About the book

In its five year anniversary edition, Crowd Surfing With God surges back to life with updated work, new and unreleased poems, and a foreword by National Book Award-nominated bestseller Hanif Abdurraqib. This coming-of-age journey through poems tells a story of self-acceptance that discusses growing up with a rare genetic disorder and mental illness, family and being in a multifaith household, pop culture, and the acts of playing and listening to music bringing you closer to yourself and to healing.

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Advance praise

“Adrienne Novy begins Crowd Surfing With God with a nod to the Song of Songs, utterly appropriate for a collection where so much feels like a dream and everything feels urgent. ‘I slept, but my heart was awake,’ says the Song of Songs, and Novy responds: ‘The imaginary audience in the driveway still hums to our shadows. / We break into our loudest prayer.’ Like the Song of Songs, this book orbits love on Earth that reaches far beyond: a father uses a steak knife to cut pills in half for his daughter, a singer howls into a microphone ‘like the Angel of Death.’ As with all the most interesting poets, Novy writes with her feet on the ground and her head in the stars.” —Kaveh Akbar, author of Pilgrim Bell and Martyr!

“Crowd Surfing With God is a book of consistent breaking and re-fixing. I love most how it pulls at the edges of Adrienne Novy’s many parts, stepping outside the binaries of love, loss, identity, genre, and all manner of things holy. There is sharp language and palpable imagery, yes. But what works best about the book is how it grabs a reader by each arm, dragging them into many new directions, where impossible brightness waits to be discovered.” —Hanif Abdurraqib, author of They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us and A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance

“All of us cry and yet the next day arrives with an invitation to move forward. Strength lives in vulnerability, and this book is a prime example. To anyone who has felt like a misfit, a black sheep, or a burden, this collection gives us the gift of sharing our stories and rising above. Thank you, Adrienne.” —Caitin Stickles, model, actress, and singer

“‘Vulnerability’ has become something of a buzzword these days, but when I sit with Adrienne Novy’s work, vulnerability is the first thing that comes shining through. The same open heart tenderness in Fall Out Boy’s very best lyrics sings in Novy’s ‘I have yet to forgive the ache I once created.’ The same way Dan Campbell might lead us through the complexities of aging and loss, Novy guides us through disability, grief, queerness, and deep gratitude for the things we love. The feeling I get when I watch Gerard Way onstage, screaming at kids not to kill themselves, is the same feeling in the line, ‘I am thankful to have lived life long enough to love it.’ There is something so special in this book, and I am thankful to have lived life long enough to read it.” —Lip Manegio, author of We’ve All Seen Helena

Press & reader reviews

“Crowd Surfing With God is a book I’d suggest you coil with into the late at night when sounds of the world are drowned into the quiet hum of the body. The poems have a lyrical quality about themselves and grow in full potential to become your favorite songs. These are songs you sit yourself down in a spot of quietude; meditate upon and listen to— as though you’re speaking to a younger self. Novy’s poems are remarkable in their lyrical offerings of insight and are a way of reimagining things against the grain.” A review by Sneha Subramanian Kanta for Parentheses Journal

“In my first review of Crowd Surfing With God I called it an anthem for every teenager that’s ever cried to a band and wanted so badly for them to know that they’re part of your survival. I feel the same after this reread, but with an important distinction—these poems are not begging to be seen, or begging for attention. Rather, they present themselves with their heads held high and just are. Music is a religious experience in this book, and reading it made me wish I had a concert coming up. Made me remember the times where all I needed was a song to lift me out of my misery and into the arms of healing.” A review by Caitlin Conlon

“Novy’s poems embody the dual roles of writing-as-healing and reading-as-healing, telling of their speaker’s hardships and inviting the reader to consider her own scars as constellations, suggesting they are as inseparable from the body as are stars from the night sky.” A review by Margaryta Golovchenko for The Coil

“Not only are the poems themselves beautiful, but seeing them performed is stunning. The combination of childhood struggles, a teenage discovery of self, learning to love oneself as a young adult, and the constant theme of chronic physical and mental illness paints a picture of the balance between victories and losses over the course of a life. I love the unabashed celebration of life and that which makes life worth living, and the raw reality of mental and physical illness intertwined.” A review by Emilie Laik

“Adrienne does things with words that I, as a poet myself, did not even think to be possible. A must read for anyone with mental or physical illness, as well as anyone who has ever once gone through a pop punk phase (or is still in it).” A review by Becca Grischow

“If music has ever saved your life, in any way possible, please read this wonderful collection of poetry. … Hit me right in the gut.” A review by Sakshi Jolly

“This book: I love it so much. Adrienne has such a way with words and every poem is different. Even if you haven’t dealt with some of the issues in this book, it’s still poetry that makes you feel heard. Please read this book! It’s 200% worth it.” A review by J. Earley

“If a song brings me somewhere, I want to be able to pull that place out of my head and sometimes share it with others. If a musician is from where I’m from, I want to take my readers home with me too. I want that world it’s dragged me to to come to life outside of me. I want to know what it feels like to hold it.” A poem and essay by Adrienne Novy for the Half Mystic blog

“What a collection of beautiful things! It has a huge range of poetry! It has a playlist! It has extensive notes on Novy’s inspirations and processes! It has something about it that makes me want to overuse the exclamation point!” A review by Lucy Allison

“In Crowd Surfing with God, Addy Renee asks us to sing so long and goodnight to our solitude and offers her hand out to crowd surf towards self-love. Addy brought me back to my junior year of high school … and I want to stay in these good flashbacks. Her debut poetry collection is a pop punk concert, a teenage angst anthem, and the perfect music note of nostalgia that I sang along to when I felt alone.” A review by Eric Tu

“Absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. Some of the best word choice I have seen in poetry. Every poem will capture your heart. Adrienne Novy is going to go far.” A review by Ren

“These poems spoke to me on such a deep level that I ended up reading a few of them several times. It’s a beautiful collection of poetry that combines music and religion to speak to that troubled self some of us still fight.” A review by Glen Damprado

“I hope my readers are able to embrace the awkward younger versions of themselves, and forgive those past selves. I hope this book makes them want to listen to the music they loved when they were in high school, and think about how much they’ve grown. I hope it makes them want to get up and dance.” An interview with Adrienne Novy for the Half Mystic blog

“This book makes you feel understood in ways that are hard to express. These poems and lines from these poems will stick in the back of your mind but in a way that provokes some better thought. I highly recommend this book to anybody that I think will actually read it and usually just keep it in my bag for a short read when I’m waiting for the bus or something like that.” A review by Karl Johnson

“Adrienne does a fantastic job of being open and honest, even when that honesty is displaying heartbreak. I thought the writing and willingness to show what has broken and how the pieces were picked up and put back together was nothing short of inspiring. I love that Adrienne did not shy away from or hide anything, did not pander to open the book up to a broader demographic. I find that honorable. I believe Adrienne’s star is already shining bright, and will only continue to grow brighter. I will certainly be a repeat customer.” A review by William Wolford

About the author

Adrienne Novy is an artist from the suburbs of Chicago (Potawatomi Land). A 2020 graduate from Hamline University’s Creative Writing program, Adrienne’s work has been nominated for Bettering American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize, and Best of the Net. She is the author of two full-length poetry collections: Crowd Surfing With God (Half Mystic Press 2018) and Erev Gildene: The Pop-Rock Survival Guide for the Modern Jewish Millennial (Game Over Books 2022). Adrienne lives on social media @adriennenovy and has a cat named Laurie.