The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Published by HarperTeen on March 6th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Goodreads
A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.
But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.
So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.
Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.
I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. This does not influence my thoughts on the book or this review.
I am obsessed with both debut novels and verse novels and with a combination of those two factors, I knew that The Poet X would be a truly remarkable novel. I’m so thrilled to say that my hunch was not wrong and that this novel is definitely one worth reading.
Xiomara feels frustrated and angry at the world, at her mother, and the way that people seem to dehumanize her because of her body. To vent out her anger, Xio turns to writing poetry and performing spoken word.
Xiomara’s voice was so strong. if you’re a fan of novels with a strong voice you’ll love this one. Even though everything was written in verse, I got a good feel for the setting and the other characters. I loved the relationship that Xio had with her twin brother, whom she called Twin, and the love interest.
Overall, The Poet X is a beautiful debut novel you do not want to miss this year. I definitely highly recommend this one.
