Name: The Poet X
Rating: 4.346902654867256 (565 reviews)
ISBN: 9781536453867

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.

The Poet X

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 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

Sinny

It was pretty good, although I was hoping for other type of ending. Was a fast reading. 

"Xiomara may be remembered as a lot of things: a student, a miracle, a protective sister, a misunderstood daughter, but most importantly, she should be remembered as always working to become the warrior she wanted to be."

I was recommended this book by someone who knew my love for contemporary stories and lyrical writing, and this book of poems was absolutely beautiful, a perfect merging of those two things. I wasn't too sure what to expect before reading this book, I do love poetry, I write my own as a form of journal sometimes too, although nowhere near as often and as well as Xiomara, but I also know that some poetry doesn't read as well as it does heard spoken aloud or even in a song. But this book was just right for me and I ended up enjoying it so much, it really spoke to me in ways I wasn't expecting. We follow Xiomara, a fifteen year old Dominican American girl who is navigating a complex world: her mother is devoutly religious, her father is there but not really 

, her twin is at times distant and at times completely understanding, she's gone through puberty and is uncomfortable with how men look at her body, but she also has wants and needs, and so, so many questions. The storyline really swept me away, and I flew through it in just a few days.

The style of poetry in this book was just right for me, it didn't rhyme, although there were some hints at it, and it didn't have a specific metric pattern, but it flowed and it hit beats inside of me that just made so much sense, and the imagery was absolutely wonderful. It is a really unique way to tell a story. I was surprised at how easily the story was told through these poems, they're not very long and they're pretty briefly worded, for the most part, but they held so much substance. The way Acevedo managed to fit so much depth and emotion into these poems is masterfully done, and after a while you don't even really notice that you're not just reading regular prose, you're able to be absorbed in the world around you, and can fill in the gaps, read between the lines, as if it were fully descriptive. My heart sung, ached, broke and was uplifted again by this story. I loved X, she is soft and hard at the same time, she sees the world in ways that others don't and she truly gets people. She's a protector but she also needs someone to be strong for her. She has dark thoughts and is confused about a lot, but she is also finding herself and her calling, and is powerfully demanding respect from those around her. It was beautiful to witness.

The relationships in this book are the true backbone of the plot, X's relationships with her mother, her father, her brother, her friends, her teacher, her priest, her audience, and the boy that she likes and who listens to her. They're all interwoven to form the person X is growing up to be. The story itself is pretty simple but it deals with deep topics such as the immigrant experience, religious trauma, abuse, sexual harrassment, body shaming and a touch of homophobia. It really managed to weave together so many interesecting aspects of life that were also very authentic and realistic. Quite a few of the poems really resonated with me, even if I didn't completely understand the character's experiences, I got how X felt on many levels, especially as a young girl growing into a woman, and the awkwardness and angst of being a teenager. I did bring the rating down by half a star because I simply wanted more. I think despite this book being over 300 pages long, because the poems are mostly short, I think it could've been even longer and really dived into dealing with some of the "problematic" aspects of some of the characters, short little mentions towards therapy sessions and new understandings just didn't quite fill that gap for me. I also wish we got to read X's Slam competition entry, although the more I think about it, I think the whole book was meant to be, what I have now learned is called, a "metapoem" where the poem is about the act of writing poetry. So the entire book of poems, which tells a story and culminates in a final unseen poem, acts as or symbolises that final poem. And there is some beauty in that, but it didn't feel quite as profound as I wished for.

"I only know that learning to believe in the power of my own words has been the most freeing experience of my life. It has brought me the most light. And isn’t that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark."

Overall, this is a fantastic book and absolutely well worth the read, even if the format and style might not be something you've ever read before or even fully enjoy, I think it's a great book that everyone should at least give a try. I loved the main character, and I wanted so much more from her story, I could easily read poetry collections of all the phases of her life and she grows up and learns to deal with this crazy world. I will definitely be giving Acevedo's other books a go too, I looked forward to reading more of her beautiful writing. I'm very glad I picked this book up.

