“The world is almost peaceful when you stop trying to understand it.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X
My Quick Review: A beautiful coming of age story told in heart wrenching poetry about a young girl called Xiomara and her inner exploration of religion, societal expectations, the struggle for self-expression and the overwhelming emotions of first love. Utterly heartbreaking and beautiful in equal measures. I 100% recommend you read this book! 5*
I have also posted a review on my YouTube channel. You can view it here!
Category: YA Poetry
Age Rating: 13+
Pages: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Trigger Warnings: Racism, Misogyny, Slut-shaming, Fatmisia & Body shaming, Sexual harassment & Unwanted touching, Parental abuse (physical and mental / emotional), Parental abandonment mentioned, Cheating, Panic attacks, Recreational drug use, Alcohol abuse recounted, Minor physical injuries, Infertility themes & difficult childbirth mentioned, Bullying, Religion is used to justify abusive behaviour, Homophobia,
Representation: Dominican main and side characters, Gay side character, Trinidadian main character, Black side character, Afrolatinx side characters, M/M relationship (minor)
Synopsis:
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.
“My brother was born a soft whistle”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X
My review (may contain spoilers):
The Poet X follows the coming of age story of Xiomara, a young girl in Harlem who has been brought up in an extremely strict religious household with an overbearing mother who insists Xiomara follows the laws of their religion. However, Xiomara discovers her love of slam poetry as a way of expressing her innermost thoughts and feelings, including that of a first young love to a boy in her class called Aman. You get snippets of Xiomara’s poetry throughout the book, told in beautiful heart wrenching prose that will make you sit back and think about what you have just read.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that even though it is told in poetry, the writing is quick and easy to consume. The concepts that Elizabeth Acevedo delves into are both powerful and familiar. As Xiomara comes to terms with both who she is and who she wants to be, she realises that those wants contradict the expectations of her family and religion. We witness the terrifying concept of exploring the new territory of enjoying the company of another person in a romantic capacity, with the added pressures of Xiomara’s inner guilt and turmoil at going against the wishes of her family.
This was an absolutely devastating and heart wrenching story told in beautiful prose that has stuck with me. I would absolutely 100% recommend reading this book! 5/5
“Sometimes it seems like writing is the only way I keep from hurting.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X
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