The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Xiomara is caught between her mother’s church and what she feels. She is silenced. Her great strength is words and she writes them in the leather bound journal her twin, Xavier, got her. She writes her thoughts and her feelings, no matter how sinful. She is a poet. Her heros are all rappers and beat poets. Mom will not approve. This tension increases and turns into conflict.

This is a beautifully lyrical novel in verse. Acevedo created this genuine voice that reeks of conflict and pain. Xiomara is completely relatable despite being about as culturally different from me as possible. When she writes about her fractured relationship with her mom and the catholic church, it resonates. When she writes about discovering her love of poetry, it hits hard. Despite being an absolute angsty teen, Xiomara is easy to sympathize with.

This is an excellent quick read for the the rap lovers out there and for anyone who ever felt caught between two worlds. While there are some pretty rough moments and strong language, it is all in service of the plot and feels appropriate to the story. I highly recommend this book with the caveat that there are some girl moments that might make adolescent boys a little uncomfortable. (Nothing hair-raising)


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So, this book wound up in my hands long before I discovered it on any of the lists I follow. Nathan dropped it on my desk muttering ominous things about appropriateness. Now Nathan and I have very different ideas about what makes something uncomfortable with very little overlap. That being said, I can usually figure out what it is that bothers him. In this case, I'm at a loss. This is a pretty straight-forward coming of age story with an overlay of immigrant narrative and religious questioning. I guess I'll have to ask him later. Personally, I'm thrilled to add it to my classroom collection.