This Woman is Still Girl

by Raquel Franco

Divided into three parts, This Woman is Still Girl is a coming of age story told through poetry. Part One (Is Girl) unravels navigating puberty and sexuality, being slut shamed, the exclusion of being a child of mixed race and the strained relationship between mother and daughter. Part Two (Is In-between) shares the shattering, the break that starts the build, a raw picture of mental illness, heartbreak and the loss of a mother. Part Three (Is Woman) is about understanding who you were and who you are now with strength, resilience, healing, bravery and imperfection. Girl is roots,becoming someone. Woman is bloom, coming unleashed. This book is for the girls that lie(d) in bed at night feeling like they are not enough to fill the space that’s been given to them, feeling forsaken and aching to be loved. It’s to tell women they are not alone.

Genres: Poetry

151 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2019

About the author

Raquel Franco is a multi-racial poet of Venezuelan descent living in Ohio. She is the author of I’ll Cry If I Want To and When the Bee Stings and her work has been featured in Thought Catalog and Rattle Magazine. When she is not reading, writing or keeping up with two kids she is listening to Taylor Swift.

Reviews

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish)]

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really powerful poetry collection.

I really liked how this collection told the author’s story and portrayed her life experiences. It was very raw, personal, and real. I felt like I really got to know her and what she went through. I particularly liked that she talked a lot about her mixed heritage.

I liked how the book was organized into three sections (is Girl, is in Between, is Woman). Sometimes with poetry collections, poems are just scattered throughout with no particular thought to the order of them. Having the sections helped tie it all together and led the reader on a journey through her life. It made it very easy to see her growth.



Some of my favorite poems were:

-Mixed Girl (pg 12)
-Dating (pg 52)
-I am still girl (pg 62)
-How I Became A Writer (pg 71)
-I am woman (pg 109)
-Khaleesi (pg 126)
-Hard (pg 133)

Overall, this was an amazing collection about growing up as a woman of color and discovering who you are.

[Elsa Gomes (BookishAurora)]

➳ Rate:  4,5/ 5 stars

This Woman is Still Girl is an amazing collection detailing experiences on being a woman throughout one’s life. Through these three section we get to see what Raquel has experienced. She shows us moments of growing up and what it was like for her to be a girl, one who has a mixed heritage, what it was like for her to grow into a woman and fall in love.

I really enjoyed it. Reading Raquel’s experiences through her beautiful poetry was a raw experience. It was empowering and definitely relatable in some ways. I look forward to reading more of her poetry!

➳ARC kindly provided by the author, in exchange for an honest review.

➳ Order at: Amazon US

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[Tasha]

Thank you to Raquel Franco for providing a copy of “This Woman Is Still Girl” in exchange for an honest review.

If anyone knows me, they know I absolutely love headstrong women and poetry. When the two come together, it makes for an adventure when I read their works. I have too many favorite poems in this book and a lot of things Raquel wrote about, I could relate to.

I don’t think it’s right to criticize poetry because it all comes from the heart and the hurt we all endure in our lives. This book was rated 5 stars simply because I related to so much and it took me on a roller coaster of different emotions.

“How I Became A Writer

‘Never let them see you cry,’
she said
so i became a writer
and i did more than cry,
I bled.”

Bookstagram: @tashaslibrary

[Shannon O'Connor]

I was honestly underwhelmed by this collection. I had heard good things and although there were some poems I enjoyed, the rest fell flat to me. Often the poems came across as very immature thinking and I was wondering how old this poet was. It could be read more like a journal than a collection.

[Georgia]

I hadn't heard of this author before but I saw this book posted on bookstagram and loved the cover so added it to my amazon wishlist and it was 99p so jumped at buying it!

I loved this poetry collection, it was really powerful and empowering. The poems all resonated with me in some way

[ADEOLA SHEEHY-ADEKALE]

A dear friend handed me a book with a smile and told me to enjoy, ten pages in I was buying my own copy. Raquel Franco’s writing is raw and unflinching, and while you can read through it in an hour, each piece stops you with the need to digest the emotions and images she creates.

A book in three parts as girl becomes woman. A journey we have all lived through, traveled in moments we have either felt or witnessed. This one is a gift to take your time with.

[Brett]

This is an outstanding collection of poetry from Raquel. She really makes the reader feel the things she felt in these poems, even for me as a male. I love her Instagram works and her previous books too, but she keeps getting better and better

[Camille]

3.5 stars

[Lilly]

it felt quite disjointed and the style was trying too hard for me personally, but i appreciate the concept though and think that it would be lovely with a slight polish up.

[Greta F]

Raquel Franco's writing shines in section 1--she gives a nuanced look at the teenage experience that takes you back in time. Definitely recommend this book!