permission to love

by Karlee Rose North

this is a collection of poetry about love, loss, vulnerability, and connection. this book walks you through my personal journey of falling in love with my best friend and embracing my queer identity. this book talks about intimacy and teaches queer love and acceptance, through poetry.

trigger warning

the contents of this book include topics that may
be heavy/triggering for some readers. these
topics include:
depression
self-harm
sexual assault

additionally, the content in this book is intended for a mature audience. this book discusses sex explicitly and often. please do not read if you are not mature enough to digest the sexual content (notice how I didn’t write an age, if you are a full-grown adult who is embarrassed by sexual content, please put this book down and do some introspection).
thank you. enjoy.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, LGBT, Romance, Lesbian, Nonfiction, Love

170 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Bryce Rocks My Socks · Rating 4 out of 5]

for anyone who wants to come out, has come out, can't come out, or anyone at all

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 5 out of 5]

but sometimes
I find myself wondering
if I am gay enough
or cool enough
or enough of anything
to be someone at all.

I Love queer poetry 🥰

if loving women is a sin
tell the devil
to save me a seat at the table
with other women loving women.
I prefer their company anyway.

[Kiera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how soft all the poems were, simple messages but it’s like comfort words reading them.

[maría]

la verdad es que la poesía no es mi fuerte así que prefiero no puntuarlo
como que muy instagrammer no?? en plan siento que es un tipo de poesía que se ha escrito para ser publicado en instagram. no sé
jenny grax por el libro <3

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently i have been feeling extremely disconnected from myself & my sexuality and these poems brought me so much comfort 🫂

[Annika Reich · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are three sections: you, me, and us. the poetry follows someone falling in love with their friend and finding their truer self along the way. the experience and realization of being queer and the acceptance that this can be her life. my favorite part about this poetry book is that it can be read as a story but also read as separate pieces.

[celia · Rating 2 out of 5]

el librico este de jenny, le iba a dar 1 estrella pero sería un poco homófobo por mi parte

[Dibs · Rating 3 out of 5]

My fear is that I might wait for them forever, and miss out on living my own life.

God, this book arrived to me in the right moment. The author describes everything so easy, just the way it is and the way I write stuff on my notes app at 3am. Is it sometimes sort of trying too hard? I wouldn’t say so. I insist, this is the way we all want to express our bottled up feelings in our phones, but we always end up by shutting down the phone because it never makes sense.
The author here had the talent to actually do it and even publish it. Good one there!

Also, if you’re not part of the LGBT community and fear you will not identify, just give it a try. I may not be part of the community but I had the chance to associate the authors feelings too much. Maybe not in my sexuality but in other aspects she describes clearly.

Last note: It’s awesome to feel too much and suddenly realize someone else described perfectly how you feel in just one sentence.

[Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was so bad, i want to give you a zero. But i can’t. So instead, i give you a one

[Lilli-Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book as a present about a year and a half ago, but I never ended up picking it up because it’s a poetry book and I’m not super into poetry, but this book changed the way that I viewed love and how it feels to be loved and the way the author writes is perfect for the average 20 year old

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very beautiful book! Not only does it speak of accepting new romantic love from someone of the same sex, it also writes beautifully about giving yourself, heart and your mind permission to love in general. Great quick read and highly recommend!

[Mirella Hurme · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For a long time, I thought that
being queer would ruin me.
I thought it would be the
end of my life as I knew it,
and it was in some ways,
but it most certainly didn’t ruin me.
I have never been so in love
with myself and with my life.”

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of those collections that I just picked up at the perfect time 💜

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was completely ruined by this poet. I found solace in her words. It felt like I was reading my own thoughts on my own queer identity and falling in love with my own best friend long ago.

[lana · · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3,5

[kelsey pecchia · Rating 3 out of 5]

good & sweet poetry but a little cliche

[andrea.f · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
muy mid

[Lizzie Dyslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed this 💛

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ver es típico libro de poesía, pero tiene poemas muy cutes y trata el amor sáfico lo que para mí aporta +1028383

[aiyana kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3

[Marija Žukovska · Rating 5 out of 5]

very emotional, raw and sometimes even unhinged. made me reflect on my emotions but sometimes i felt like i was interrupting something while reading it:D

[Cheyenne Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading in a very very long time and I stumbled across this book on TikTok surprisingly. If you’ve came out, wanting to come out or scared to come out this book is for you. I’m excited this was the book that ignited my spark for reading!

