LSSL 5385: Book 18

November 01, 2019

The Poet X

By Elizabeth Acevedo

** Best Fiction for Young Adult List**

Acevedo, E. (2018). The poet X a novel. New York: HarperTeen.

Xiomara Batista is a sixteen year old Dominican, with a twin brother, Xavier, and older parents. Her mother always wanted to be a nun, but married Xiomara’s father to move to America. Her parents are devout Catholics, so when they had the twins at such a late stage I their life, it solidified their faith. Everyone, not only their parent believed they were a miracle. Xiomara’s name means one who is ready for war, and is a true depiction of her. She is very outspoken and primarily uses her fists to do her talking. Her mother is very strict, and Xiomara believes her mother wants her to become a nun.

Recently Xiomara has started to notice the changes in her body and has been interested in boys. She develops a friendship with her lab partner, Aman, which later grows into a relationship. They share a mutual interest of music, Aman is intrigued by her poetry, and Xiomara even has the guts to read aloud her poems to him. Her mother finds out that they were kissing on the train, and her punishment is to kneel on rice in front of the Virgin Mary and ask for forgiveness. On top of that her mother makes her speak to Father Sean and confess, but Xiomara is not sorry what she did, she is sorry that the got caught. The priest’s recommendation is that Xiomara waits to be confirmed since she has had a lot of questions about her faith lately. Needless to say her mother isn’t happy about that.

Now that she has Tuesdays afternoons free she is able to attend the poetry club at her school. For once Xiomara is excited about school and is eager to share the poems she wrote over Christmas break. A few days after school starts back it’s her birthday, and it’s one of the best ones yet. Her brother gave her a new journal to fill up with poems, her best friend fills up her inbox with voicemails, and everyone in her club makes her feel special. When Xiomara is getting ready to share her poem she realizes that she must have left her old notebook at home. Xiomara arrives at home and her mother is holding up her notebook. Her mother tells her that she knows enough English to read what she’s been writing about, and burns Xiomara’s notebook.

Xiomara runs out of the house, reaches out to Aman, and meets up with him. She ends up staying the night at Aman’s house. She goes to school the next day, and Ms. Galiano tells her she was worried about her when she left in a hurry the day before. She called home to check on Xiomara, and told her that her parents were worried about her. Xiomara does go back home after school, but realizes that they might need some help to talk it out. She expects her mom to be upset, but her mother only hugs her but doesn’t apologize for what she did. Xiomara and her mother work on fixing their relationship with the help of Father Sean. Xiomara starts using her poetry as her fighting ring. Her parents are supportive and attend her poetry slam, and they even let Aman come over with the rest of her friends to celebrate, although they still won’t call him her boyfriend.

The Poet X is simply an exceptional book written in verse. When I was looking at various lists to pick books for this last set, The Poet X was on a quite a few. I figured since it was highly acclaimed I should check it out. I was definitely not disappointed! From the beginning I was wrapped up in Xiomara’s story and how she so eloquently used the power of words. Relationships with mothers are tough, and are especially difficult during the teenage years. Xiomara was a relatable character and I enjoyed reading to see how she evolved. This was a can’t stop reading, have to find out what happens book, and I look forward to reading what Elizabeth Acevedo writes next!

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