“You can read She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not by Madari Pendas for the individual, finely grown flowers or for the collective, revelatory bouquet. In contrast, She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not will make a beautiful gift. Give this book to someone you love.”

–Julie Marie Wade, author of When I Was Straight, Same-Sexy Marriage: A Novella in Poems,and Skirted

In She Loves me, She Loves me Not, Madari Pendas plants the superstitious childhood game firmly into verse and lets it grow with startling results. Flowers sensuously round the book, like garland, metaphorically deepening as each poem blooms. When love ends in betrayal, Pendas gives us instructions for pressing and drying roses—”Close the book/& set a weight/on top.” Readers don’t need to pull daisy petals to know Pendas loves poetry—and it loves her.  She Loves me, She Loves me Not is a gorgeous bouquet of a debut!

 —Denise Duhamel