Emily Breitkopf

Ilsa mclaughlin, Girl, Online.

toronto: gap riot press, 2022. $10.00.

Girl, Online by Isla McLaughlin represents what it can truly feel like to be online. It draws attention to the relatable feelings of being an active user of social media and even grow up surrounded by an incredibly toxic virtual environment. While not all of the internet is bad it can be especially hard for women with all that goes on in the vast space online. So many of McLaughlin’s poems hit home in the way they represent the day-to-day life of a social media user. The poem “and they say porn sets unrealistic expectations” was my personal favourite and every word hit an accuracy that I don’t often see in discussions of fanfiction, NSFW content, and fictional characters. McLaughlin uses Girl, Online to give a voice of honesty to internet users and specifically speaks to what women have to deal with. Even though it may represent a female view, I also think there is a lot in here that men may also relate with. In the end, Girl, Online by Isla McLaughlin is a fantastic representation of the effects the internet can have on your life and speaks the sometimes brutal truth of the way it can make people feel. If you use social media or have any kind of online presence, I think this is an important chapbook to read to better understand the unlimited space the internet can take up in people’s lives.

Emily Breitkopf

is the publishing and web intern for The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing and a 4th-year student in the Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College. She lives and writes in Scotland, Ontario.