Winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award!
Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth.
Xiomara Batista … words and powerful truth.
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. But she still 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.
“Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice.” —Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation
“An incredibly potent debut.” —Jason Reynolds, author of the National Book Award Finalist Ghost
“Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” —Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street
This young adult novel, a selection of the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List, is an excellent choice for accelerated tween readers in grades 6 to 8.
Plus don’t miss Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land!
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This book was just okay only because the poetry did not live up to what I know the author is capable of producing. I wanted to see something akin to what I saw in Jacqueline Woodson’s book, brown girl dreaming. I think because the writer was trying to write in the voice of a young girl who was just getting started with her writing, the actual execution of the poetry just fell a bit flat. However, her other book, With the Fire On High, was much better. I enjoyed the voice of that character a lot.
I like it when the content of a piece of media has thematic overlap with the media itself: This is a novel written in verse, about a girl loving poetry and it’s written by a poet. It feels a bit the same way as reading a book about books or an avid reader. It creates a certain kind of magic and I love it.
The story of The Poet X is one about a girl following her heart and her passion, but the world is against her, for her race, her gender, the religion she grew up with. The way the emotions and struggle flow with Acevedo’s beautiful verse create a whole different experience reading this book than I have had with any other contemporary YA novel before.
I listened to the audiobook of The Poet X, which was narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo herself. She really puts emotion in her voice when reading this books, and the rhythm of the text flows so well with her voice. I really loved the experience, it felt calming to listen to, but also empowering as the main character was so passionate about her poetry and the way the verse translates that to you as the listener is just something else.
I gave it four stars as I immensely loved this book, but at some points the pacing was a bit off (sometimes a bit too quick and other times too slow), and it took me out of the story here and there, but I luckily quickly found back the flow each time.
I really recommend this book, as the verse is beautiful, the story is really good and raw, and it’s a relative short read. I actually want to get myself a print copy at some point to read the verse myself sometime.
I listened to this one on audio. It was great. You can just feel the emotion that is packed in this book. The poor girl is torn in a million different directions and has no idea which way to go and who to make happy. Fortunately it sounds like it has a happy ending and she has several advocates at the end of the book. It is angsty teen drama, but it’s done with a lot of emotion and makes it interesting and an easy listen. Sometimes the accent is hard to follow, but for the most part I understood it all. It took me 4 days to listen, but that was due to circumstances out of my control. I would have finished it in two day had life let me. I’ll be listening to her other books very soon.
I’m only fourteen and I think this book was wonderful. You might even catch yourself crying. I highly recommend this book.
This was the first time I read a book in this format.
It was not what I as expecting, and that was a good thing.
The author tells us a story about a young lady, dealing with her body changing, with feelings for boys, parents that just don’t understand all in the form of poetry.
I listened to the Audio book and have fallen in love with Elizabeth Acevedo’s voice, yup she wrote it and read it. I couldn’t imagine another person being able to read this any better. Her inflections and timing are awesome.
I look forward to reading more from Ms. Acevedo.
“I stand on a stage and say a poem. There is power in the word”
This is an easy 5 stars. I love poetry. I love reading. Mixing the two together the way Elizabeth Acevedo does is magic. Her flow, her words, her emotion are truly amazing. Poetry is hard because it’s personal, and when spoken or written it bares not only the heart, but the deepest part of the soul. For most of us…that type of vulnerability is frightening. There were many instances I was in tears, I could feel her pain.
With a Korean mother, who is very religious, I can relate to some of the mother-daughter dynamic that this book touches upon. It brought back so many painful memories for me, but not in an entirely bad way. I wish I had found a book like this when I was a teen…I felt so alone. If I could have read a book like this? I would have found comfort in knowing someone else understood that loneliness and pain.
This is a must read, even for those who don’t usually read poetry. Definitely one of my favorites and one I will read again.
Gorgeous. A story told in poetry by Xiomara. It is a love story with herself and all of the ways we find forgiveness and redemption with those we love outside of ourselves. A beautiful work that deserves a giant audience.
best.book.ever
Xiomara has plenty to say, but normally, she speaks with her fists, that is until her teacher invites her to join her school’s slam poetry club after seeing some of Xiomara’s work. X knows that her mother’s firm religious beliefs will not allow her to speak her truth, but she also feels her words bubbling over in a way that won’t let her be silenced anymore. Taking place in Harlem, this novel gives a glimpse into a different world, the world of a teenage girl whose body seems to betray her with new curves that get the wrong kind of attention and a mother who doesn’t understand that her young girl is growing into her own person.
I can not recommend enough! An amazing story told in poem form. Anyone who rates it less than 5 is wrong!
This book is so damn good. I love the poetic writing and easy everything flows. Its very passionate and heartfelt and I really loved Xiomara. The way Xiomara uses her poetry to express all things she’s feeling was so beautiful. The way Elizabeth Acevedo poetically writes Xiomara’s frustrations into a passion filled rhyme was confounding. I was hooked from the first line of this book until the very last page.
The Poet X is about Xiomara and all the things she wants to say that she feels she can’t. It is clear that she is a passionate person from the way she sometimes speaks her mind, how quickly she runs to defend her twin, even if it is with her fists, and expressive way she writes her poetry. She certainly has a lot going on in her life. Xiomara is at the age where her body has changed and she’s learning the type of attention it draws while also facing harsh judgments this brings from her mother. She also is trying to balance her mother’s religion with her own understanding and questions about the world and how religion clashes with it. Then, she meets a boy in her bio class names Aman and she struggles with how this boy makes her body feel.
Xiomara is just a girl who uses her love for poetry as a way to express all the questions in her head, the feelings in her heart, and her family. I really felt for Xiomara because I could connect with her on some level. I felt bad that Xiomara couldn’t be open with her mother and had to hide everything from her along with her brother. Xiomara was just trying to be herself while also trying to navigate the world around her, but it was made increasingly harder when her mother drove religion down her throat and made her feel like things outside of her control made her a whore.
In other words, I really loved this book. Elizabeth Acevedo is hands down one of my favorite authors. I love everything she writes and she comes up with some very amazing stories and unique characters who deal with everyday struggles and hardships. The Poet X is a must read.