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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Author and poet Chelsea DeVries take readers on a journey of finding the strength to rise above the toxicity in life in the book “Sticks and Stones:  Full Story Edition”.

The Synopsis

In Sticks and Stones, DeVries paints a poetic picture of rising above toxicity, love found and love lost, and delves into what it means to find strength in the human spirit. Through poetry, the reader finds a voice of strength and the rebuilding of one’s heart a home with all the sticks and stones thrown upon it. Newly expanded with more full color photos, 41 new poems, and a rewrite of Drowning in An Ocean of No Tomorrows, DeVries shows a full poetic picture of turning pain into poetry in order so you can rise above whatever is pulling you under.

The Review

This was a brilliant and heartfelt collection of poetry. The author did an incredible job of creating poems that evoked strong emotional responses within the reader while also speaking to the reader on a multitude of levels. The imagery and tone the poems struck were particularly powerful, as the poems crafted their own narratives in the reader’s minds that evoked the raw feelings that the author was able to put onto paper.

For me, the themes the author explores in these poems made them feel that much more compelling. The ways in which the author brings important topics to life,  such as mental health, workplace harassment and harassment in general, toxic behavior, and the prospect and loss of love, made this collection feel truly engaging and mesmerizing.

The Verdict

Haunting, emotional, and thoughtful, author Chelsea DeVries’s “Sticks and Stones: Full Story Edition”, brings hope in the face of adversity through powerful poetry in this must-read collection. The personal and thought-provoking experiences the author shares with readers at the beginning of this book keep the reader invested in the author’s journey, and speak to the hope and strength that they drew upon to face down those adversities to become the person they are today. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Chelsea DeVries wanted to be a writer at the age of 7. Her first publishing credit came at the age of 14 with a poem in a student anthology. She then wrote nonstop while doing IB classes in high school. She published two YA novels while still in high school which after over 10 years she rewrote as a NA romance that she looks to put out as her next publication. She is a seeker of justice and uses her words to free this world’s outcasted, peculiar, and underdogs from the chains that bind them. When not writing she runs and does PR for authors and musicians with her bookish brand The Smart Cookie Philes. Though she’s Florida born and raised, she has New Jersey in her veins. She currently lives in Port Richey, FL with her squad of two dogs. In October 2020, DeVries was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome which is a form of Autism.