Hello. Dante_Greywolf here. Please note that I am not a professional reviewer so I'm doing this based on my experience and gut-feeling. Don't forget, I'm just one opinion.

Cover: 6/10

I'm Belgian. Seeing the red poppies always transports me to Flanders Fields, where poppies grow between crosses row on row...

Given the theme of the book, the image is very appropriate, its historic value significant. However, I'm not a big fan of the font and the way the title and subtitle are squeezed at the top. For font, I would go for something more military/historic to match the theme. And to give yourself some extra space for the subtitle, I'd pick a different poppy in a field so you're not hindered by the wooden gate.

Summary: 7/10

"Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"

BAM! Now that's a statement. Even if those aren't your own words, that sentence is the first Wattpad readers are gonna see. Good catchphrase for your poetry book. Definite keeper.

The wording of the next paragraph are a bit awkward. "While not events in history are bad, there are always things we can learn from the past. This book will focus on the good and bad sides of history, remembering them all."

I'm mainly talking about the words 'bad' and 'good'. Let's make them more tangible, shall we?

While not events in history ended in bloodshed, there are always lessons to learn. This book will focus on the victories and losses of our ancestors, remembering all.

This would also be a good opportunity for you to explain you're going for a combination of poetry and non-fiction, with the non-fiction explaining the events or people described in the poem.

Title: 10/10

I can't think of a better title for poetry book commemorating (war) heroes and big historic events.

Grammar/Spelling: 9/10

I couldn't find any significant grammar or spelling mistakes. In poetry, you're also allowed to take a little leap for the sake of a (successful) poetical trick.

In the summary, 'history' is spelled with a capital letter. In the chapter about the 4th of July, you also capitalised 'address' where it was not needed. I would say in some instances of the non-fictional part you're a little wordy and you could improve the flow by switching around the sentence structure, but they're only minor comments.

e.g. John Adams wrote to his wife that evening saying July 2nd "will be..."

That very evening, John Adams wrote to his wife that July 2nd "will be..."

I did find a missing verb in this sentence:

John Adams did not attend the festivities that year and (remained) until his death in protest of the date. (you could also add the year he died #factnerd ;))

Plot/Theme: 7/10

This poetry book is a good introduction to people who only vaguely heard about certain historic events, or only celebrate certain days without knowing the battles that were fought and the efforts made. Big kudos to keeping the memories alive, because we must never forget where we came from. People who are already big history aficionados won't find a lot of new information here, which is only a small criticism. And given your target audience is Wattpad, I think you're good. I like the combo of poetry and non-fiction.

Right now, your scope is very much North-America, with a poem on 9/11, Canada's independence, and American independence. While there's nothing wrong with that, it would be super cool if you explored events from all over the globe. Why not write something about the last battle of the Samurai (Battle of Shiroyama) or Maori rights in New-Zealand? The slaughtering of the last Tsar in Russia, the pride of the winged Polish hussars in the Battle of Vienna,...

If you're unsure what events to write about, I can recommend the band Sabaton. You may not like their music (I'm aware power metal isn't for everyone) but their lyrics deal with battles, events, heroes,... from all over the world, from all points of view. A young German soldier dying in the trenches of World War I was also just a kid a long away from home and unsure whether he would ever see his girlfriend again...

Use of Poetic Devices: 4/10

Ah, nothing quite as personal as poetry. With the many different genres out there, it's hard to tell what is and what isn't poetry. Before I start, a general rant on Wattpad poetry.

People, please

Structuring your sentences

Like this

Doesn't make it

Poetry

I can still remember my 'Poetry Analysis' professor saying that poetry is the crazy love child of literature and music. Poetry flows. Poetry has rhythm. And poetry is best performed when spoken out loud.

Poetry doesn't necessarily have to rhyme. Though it can, and it's a clever trick to emphasise certain words, too many people see it as the only thing that makes a poem a poem.

But there's a lot more to it: meters, personification, metaphors, alliterations, assonances, repetitions,...

In your first poem on 9/11, I see clear examples of repetition (No one, day, world) and personification (the buildings standing tall). The poem works in a way that it conveys emotions, but the story ends in the second stanza, cause there you already say the world changed. I would keep the focus of the first stanza the people who went to work like any other day, then the second stanza the attack and the towers crumbling, then let the third stanza be the result. Cause 9/11 is when the 21st century really began.

Mimic the meter of the first stanza (meter = the amount of stressed syllables and the place of these stressed syllables) in the other stanzas. Bring in some other devices and tell a story:

The eleventh of the ninth month

A September sun smiling

on New York, mighty high

The dawn just begun (which refers to both the attack happening in the morning, as well as the 21st century just beginning, the dawn of a new era,...)

Then the second poem, about Canada. Really like what you did with 'shore to sea' and 'sea to sea'. You can make it even stronger by saying:

Canada

From shore to shore, sea to sea

A true North, strong and free (by saying strong and free, you mimic the structure/meter of sea to sea)

Then I like how you continue by naming the people who helped shape the country. That's a good repetition. Big fan of the wording 'representation by population' which is a fun inner rhyme. For this poem my main advice is cut filler words (from poetry's pov) such as 'he, has been, he was,...' Sentence fragments work in poetry!

E.g.

George Brown

Father of the union

Representation by population

Charlottetown and Québec

Gathered the provinces and so much more

Proposed the Great Coalition; not a bore

The poem on the 4th of July is short and full of power. I like it best of all three poems. I would build up the story more by starting the cry for independence with a whisper in Spring 1775, then making it louder with every stanza. In these kinds of poems, story-telling is just as important as in prose.

Overall: 7.1/10

Work on your poetry, learn the different devices, look up how to add rhythm to the poems. Dare to play around with metaphors and similes instead of sticking to facts (again, I can recommend Sabaton's lyrics to get inspired). Expand the horizons, look beyond North America. And keep reminding us of all the great people that made our world the way it is today. You've got something really cool going here.