Apologizing Has Never Been So Much Fun

Review: Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It by Gail Carson Levine, illustrated by Matthew Cordell (Mar. 2010)

Have you ever apologized to someone and wished you hadn’t, or apologized while thinking the exact opposite of your words? If so, Gail Carson Levine’s latest book was written just for you. And if you can honestly answer no, you’re so perfect, it’s unforgivable.

Levine packs dozens of false apology poems into this snicker-inducing tome. Conveniently, each poem shares the same title (This Is Just to Say), though the apologies themselves are wildly inventive.

Some may be useful in real-life situations:

But the best ones reinvent old fairy tales: in one, Snow White leaves the dwarves in search of companions with better personal hygiene; in another, a dainty-footed pirate claims Cinderella’s glass slipper. And as for Rapunzel…

I, Rapunzel,
and not the witch
have lopped off
my braid

which
you daily
climbed
to me

Forgive me
you’re not worth
the pain
in my scalp

Sneaky teacher that she is, Levine embeds a casual lesson on how to write your own false apology poem—an activity best accomplished with creativity, good cheer and cruelty.

Before I conclude, dear reader, a warning:

Read the poems
in order
from beginning
to end

or you may
find yourself
trailing
bloody bandages.

Forgive her
Gail Carson Levine
enjoys her curses

[see page 48]

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