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Review by Gnome: Wandering Souls

Title: Wandering Souls

Author: Aethereal_Psyche

Reviewer: GnomeMercy [thank you, Gnome, for being amazing and taking on this request!]

Summary: [no score - will not be added to final score]

When it comes to poetry book summaries, I think it's pretty hard to judge them. Overall, I think the quote was quite beautiful, and I found myself excited to read on!—if you want me to really be nit-picky, I think it would have been better if some things would have gone in the "A Poetess's Note" chapter, as your summary does look a little bit cluttered.

For example, the rankings could have gone into that chapter—and the plagiarism part. I'm being quite picky here, so you don't need to do this, of course.

I was excited in reading onward! (Good luck in the Wattys by the way!)

Grammar + Punctuation: 4/5

When it comes to poetry, grammar and punctuation can be hard to judge. Overall, I believe you have a strong grasp on grammar—but there were just a tiny bit of typos. For example, in the second poem, "What is Magic?", you had a line that read:

Why do we have hope ?

Here, there was a space between the word "hope" and the question mark—which is incorrect (but I believe it to be a typo).

In the poem "ONE DAY..." you mention "Himalayan water", however, it is written like so:

Time cleanses us

purer than himalayan water. 

The Himalayas are a mountain range bordering India, China, Pakistan, Nepal and other countries. It should be capitalised as it is a name.

In the poem "Logophile" it read:

...contemplating all that i cannot say...

The "i" should be capitalised.

I think you have a good, strong grasp on grammar—so well done! Keep an eye out for typos—they're sneaky little buggers that piss writers off to no end! These were the only mistakes I found—there might be more, though, so keep a look out!

Diction + Figurative Language: 4/5

I think you had wonderful vocabulary—and it was utilised in such a way that it made sense. You had some lovely similes and metaphors, which I found myself staring at in awe.

I think—if you want me to get really picky—you might want to watch out for being too "flowery", which is basically cluttering up stuff with over the top words and descriptions. Using big words in poems are okay, but sometimes it can make the poem lose its meaning. I think you did alright in that aspect, and your poems weren't too flowery, but be careful! Of course, this is only just me having to really dig deep, as I enjoyed your poems a lot!

Message + Meaning Conveyed: 5/5

Each and every one of your poems had such unique and interesting meanings. I think you did a wonderful job here, too! My most favourite one was the depression poem, named "Soulful Whispers" and also "Finding Freedom". They had such deep meanings, and the way you conveyed them was so beautifully done! I found myself relating to it (and staring in wonder at your vocabulary).

Your poems have a meaning to it, some are so powerful, and others are more relaxed—but each and every one of them were special! I enjoyed reading them very much!

Emotions Evoked: 4/5

In this subject, it really depends on the person who is reading, but I think I felt a lot of your poems! I felt the anguish, pain, sadness, anger—they were amazingly conveyed! Some of them, I didn't feel as much—but that is obviously because I don't relate to them.

Overall, I think you have a wonderful set of poems that really shine when it comes to emotions!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 17/20

Firstly, I want to say that I loved your poems. They were very well written—and I can tell you put your heart and soul into it. I also want to say that I don't usually like not telling people how to improve on things and just straight-up fangirling—but how can you not? You really do have a way with words! And so much potential, too!

Watch out for those typos, though, because they lose marks when it comes to grammar.

Keep writing poetry! I think you're wonderful at it! You really have talent! And it's clear in your work! Good job!