This poetry collection is a masterpiece. I was sceptical at first, the poet published her first collection of poetry at 16, which on the surface is wonderfully impressive, but if the poems were to be superficial, and Juvenal than that initial admiration would wear away. Surprisingly this collection of poetry doesn't contain any dull moments, every sentence is crafted with intent, every line is packed full of meaning. I thought this collection would be full of adolescent whining but instead Soft Tortures was filled with insight into the adolescent world whilst simultaneously being extremely adult, if Bitez herself never wrote about her age, I never would have suspected as her writing is so informed and mature. P.A.Bitez writes about mental Illness, depression, love and death. Death comes up quite often, I interpret this as more of a curiosity, rather than Bitez actually wanting to die, but I could be wrong (and I hope I am) her imagery is stark, and very jolting at moments, she switches between being romantic and hopeful, to having a complete dismal quality to her work. I think that may represent the hormonal ups and downs of teenage life. The collection is separated into three parts, Devotion, Desire and Destruction. I personally enjoyed Devotion and Destruction the most. I would say however there are some things in the book I wish were different, a handful of typing errors, and I did wish the individual poems had titles but I assume that's the look Bitez was trying to achieve.

This book is tremendously sad at times, the voice of Bitez's is one that is extremely cutthroat and absolute. Her rhymes are intricate and meaningful, I enjoyed most of her poems, though some are quite depressing.