The Poet X: 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. 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, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she 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. (Blurb taken from Goodreads)
Aeryn Says: Since the whole book is written in verse format, I finished it in a day and a half. Normally, I struggle with poetry but I found the plot very easy to follow. The narrator explores her life, her family, and their relationships through poems that are visual, easy to understand and made up of great rhythm. I enjoyed X as a character; she is aggressive but has good intentions and doesn’t blindly follow the crowd. If you like a strong female character in a story with an unusual style then you should definitely give The Poet X a try.