Reviews

Praise for A Girl, In Parts

“This quiet gem of a debut novel projects sincerity through its tightly focused vignettes…Paul captures the convincing voice of Dorothy…Paul’s sure grasp of her narrator’s voice and keen observations make both the ordinary and unusual aspects of one childhood shine.”
~ Publisher’s Weekly

“A Girl, In Parts avoids the majority of coming-of-age drama, managing to show there are just as many ways to write about becoming an adolescent as there are adolescents. One tough heroine and a clear-eyed author…First time novelist Jasmine Paul has crafted an elegant coming of age story in 97 perfectly told vignettes.”
~ Kirkus

“Paul captures the pain and confusion of adolescence, the struggles of poverty, the psychological impact of abuse, and the small rebellions that make ‘coming of age’ a true passage to a new state. Her prose is realistic, her vignettes illustrative. Recommended.”
~ Library Journal

“Jasmine Paul…manages to add a unique voice to the genre…Honest, plucky, funny, and sharp, Dottie is a refreshingly unsentimental and entirely sympathetic young heroine.”
~ The Baltimore Sun

“Delectable and knowing…Paul’s clear-eyed and spunky distillation of how a girl becomes and adolescent makes A Girl, In Parts memorable.”
~ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A young Spokane writer’s debut novel is a gritty, winning tale.”
~ Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Gritty and realistic, A Girl, In Parts is never sentimental about wither poverty or childhood. Dorothy is a tough and winning character, a true-to-life heroine perfect for the twenty-first century.”
~ Forbesbookclub.com

“A Girl, In Parts captures the fiery, conflicting impulses of adolescence through the experiences of one sharply perceptive young girl…Jasmine Paul’s first novel has a convincing narrator whose smart insights keep otherwise trite scenarios fresh…The writing in A Girl, In Parts can take you by surprise…Paul has mastered the voice of a keenly observant, sensitive youth…Dorothy makes for a believable and admirable young heroine that teens will relate to and whose story they will enjoy reading.”
~ The Portland Oregonian

“Her choice of narration is bullet-quick and sharp…First-time novelist Jasmine Paul deserves plenty of kudos for creating this Dorothy for us. Despite her tornado bravado, she is a brave realist at heart.”
~ The Bellingham Herald

“…The next big…literary phenomenon…keen observations, quick intelligence and gravelly sense of humor…Unflinching and utterly without self pity…a resilient but oh-so-real heroine and for being written in a fresh, authentically, young voice.”
~ The Pacific Northwest Inlander

Praise for The Ghosts of Anne & Sylvia

I just had to open the slim volume for a glimpse – two degrees in literature will do that to you – and after falling in love with the first poem, devoured the rest of the collection. LaParne and Paul truly capture both the beauty and heartache that permeated the friendship and lives of two complicated and fascinating women.
~ Emily Moore, The Spokesman Review

Northwest authors Jasmine Paul and Amber LaParne are two names known throughout the national poetry community, whose works have been featured on Thin Air Radio, in The North American Review, and the Chiron Review among others…Ghosts is a winning and aesthetically charged collection.
~ Cara Lorello, Eve Magazine

The Ghosts of Anne & Sylvia deftly fills your senses with ardent prose. Wickedly stylish poetry woven between two authors and two historic women. It takes you on a journey of discovery that’s fresh and richly honest. It was an absolutely superb read and I look forward to much more from these authors!
~ AlleyCat (Vancouver, WA)

Disclaimer: I am not a poetry lover, having been exposed to the Dead Poets canon in college, but after reading the poems in this collection I have become a huge fan of this remarkable work and the two women who created it. They do not mimic Sexton and Plath, instead they evoke the very specific artistic temperaments and the full emotional palettes that these women brought to their work and their lives. The inspired conceit of contemporary poets channeling the voices of past ones in an intertwining dialogue results in a singular achievement that illuminates (and reflects) both Sexton and Plath, and the authors as well.
~ Kelly Alston (Dallas, TX)

The selected poems in the Ghosts of Anne & Sylvia are hauntingly beautiful. The poetry is fresh, bold and brutally honest. Images continue to linger in my mind. These poems resonated deeply for me. I would suggest this book to any serious lover of poetry.
~ Gal Noir

The poems in The Ghosts of Anne & Sylvia are accessible, yet intelligent – a unique combination in a book of poetry. The poems themselves touch on recognizable themes and are filled with striking imagery – all crafted in a way that any adult or even teen reader could relate to. The book makes poetry relevant and exciting again.
~ PDX Guy

I haven’t read poetry since I was forced to in college, but after thumbing through this collection on a friend’s coffee table, I was moved to buy my own copy. I kind of get it now. Reading these poems is a visceral experience. While I know nothing of either Anne or Sylvia – this collection has ignited an interest in poetry within myself that will extend beyond watching Def Poetry Jam.
~ D. Buzz Chatman (Los Angeles, CA)