Under Her Skin was not quite what I expected. It was definitely a case of my misjudging a book by its (beautiful) cover. I think I was anticipating something raw, something emotional, something haunting... but what I got was kind of... grimy.

I totally respect the intention behind this collection - bringing together hard-hitting, macabre snapshots of what it means to be a women in this world of patriarchy and prejudice. It certainly delivered on that, but I can't say that the reading experience was enjoyable.

The renderings of the female experience were extremely visceral and while, like I said, it wasn't really a fun time, I have to commend the editors for pulling this together. There was such a coherent vibe throughout - if I didn't know better, I would have thought the entire collection was written by a single author... and I know that's not easy to do when working with such an extensive array of creators with their own writing styles.

All in all, it wasn't my kind of poetry, but it was not bad by a long stretch. I already have a couple of friends I want to recommend this to.