Review of Falling Into Winter

[ciecheesemeister]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Falling Into Winter" by Bill Sasso.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Do you enjoy unique, thoughtful, well-constructed poetry? Then you’ll want to check out Falling into Winter, a poetry volume written by Bill Sasso and illustrated by Abbie Fowler.

The book is broken into four chapters. I initially thought the chapters would be about the four seasons, but that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t quite sure of the theme of the individual chapters. The overall theme of the book was, clearly, winter.

I found the overall tone of the poems to be hopeful although the author did touch on somber themes such as darkness and death. For instance, "The Glowing Tree" is a rhyming poem about two brothers on a quest to bring home a Christmas tree. They find a wondrous tree that has special magic. They choose not to chop it down. Over the years, they bring their children and then their grandchildren to visit the tree.

Conversely, the poem "Katrina and Krischan" describes a pair of spectral children who are unable to leave the churchyard where their bodies are interred. However, the poem still has a playful quality as the spirited children play tag amid the tombstones.

The poems tended to rhyme although some did not. They were all clearly formatted and polished. There were none that presented as rough around the edges. I had the impression that the author has been writing poetry for quite a while.

While none of the poems are crude or profane, I would recommend the book for mature audiences. Poems such as the cheeky "Dining with Dahmer" would likely not be comprehensible to children and some of the more somber works such as "Summa Purrs", which describes a girl grieving her departed pet cat, might be upsetting to younger readers.

The book appears to have been professionally edited. I could find no errors in the text. The formatting was polished. The illustrations fit well with the poems. I would have enjoyed the inclusion of an author biography but putting one in is up to the personal preference of the author and I respect that.

I recommend this book to readers who appreciate polished poetry with a definable pattern that tells a story as opposed to a rougher, free-verse style focusing primarily on emotion. This would be an excellent book for poetry and creative writing teachers to include in their curriculum.

There was nothing about Falling into Winter that I disliked. I’m pleased to recommend the book and give it four out of four stars.

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Falling Into Winter
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[Ghuddie]

I love poetry, and I'll sure check this one out. It looks like it's going to be an exciting read. Great review.

[Aisha Yakub]

Seems exciting. Thanks for the review

[Asiaa Szn]

I'm not a fan of poetry but this looks interesting. I'm checking this out. Thank you for the review!

[Oyedele Tomijane]

A poetry book with winter as the general theme? While I do not particularly enjoy poetry, I will check this out. Thanks for the review.

[Use2alone]

Oh, another melancholic-sounds poetry book that seems pretty great. To be honest, I want to read somber and dark poetry like this. It will give me shiver and chill on my back.

[Walter R]

Have always been a great fan of anthologies. Would definitely love to add this to my bookshelf and hopefully try it out! Great review.

[Mbenma Esther 080]

I a creative and this is a good recommendation. Thanks for the review.

[Mildred Echesa]

Winter poems make me think of Santa. However, I won't be reading this

[Phooko Tebogo PC]

Such a great review, it seems like I will fall into this winter and put a coat on to read this one. I love poetry

[Phooko Tebogo PC]

I'm not a fan of poetry but this looks interesting. I'm checking this out. Thank you for the review!

Well poetry is very much interesting, you should read it more often. It's like a walk in a park during summer