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Shelter
Shelter is a collection of poetry and prose about distance, falling in love, losing it, and trying to find your way back home. It's a journey that will take you from the streets of Los Angeles to the beaches of Sydney, and It will test just how far love can go and what it takes to survive it.
196 pages, Paperback
Published October 13, 2018
33 people are currently reading
2070 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 11, 2021
I got „Shelter“ as a gift from my boyfriend for my birthday. For me its the kind of book i read every now and then, everytime im in the mood for some beautiful poetry something personal i flick through the pages until i stop and read the page i landed on. Im in love with it, sometimes it makes me feel love, happy - and sometimes it makes me feel sad and hurt.
June 11, 2021
I absolutely love this book. I have read it several times over the years and am surprised how each time I pick it up the poems resonate with me in new and different ways. They grow with me and the relationship with myself and others. It truly is a journey of love, heartbreak, healing, and emotional transformation!
November 6, 2022
Shelter is a book by Booktokker Kevin Tyler Norman, who has ritten poetry about falling in love, heartbreak and recovery from a previous partner. It's raw in all 3 of the sections of the book. First you feel the uplifting feeling of the love that is discovered. But then you drop. down, falling, deep into the fleshwounds of his heartbreak. To eventually kinda get over it and stand up by himself again. This is where I felt the book was not entirely finished. I hoped for a few more that really showed he got there, but I guess that wasn't part of his intention, and that's right. I wouldn't call each and every poem a poem. But it's more a way of storytelling, taking us as a reader through a painful journey. But it's written beautifully. Maybe a bit much just every now and then, and at the extremely short pages, maybe not enough. But I smiled, had a tear of joy and of pain, and that made it all worth it. 4 stars. KTN is a talented writer. and I have to admit, I love the cover and art in the book as well.
February 11, 2019
If your heart has ever been broken you will feel as if Kevin Tyler Norman is speaking directly to you. I can’t say enough amazing things about his poetry. Highly recommend.
June 11, 2020
I can't wait for the sequel: Shelter in Place.
June 4, 2019
Babbyyyy if you have been burned by love then this book is gonna get you in your feelings.
June 11, 2021
WOW - this is one of the most beautiful poetry books I’ve ever read. The author has an incredible way with words to make you feel like you’re reliving the toughest heartbreak. His poems are palpable with emotion. Bravo!
June 12, 2021
Whew. Kevin took all of the words right out of my soul that my brain couldn’t articulate for me. Waiting for the sequel!
April 14, 2021
Even if you don’t like poems, READ THIS BOOK!!
If you’ve ever been heartbroken, you will fall deeply in love with this book! I read it in one afternoon, it was too good to put down! This will be my comfort read for difficult times. I’m so in awe of this masterpiece!
If you’ve ever been heartbroken, you will fall deeply in love with this book! I read it in one afternoon, it was too good to put down! This will be my comfort read for difficult times. I’m so in awe of this masterpiece!
July 4, 2025
I was perusing my to-be-read shelf, and found this book of poems among the shorter on the list. And I, intrigued, and with little-to-no memory of when or why I'd added this book, decided to order a copy from the library.
As I first started it, I will admit I was a little off-put. I thought it was a book full of love poems, about the loveliness of being together, and in my head, I thought, "Oh no...it's a book I added when I was still with my partner."
I took a break, and decided to check the date-added of the book to confirm my suspicions. I discovered, in fact, that I had added the book not in the midst of my relationship, but in the months following our break-up, when I was feeling the most pain about it.
Doubly intrigued now, I perused the book further and discovered that while the first part of the book was, very much, full of love poems (that is, poems of being in the midst of love), the next sections would take a different turn, documenting the turbulence of a rocky relationship and a break-up, and then the messy healing process afterward.
Knowing this, I decided to persevere, and though it did rub a few bruises, I'm ultimately glad that I did, and I'm even glad that I waited this long to read it.
A beautiful collection of queer poetry, of a long-distance love and a driving commitment that eventually fades, and a brokenhearted carrying-on of life after such a break-up. I saw so much of myself reflected here. Maybe not to every word, but there was this lingering hurt of not being enough that really struck me, and especially I felt seen from the poems describing how it felt to heal from a long-distance relationship; where the physical distance apart didn't really do all that much to numb, since you'd already grown accustomed to it.
4 years on from my own breakup (and 3 years on from a dissolution of the continued cordial friendship,) it felt good to reflect on things; on what I could have done or said better, or what life could have been. Most especially this book had me reflecting on the fact that, as much as the pain felt like it was never going to stop hurting so much, it slowly but surely healed, and I'm happier for it.