"I think about all the things we could be if we were never told our bodies were not built for them."

Genevieve 

"Xiomara may be remembered as a lot of things: a student, a miracle, a protective sister, a misunderstood daughter, but most importantly, she should be remembered as always working to become the warrior she wanted to be."

4.5⭐

I was recommended this book by someone who knew my love for contemporary stories and lyrical writing, and this book of poems was absolutely beautiful, a perfect merging of those two things. I wasn't too sure what to expect before reading this book, I do love poetry, I write my own as a form of journal sometimes too, although nowhere near as often and as well as Xiomara, but I also know that some poetry doesn't read as well as it does heard spoken aloud or even in a song. But this book was just right for me and I ended up enjoying it so much, it really spoke to me in ways I wasn't expecting. We follow Xiomara, a fifteen year old Dominican American girl who is navigating a complex world: her mother is devoutly religious, her father is there but not really there, her twin is at times distant and at times completely understanding, she's gone through puberty and is uncomfortable with how men look at her body, but she also has wants and needs, and so, so many questions. The storyline really swept me away, and I flew through it in just a few days.

The style of poetry in this book was just right for me, it didn't rhyme, although there were some hints at it, and it didn't have a specific metric pattern, but it flowed and it hit beats inside of me that just made so much sense, and the imagery was absolutely wonderful. It is a really unique way to tell a story. I was surprised at how easily the story was told through these poems, they're not very long and they're pretty briefly worded, for the most part, but they held so much substance. The way Acevedo managed to fit so much depth and emotion into these poems is masterfully done, and after a while you don't even really notice that you're not just reading regular prose, you're able to be absorbed in the world around you, and can fill in the gaps, read between the lines, as if it were fully descriptive. My heart sung, ached, broke and was uplifted again by this story. I loved X, she is soft and hard at the same time, she sees the world in ways that others don't and she truly gets people. She's a protector but she also needs someone to be strong for her. She has dark thoughts and is confused about a lot, but she is also finding herself and her calling, and is powerfully demanding respect from those around her. It was beautiful to witness.

The relationships in this book are the true backbone of the plot, X's relationships with her mother, her father, her brother, her friends, her teacher, her priest, her audience, and the boy that she likes and who listens to her. They're all interwoven to form the person X is growing up to be. The story itself is pretty simple but it deals with deep topics such as the immigrant experience, religious trauma, abuse, sexual harrassment, body shaming and a touch of homophobia. It really managed to weave together so many interesecting aspects of life that were also very authentic and realistic. Quite a few of the poems really resonated with me, even if I didn't completely understand the character's experiences, I got how X felt on many levels, especially as a young girl growing into a woman, and the awkwardness and angst of being a teenager. I did bring the rating down by half a star because I simply wanted more. I think despite this book being over 300 pages long, because the poems are mostly short, I think it could've been even longer and really dived into dealing with some of the "problematic" aspects of some of the characters, short little mentions towards therapy sessions and new understandings just didn't quite fill that gap for me. I also wish we got to read X's Slam competition entry, although the more I think about it, I think the whole book was meant to be, what I have now learned is called, a "metapoem" where the poem is about the act of writing poetry. So the entire book of poems, which tells a story and culminates in a final unseen poem, acts as or symbolises that final poem. And there is some beauty in that, but it didn't feel quite as profound as I wished for.

"I only know that learning to believe in the power of my own words has been the most freeing experience of my life. It has brought me the most light. And isn’t that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark."

Overall, this is a fantastic book and absolutely well worth the read, even if the format and style might not be something you've ever read before or even fully enjoy, I think it's a great book that everyone should at least give a try. I loved the main character, and I wanted so much more from her story, I could easily read poetry collections of all the phases of her life and she grows up and learns to deal with this crazy world. I will definitely be giving Acevedo's other books a go too, I looked forward to reading more of her beautiful writing. I'm very glad I picked this book up.

"I think about all the things we could be if we were never told our bodies were not built for them."

Sarah Sammis

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is the story of Xiomara Batista. She's a too tall twin growing up in Harlem. Her smaller, quieter twin is everything her mother wants. She on the other hand is everything her hyper Catholic mother fears.

