I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip by Alicia Cook |  Rating: ★★★★★

As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

I've said it once, I'll say it a billion times: Alicia Cook is one of the best voices in modern poetry. She never fails in moving me with simple prose and the ties between her poems and music make reading her work an even better experience. I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip had a lot to live up to. Alicia Cook's first published collection, Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately, was/is one of my all-time favourite releases in poetry.

Cook has a way about her prose that feels so alight with everything that makes us human. There's strength and vulnerability. There's loss and love. Everything that a person can feel. My favourite part about Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately was its connection to music; the intimacy behind a poet's words is not unlike the expressions musicians use in their lyrics. I've always had this theory that the quickest way to knowing a person's soul is in the music they adore. So many of us find ourselves in music and poetry and Alicia Cook captures the essence of that statement beautifully. We know what Cook allows us, as readers, to know--both in her prose and in the music listed in every poem.

Alicia Cook's power remains in her ability to express herself in every line. There's an honesty to her that you cannot contain or replicate and proves to readers why she is a leader in the strongest voices of modern poetry. I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip connects in a way that is crisp and to the point--an exceptionally beautiful nod to our humanity and Cook's ability to speak freely to her audience.

There's this uniqueness to her expression that I cannot quite describe but her longtime fans will be quick to acknowledge. I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip proves that Cook is bound to get better with time; her first release captivated me, and this one gripped me further.

Once more, there's this rawness to her prose that I simply cannot get enough with. Alicia Cook is, hands down, a favourite in the poetry community and I cannot sing her praises enough. Name one emotion, and you'll feel it. And so continues the tradition of feeling all you can during one collection. Alicia Cook does it again!