A TV show with a character that had his same name became one of my newest obsessions, and I had a vague thought that this, once, would've kept me from watching. To even hear his name uttered would've sent me reeling. And yet now, the two entities can co-exist, my past and this character, and I'm glad.
2021 shaped up to be one of the worst years of my life. Continued pandemic isolation; missed friends and opportunities; a continued rise of reactionary violence against minority groups, and a steady path beating towards fascism. A flood, a breakup, fighting among my friends, never quite feeling enough. Illness, vet visits, sitting up through the night to make sure things would be alright. Shoddy construction work, feeling as though things would never be alright again. Deaths rippling through the family tree, hitting so close to home, worry and pain for people I cared for.
And somehow I survived, bruised and numb and definitely not all the same, but not broken either.
And somehow, unwittingly, leaving myself little love notes like this book, that I couldn't have known I'd be revisiting 4 years later. And everything isn't great, and heck maybe it's not even better, but it's different, and I'm here, and for everything I've been through I am still a stronger person, and I have to say thank you to past me for muddling through to arrive. And I have to keep on muddling through for future me to do the same.
So, would I recommend this book? I absolutely would. It does a fantastic job of capturing an essence of heartbreak that I think transcends and pulls. (Or maybe I was just in the right place at the right time to receive it.)
I can't say I'm usually one that connects with poetry, but I'm glad I took the time here. <3
As I first started it, I will admit I was a little off-put. I thought it was a book full of love poems, about the loveliness of being together, and in my head, I thought, "Oh no...it's a book I added when I was still with my partner."
I took a break, and decided to check the date-added of the book to confirm my suspicions. I discovered, in fact, that I had added the book not in the midst of my relationship, but in the months following our break-up, when I was feeling the most pain about it.
Doubly intrigued now, I perused the book further and discovered that while the first part of the book was, very much, full of love poems (that is, poems of being in the midst of love), the next sections would take a different turn, documenting the turbulence of a rocky relationship and a break-up, and then the messy healing process afterward.
Knowing this, I decided to persevere, and though it did rub a few bruises, I'm ultimately glad that I did, and I'm even glad that I waited this long to read it.
A beautiful collection of queer poetry, of a long-distance love and a driving commitment that eventually fades, and a brokenhearted carrying-on of life after such a break-up. I saw so much of myself reflected here. Maybe not to every word, but there was this lingering hurt of not being enough that really struck me, and especially I felt seen from the poems describing how it felt to heal from a long-distance relationship; where the physical distance apart didn't really do all that much to numb, since you'd already grown accustomed to it.
4 years on from my own breakup (and 3 years on from a dissolution of the continued cordial friendship,) it felt good to reflect on things; on what I could have done or said better, or what life could have been. Most especially this book had me reflecting on the fact that, as much as the pain felt like it was never going to stop hurting so much, it slowly but surely healed, and I'm happier for it.
A TV show with a character that had his same name became one of my newest obsessions, and I had a vague thought that this, once, would've kept me from watching. To even hear his name uttered would've sent me reeling. And yet now, the two entities can co-exist, my past and this character, and I'm glad.
2021 shaped up to be one of the worst years of my life. Continued pandemic isolation; missed friends and opportunities; a continued rise of reactionary violence against minority groups, and a steady path beating towards fascism. A flood, a breakup, fighting among my friends, never quite feeling enough. Illness, vet visits, sitting up through the night to make sure things would be alright. Shoddy construction work, feeling as though things would never be alright again. Deaths rippling through the family tree, hitting so close to home, worry and pain for people I cared for.
And somehow I survived, bruised and numb and definitely not all the same, but not broken either.
And somehow, unwittingly, leaving myself little love notes like this book, that I couldn't have known I'd be revisiting 4 years later. And everything isn't great, and heck maybe it's not even better, but it's different, and I'm here, and for everything I've been through I am still a stronger person, and I have to say thank you to past me for muddling through to arrive. And I have to keep on muddling through for future me to do the same.
So, would I recommend this book? I absolutely would. It does a fantastic job of capturing an essence of heartbreak that I think transcends and pulls. (Or maybe I was just in the right place at the right time to receive it.)