She's interested in one boy only but because she's Black, mixed race, and buxom, she gets male attention, female scorn, and a reputation that has a life of its own.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

Sonia Grgas

If you are thinking of reading this, do it on audio, so good!

Melissa Palmer

Book #78 Read in 2018
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

This is a verse novel that high school girls will eat up. X is a tough girl who uses poetry to express the feelings that her very religious mother wants her to keep inside. Her life is not an easy one and X is a complicated girl. A quick and powerful read.

Patricia Nelson

I had heard so much about this author and WOW I'm so glad I picked up this book. I haven't read a lot of poetry or stories in verse, and the talent of Elizabeth Acevedo to be able to say so much with so few words is amazing. I found myself completely drawn in and loved this book.

Moth

I really loved this book. It lived up to all the hype it’s gotten since it’s announcement and I’m so thankful I was able to read it. Xiomara is a first generation American who is trying to balance her life as such the best she can. Her family is from the Dominican Republic and her mother is extremely religious, only having married her husband to get to America. She tries to force these beliefs on Xiomara and her twin brother. But Xio is finding herself and questioning the things she’s known all her life. She does so through poetry and is able to find her voice in it. But this doesn’t come without hardships and cruelty when her mother finds out she’s dating a boy and about the poems themselves.

The writing in this book is simply beautiful. It’s done through poetry as Xio tells us the events that are some of her hardest to deal with. It makes these events more personal and brings you closer to her as a character. Though this book is something that is more focused on other first generation Americans that have to deal with finding a balance between their culture and the world they live in, I think a lot of people can still relate to different parts of this, such as questioning things your told to believe such as God and different things such as rules set by parents at this age.

I do warn that there is a lot of difficult subjects in this book such as abuse, sexual harassment and assault, sex, and a little bit about drugs. Sadly it’s something that a lot of people have to face, more so now it seems then ever. I think this book handled it well though and more than once I couldn’t help thinking how important this book is on subjects that are currently in the focal point of our news.

I highly recommend this book. It might not be for you, but it’s not written for you. This book is for all the first generation teens and adults out there. It’s about culture and finding balance. Even if it isn’t for you, I recommend it to better understand such issues people face.

Lektüre. Ab 10. Schuljahr. Stufe 2.

Jantien 

I combined the e-book with the audiobook (read by E. Acevedo herself) and it was quite the experience!! Wonderful writing, loved her voice. I am not at all into poetry, but this book I loved.

eliz

part I was terrifyingly relatable. it highly takes emphasis on traditional and religious beliefs of a certain person (Xiomara's mom) and how they try to compel their child into something they (Xiomara) disfavor, until there comes the day more and more questions starts to form and pile up until these collective thoughts turned into merely antipathy for their conflicting faith and beliefs, but what can a child do over their own parent's abusive behaviour when every.single.thing. should be under their control as long as you live under the same roof?

part II was a bit dreary probably because of the romance (view spoiler)[(I also didn't like how they still ended up together. X and Aman's relationship...that I won't acknowledge. seeing your partner get sexually violated in public and choosing to ignore? yeaaa enough for me. please.) (hide spoiler)]

part III is when I shed tears, particularly because of the passage written below. but the rest were a bit of a letdown honestly, wrapped up way too quickly. (view spoiler)[there was an attempt to reconstruct her mother's attitude squeezed into the last five pages. (hide spoiler)]

excerpt:
"Going Home / Is one of the hardest things I've ever done. / Hands trembling at the thought / of what will happen when I walk through the / front door. / Because my mother's ears are soundproof when / it comes to me. / The only one she ever listens to is God." — part III, going home

Montgomery Pierce

An absolute perfection of a novel. I don't think I can adequately say much else immediately after reading, but every verse, each line down to each word, is so emotionally and mentally nourishing, and listening to the audiobook while reading my physical copy made the entire experience that much more rewarding.

Haley Murray

New Favorite. The first book that has ever made me cry.

The Poet X

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