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Rooted (Volume 2): A Poetry Collection
Rooted volume 2 follows similar themes as the first collection, touching on topics including mental illness, self-love and growth, as well as identity and self-discovery. As we move through life, our roots grow stronger, keeping us secure against the storms we face. Trust in your roots. Remain rooted.
- GenresPoetry
Paperback
Published June 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 3, 2023
I simply loved this book of poems and recommend it!
June 23, 2021
I connected with Cassandra a few years back when she was my main sensitive reader for my novel ‘The Stranger.’ From there, I discovered she had a poetry collection out and I dove into it. ‘Rooted: A Poetry Collection’ was fantastic. Empowering and uplifting, I loved how many small affirmations she had throughout.
(You can find my review here: https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.co...)
Now, almost two years later, Cassandra returns with her second collection, and I’m so happy she reached out to see if I’d like to review it. I have it pre-ordered for my Kindle, but she kindly sent me a pdf which I devoured.
What I liked: Cassandra has a way with words. Simple, straight-forward, delicate. Her poetry conveys a novels worth of emotions in sometimes only three sentences.
We open with ‘Stormy Weather,’ which not only starts the collection off with an affirmation, but also connects it to Volume 1 which I really liked.
Throughout, we see Cassandra actively embracing and connecting with her Indigenous heritage and culture. Poems such as ‘Dying Language,’ ‘Métis,’ ‘Heartbeat’ and many others. They are all fantastic snippets of a person fighting between accepting their heritage while trying to find their place in today’s society.
‘Serene’ was one of my personal favorites, a fantastic piece about reconnecting with nature and being one with the land and the elements.
‘Soon’ was a sweet poem about someone waiting patiently to reconnect with the love of their life.
My absolute favorite was ‘Our Time Is Limited.’ A gorgeous poem about living your best life and enjoying what you have and being as happy as you can be. Loved it.
The final poem was ‘Elm Tree’ which was both a touching piece of respecting nature, but also connected with the first poem and the first volume, which I really enjoyed seeing it come full circle.
What I didn’t like: This was such a great collection. With all poetry releases, it’s hard for me to comment on it as this was an author’s lived experience and I’m no scholar or poetry teacher. I can’t critique that Cassandra should’ve used a different rhyming scheme or whatever! The poems all work great and really tie in well with Volume 1 and with each other.
Why you should buy this: While this may only be Cassandra’s second release, I feel like she’ll become a force to be reckoned with in no time at all. She tackles darkness and grief with a smile and so many of her poems are amazing call to actions or empowering moments. Absolutely a joy to read and a collection I think many will love.
(You can find my review here: https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.co...)
Now, almost two years later, Cassandra returns with her second collection, and I’m so happy she reached out to see if I’d like to review it. I have it pre-ordered for my Kindle, but she kindly sent me a pdf which I devoured.
What I liked: Cassandra has a way with words. Simple, straight-forward, delicate. Her poetry conveys a novels worth of emotions in sometimes only three sentences.
We open with ‘Stormy Weather,’ which not only starts the collection off with an affirmation, but also connects it to Volume 1 which I really liked.
Throughout, we see Cassandra actively embracing and connecting with her Indigenous heritage and culture. Poems such as ‘Dying Language,’ ‘Métis,’ ‘Heartbeat’ and many others. They are all fantastic snippets of a person fighting between accepting their heritage while trying to find their place in today’s society.
‘Serene’ was one of my personal favorites, a fantastic piece about reconnecting with nature and being one with the land and the elements.
‘Soon’ was a sweet poem about someone waiting patiently to reconnect with the love of their life.
My absolute favorite was ‘Our Time Is Limited.’ A gorgeous poem about living your best life and enjoying what you have and being as happy as you can be. Loved it.
The final poem was ‘Elm Tree’ which was both a touching piece of respecting nature, but also connected with the first poem and the first volume, which I really enjoyed seeing it come full circle.