[Alice Bradfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a message for Pippa. You probs don’t remember sending me an ad for this book but bloody hell i should’ve read it earlier

[April Whiffen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i got this book because tiktok would not stop giving me videos about the poems and what it is about. with it being about friends falling out and then becoming loves, i related to this. i annotated this for my girlfriend and it was so easy to annotate the relatable content.

it was good but not great

[Gab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first page and instantly got flashbacks to my own memories. Reading certain verses made my heart skip, and skin crawl. The story went quick, but covered so much depth. I feel lighter knowing that we all share the same emotions. We all navigate our heartbreaks, and embrace love in different capacities, but are all capable of such raw feelings at the same time…it’s mind boggling and amazing.

Love is great. Love is everything. Love is whatever you want it to be.

I wanted to feel more at times, and other times I didn’t want to feel at all. I wish it went on and went deeper into the mind of Karlee. So, I am giving this 4.3/5.

This is one of those books you just know you’ll never get tired of re-reading. The words hold such weight that they’ll never be forgotten - and stay with you long after the page has turned.

[Thiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

esse livro traz uma mistura de poesias, poemas e parágrafos que são geralmente tirados de diários ou mensagens escritos no dia a dia, e não se infelizmente ou felizmente, esse textos que foram escritos para o dia a dia são os que eu mais me interessei.
existem poemas muito bons, mas ao mesmo existem outros que parece uma grande frase que foi aleatoriamente dado enter no meio do frase só para ela poder ser chamado de poesia.
vários temas são tratados nas obras, e o sentimento de amor e insegurança são bem descritos poeticamente, mas existem alguns poemas que são tão simplistas, tanto nas mensagens quanto na forma que essa mensagem é passada que eu fiquei me perguntando porque aquilo estava ali. mas no fim eu sei que é um reflexo de como a autora foi evoluindo com o tempo, e a gente sempre começa as evoluções se dando conta do básico, então tudo bem.
no fim, eu ainda marquei várias partes que eu amei e com certeza vai ser um ótimo livro para eu voltar e reler rápidinho daqui um tempo

[Brandon Shanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Queer poetry about unrequited love and hopeless pining sounded right up my alley, but a lot of the book is filled mostly with short, bite sized poems that sound more like shower thoughts and journal doodles. Lotsa platitudes and dull prose. Despite that I did like that it read more like a story and had a sense of continuity. The bits about anxiety and overthinking if someone feels the same as you were nice, and the last chapter was cute as they wrote more about everything working out and being in love and accepting their queer identity.
Wish it had less wasted pages? The shorter poems that ran one after another could be combined and you could save like 20 pages, idk it's okay maybe format it better

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this after getting some time to heal has brought back many memories and questions. i started comparing my experiences to the author’s and it made me sad, content, annoyed, and a little angry at how my situation ended up. then there’s also the delusional thought of the what ifs that i will get rid of because that’s not in the cards for me but it’s ok. i’m happy that i get to experience queer heartache because younger me never would’ve have accepted herself as being anything but straight or even have the thought of being queer in the first place. overall very healing and gut wrenching i love feeling feelings

[Ricky Shaw]

Qur’an: Chapter 58, Verse 10—
Intrigue comes only from Satan, so he may sadden those who believe. Yet he will not harm them in anyway except with God’s permission; so on God let believers rely.

"Strike at nape of their neck and beat every last of their fingertips."
"Donkey carrying scriptures who do not carry it out."

And from Chapter Luqman--
"Ugliest sound is a donkey's voice."
"If only the trees on earth were pens and the inky sea were later on replenished with seven other seas, God's words would never be exhausted."

[dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pure early-twenties, sapphic and sheltered ramble. The entries feel more like mundane journal entries than poetry, and I was hoping for something more structured or reflective. It doesn't really hit the mark in terms of rhyme or form, and it doesn't come across as particularly profound. It’s a very casual, rambling style, which might appeal to some, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. Unfortunately, I can’t rate it higher than this.