Before & After: a Christian Poetry Collection by Larissa Hinton

I rarely read poetry, thanks to a high school English teacher convincing me I couldn't understand it. I am so glad I read this collection of poems expressing the difference in life without Christ and with Him. They are overflowing with expression I easily embraced. Hinton uses words with stunning clarity, words that draw out emotion, words that elicit a response.

I love how her pairs of poems contrast life before and after Christ. Her two poems about waiting clearly show the frustration of waiting without Christ and the blissful, relationship building of waiting for God to act with Christ. Her contrasts of worldly love and divine love are breath taking.

Here is one of my favorite sections of the Divine Love poem:

Despite the flaws

Love still reaches out with a single touch

And heals the brokenhearted

Cradles the tender heart

Hears the wounds of years of darkness

And yet still pours into them anyway. (35)

Here's a section from her poem about Evil::

You can never buy

Swindle

Hoodwink

Your way out of darkness.

Only a sacrifice will do. (19)

I think you'll want to have a journal with you when you read these poems. Her poems about weight and eating and the experience of fasting could well be life changing for you. Her poems challenge. They encourage. They invite you to feel, to think, to react.

I highly recommend this collection of well crafted poems of life before and after Christ.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Larissa Hinton is a young adult fantasy and paranormal romance author. She lives in northern Virginia.

Amazon Services, 73 pp.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)