all poetry is slightly reminiscent of another 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read twitter comments better than these "poems"

[Lauren Vercillo · Rating 1 out of 5]

read this for a book club. did not enjoy the style! don’t know if i’d consider this to be poetry in the technical sense but if you’re a rupi kaur fan you will probably like it.

[sarah marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked less than half of these poems. I think I could have written most of them to be honest.

I tabbed only 16 that really stood out to me.

that’s what i get for trusting tik tok recs

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do I give this one star or five stars for being the most gut-wrenching thing I’ve ever read in my life??

[BluePiril Z · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were way too many "I mean" This felt like a text message from an acquaintance at best at 2 am trying to self therapize herself but in no way has a psych degree. I do however, appreciate the effort that went into it as a debut novel. I did actually enjoy the ideas even though I found the execution to be lacking. Especially one of the poems at the end about how youre loved ones will not stop loving you despite your specific imperfections was really nice.

[Abby Saywell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these poems hit too close to home. Like, inside of my home. Idk how to feel about that hahaha

[WizardPenguin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some 6th grade level metaphors in here

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

unfortunately, most of this book read like cringey instagram poetry. however there were a few poems that hit, and when they were emotional - they really got to me. i’ll give it 2 stars for those few stanzas and poems but overall i wouldn’t say it is worth the reading. i think bianca sparacino is still probably my favorite poet i discovered this year

[Andreia Freitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. It's the continued progress of healing. It will make you cry, heal, understand, question a lot. But at the end it's all worth it. Everything that happened to you in your life has made you you.

[amy v · Rating 4 out of 5]

Screaming and crying with this one.

[Makayla Samountry]

I think my teenage self would’ve absolutely loved this

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have dnf’d it. I finished it because I needed the numbers.

I love poetry, and to be very frank, this does not feel like poetry. These are verrrry rough drafts, and a few have potential, but someone needed to go through these and remind the writer that: sentence structure matters, capitalization matters, literary devices matter, and diction matters! There’s…barely any of this here. It reads like a whine and not a profound wisdom learned.

I see the attempt: the theme connected to hope, fruit, life, rotting, and how people impact one another. But it fails. I’m not sure how this has 3.92 stars….but it feels like bought influencer reviews, and false advertising.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this is one night and then I read it again two more times. I am so blessed that I found it and thank you to the author who wrote it.