I can't say I'm usually one that connects with poetry, but I'm glad I took the time here. <3
August 1, 2024
There were some good poems in here but the drawings were pretty cringey. Rupi Kaur did something new with her books and now everyone is trying to copy that style with the simplistic illustrations, but not everyone can draw. Additionally, this was almost 3.5 but as I got closer to the end, I started to feel a little uncomfortable with the attitudes Kevin had. My understanding from the poetry is that his partner had a secret relationship with another man while they were dating long distance. Once discovered, the partner picked the other man over Kevin. There is a LOT of bitterness and anger directed at the other man, who Kevin himself even seems to acknowledge was clueless of the situation. If true, I don't love the idea of writing a book of poetry and using part of it to slam a bystander who was just as clueless as Kevin. Obviously I don't know the full situation, but it's natural to draw conclusions from the information available, and this is the picture this book ultimately draws.
February 11, 2025
This book was passed to me in a time of transition. I read it during a different time of transition. The book itself helped me process multiple traumatic relationships I’ve endured in my adult life.
The quality of the writing transitions sharply between pointed observations about learning to love and more middling poems with valid if flat ideas. While not all of the poems share the same high notes, individual lines from the collection exist which are now imprinted indelibly on my memory. “Even now | it has changed my definition of love. | Because when someone asks me | to define it | I can’t do it without | saying your name.”
I look forward to revisiting these poems again, helping me to feel validated in my own journey understanding myself and my relationship to giving love, both to others and myself.
The quality of the writing transitions sharply between pointed observations about learning to love and more middling poems with valid if flat ideas. While not all of the poems share the same high notes, individual lines from the collection exist which are now imprinted indelibly on my memory. “Even now | it has changed my definition of love. | Because when someone asks me | to define it | I can’t do it without | saying your name.”
I look forward to revisiting these poems again, helping me to feel validated in my own journey understanding myself and my relationship to giving love, both to others and myself.
February 20, 2021
Pain has a lot of names
but yours was never meant
to be one of them.
If you've ever loved and suffered because of it, well then this little collection of bittersweet poems is perfect for you. I wish I had this book in my hands when I was going through a very similar situation, but then again I can probably understand it better now that I have eventually found some redemption myself.
[..] But I realize now
there is more pain for you with him
than there is without,
and while you think you tamed the beast,
he's the one who locked you in a cage.
The actual poems were not super original or mind blowing, but every now and again there were a few little gems, therefore four stars are well deserved.
April 11, 2021
This book spoke to me in ways neither books nor poetry do. It felt like a glimpse into a journal, an ear pressed onto a door for better overhearing of a private conservation. It felt so private but honest and raw that I saw myself feeling these poems. As if I experienced all the heartbreak.
I have to admit that (reading) poetry is not usually my forte. Regardless of this, if all poetry is as relatable and realistic as this then I will be reading poetry until I die.
Chapeaux to the author! I feel almost like overstepping for having read this piece of your heart.
I have to admit that (reading) poetry is not usually my forte. Regardless of this, if all poetry is as relatable and realistic as this then I will be reading poetry until I die.
Chapeaux to the author! I feel almost like overstepping for having read this piece of your heart.
January 4, 2021
I absolutely loved the journey Kevin takes you on in his writing. As a reader, I felt so intimately involved in portions of his relationship and who he was within that context. Following his writing through heartbreak and discovery was beautiful and it honestly felt so special to come along on the journey. My copy of this book has so many dog-ears and pink highlights of my favorite lines. Excellent work ♥️
March 3, 2022
You really need to feel it, experience the same situation as the author to fulfill that sensation of healing after a close relationship broke by a "treason" to enjoy this book completely. I would say that some poems are very good in a general point of view, and that's why I keep my rating with 4 stars. Maybe in some other time this book would be great but at this moment, at least for me, barely reached this score.
December 29, 2020
I say this book found me exactly when I needed it to. Beautiful, Emotional, Soulful, Raw. Shelter is absolutely fantastic I could not put it down as i cried my way through every page. Kevin Tyler Norman is truly a genius the way he artistically crafts each and every word on the page.
April 16, 2021
This poetry book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and comforting. Kevin cleverly captures experiences and feelings. I highly recommend reading it!
June 11, 2021
Gorgeous prose with so much emotional depth. Kevin’s themes of love and heartbreak are universal and hit you right in your core. Highly recommend!!
September 7, 2022
Exhaustingly beautiful.
Some of these poems should be taught In school
Some of these poems should be taught In school
August 1, 2023
One of the best
December 7, 2023
honestly just super healing, and helped me feel all the emotions throughout my own break up.
June 11, 2022
4.75⭐️
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews