The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and narrated by the author. Listening time for The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is 3 hours, 30 minutes, which made for a quick listen!

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a young adult, coming of age novel that is set in Harlem. Xiomara Batista is the main character and she's a 15 year old high school sophomore. We see life through her eyes as she grows up in a very strict, religious household. Xiomara feels seen, not heard by her parents. Her parents are old school Dominican... Xiomara's mother had actually wanted to become a nun, but instead, ended up marrying Xiomara's father. Xiomara and her twin brother, Xavier, were considered miracles and are the only children her parents had. Xiomara writes poetry in order to express herself and we hear/read her poems throughout the novel along with reading about her frustrations growing up within her strict household.

I didn't expect The Poet X to be so powerful. Or to love it so much! The writing, in a word, is stunning. And to have the author narrate her novel made it all the more wonderful.

Below is the publisher's plot summary for The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo I discovered on Amazon's website:

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, whom 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.

I am giving The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!