What I didn’t like: This was such a great collection. With all poetry releases, it’s hard for me to comment on it as this was an author’s lived experience and I’m no scholar or poetry teacher. I can’t critique that Cassandra should’ve used a different rhyming scheme or whatever! The poems all work great and really tie in well with Volume 1 and with each other.
Why you should buy this: While this may only be Cassandra’s second release, I feel like she’ll become a force to be reckoned with in no time at all. She tackles darkness and grief with a smile and so many of her poems are amazing call to actions or empowering moments. Absolutely a joy to read and a collection I think many will love.
September 13, 2021
Disclaimer: I don't read a lot of poetry. I would like to explore it more, but can't seem to find a good place to start.
So I can't really speak to the build of the poems, or the connectivity of the collection, or any other fancy words one might expect tied into a poetry-collection review. What I can speak about is my impression of the text itself.
This collection focuses a lot on themes of belonging, love, mental health, and heritage. I found the texts insightful of the author's mind as well as strong. Some felt like they could have been plucked right out of my own head. And that's what I'm rating. While it didn't quite tip the 5 star line, it's still a solid 4 stars, as the text are all very human and it was easy to understand them all.
This is where I have to say something about the poetry-part of this book, though. As I stated earlier, I don't read a lot of poetry, but I did have to read some classical stuff for school, and I'm finding that a lot of more modern poetry doesn't fit the mold of what one expect poetry to actually be. There's a lot of text just looking fancy on the page or cutting sentences in two going around. That also held for this collection. I recon there may have been a rhythm to it, but not one I could hear, unfortunately, and so this felt more like a collection of thoughts than poetry.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just felt like I had to point that out. This is also why I'm rating the book on how the text made me feel, rather than the technicality of it all.
PS: I got this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
PPS: I have a professional relationship with the author.
So I can't really speak to the build of the poems, or the connectivity of the collection, or any other fancy words one might expect tied into a poetry-collection review. What I can speak about is my impression of the text itself.
This collection focuses a lot on themes of belonging, love, mental health, and heritage. I found the texts insightful of the author's mind as well as strong. Some felt like they could have been plucked right out of my own head. And that's what I'm rating. While it didn't quite tip the 5 star line, it's still a solid 4 stars, as the text are all very human and it was easy to understand them all.
This is where I have to say something about the poetry-part of this book, though. As I stated earlier, I don't read a lot of poetry, but I did have to read some classical stuff for school, and I'm finding that a lot of more modern poetry doesn't fit the mold of what one expect poetry to actually be. There's a lot of text just looking fancy on the page or cutting sentences in two going around. That also held for this collection. I recon there may have been a rhythm to it, but not one I could hear, unfortunately, and so this felt more like a collection of thoughts than poetry.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just felt like I had to point that out. This is also why I'm rating the book on how the text made me feel, rather than the technicality of it all.
PS: I got this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
PPS: I have a professional relationship with the author.
July 3, 2021
This poetry collection is raw and beautiful. It’s about love, loss, hope, pain, and everything in between. It really gets to the roots of emotions (pun intended heheh), and while it makes you face some pain, there’s a lot of hope in it too. The writing is simple, and it’s mostly written in free verse, which isn’t always my favorite, but I loved it in this collection. The poems are vulnerable and tender, and so many of them touched me so deeply that I had to highlight quotes so I could get back to them and read them all over again. I highly recommend you pick this up.
Thank you to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! <3
Thank you to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! <3
September 25, 2021
I thought this was a lovely collection of poems. They were simple and easy to follow, and made me feel nostalgic at times. The topics such as anxiety and the concept of time were especially relatable to me. I would have liked to see the topics dug into a bit deeper and really pull at my heart, but overall it is a lovely collection!
June 29, 2021
Many good poems. It's a mix of entertaining and good philosophy style poems. A good portion of these poems made me think and some I new how it felt from experiencing it myself. I recommend this to anyone and everyone.
July 3, 2021
This is a beautiful, raw poetry collection. Emotional and deep, it explored themes of identity, mental health, and love. A really gorgeous collection.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews