Review of Altered Reality: Long Walk To Freedom

[Joyful17]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Altered Reality: Long Walk To Freedom" by Kelonie Utley.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Humans rightly desire love, affection, and friendship from their loved ones. However, in many cases, such love goes unrequited, leaving wounds and pains in tender hearts. Altered Reality by Kelonie Utley is a compilation of poems that express deep-seated emotions.

This book of 60 pages contains over 30 poems. The poems were written in free verse and rhythmic repetitions give a steady flow to the poems. Although many of the poems have similar themes, each poem is unique in focus and style. The author shares heartfelt emotions without reservations. In the poem titled Asylum, the author employs descriptive words and paints vivid images of her thoughts and feelings. A stanza in the poem reads, "This house isn’t a home Just the death of my dreams Murdered behind the walls Of the punches I endured." In another poem titled Less Than Me, the author describes the hurtful effects of hate. Some of the interesting phrases in this well-structured poem include, "I fall back to Being less than me," "Thy heart falls on hard days," "I die in you," and many others.

I had a great time reading through this book. The poems are touching and relatable. I particularly love the author's use of repetitions which gave structure to the poems. In some instances, rhymes and repetitions occur within stanzas. One of such instances can be found in the poem titled Porcelain Snow where a line reads, "Straying away from broken Broken love, broken promises Growing as a child of blue."

Telling tales through poetry can be challenging. However, in this book, the author skillfully narrated her experiences with poems that convey her emotions and feelings. My favorite poem in the book is I Was Feeling Beautiful. I particularly love how the author combines two different tales in this poem and contrasts the outcome of these two experiences in her life.

On the other hand, I observed that some poems were not rich with creative words. This made them appear flat. This is my only dislike about this book. One of these is the poem titled Better in Me where it reads in part, "Smiles within light Winds of happiness Ignites in me. Journeys of a new Helping me On a path To a better me."

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars due to the dislike stated above. It was professionally edited. Many of the poems were skillfully written with the aid of literary devices. I learned much from the author's resilience in the face of challenges. Poetry lovers will find this book simple and enjoyable.

******
Altered Reality: Long Walk To Freedom
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Paully_]

The names of the poems are peculiar. Unrequited love is always painful. I love poems and I would definitely explore this book. Great review.

[Ayesha Ameera Memon]

I think poetry is one of the most beautiful forms of art and to me, it best encapsulates one’s true feelings and emotions. This book seems to do exactly that by capturing the author’s painful experiences through poetry. I also appreciate you mentioning that the poems were written in free verse, it helps a reader know what to expect before picking this book up!

[Phooko Tebogo PC]

Considering that you have enjoyed most of the poems it generally captured my heart. I love poems, The language in poetry is just soo soothing.

[Eze Michael]

I love reading pieces that are relatable, and it is intriguing that the author's work contains poems that talks about emotions and feelings that are unrequited. Thanks for your honest review.