I wanted to like this collection for its subject matter and it’s Pennsylvania-centric-ness, but I thought the poems lacked dimension and it was all a bit forgettable. Really great epigraph choices, though (one from Derek S Scammell, “ex-limo driver to the Beatles, triple-tour Vietnam veteran, & National Nuclear Administration guide to the proposed US nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain…” for example). I love a poetry collection with a firm umbrella to stand under (nuclear testing sites / post-industrial side-effects here), so I tip my hat to that, I guess.
The first section has a slippery quality which seemed to fit the subject manner of nuclear waste. These poems are crafted well. I enjoyed some more than others.