Howdy Readers!

How’s it going? Good I hope! It’s going to be a stormy weekend here in Kansas City, but I hope you get plenty of sunshine.

I’ve been trying hard this week to make some serious progress on my grad school assignments, which means it’s time for another book review!

This time I read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.

So I’ll be honest. I’ve never considered myself a poetry person. I’ve always been afraid I wouldn’t comprehend the true meaning behind the words written so I tend to avoid the genre. But this was a required class read, so I was ready to take a stab at it. Let’s see how things went!

Blurb

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.

GoodReads

Amazon

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The Review

Xiomara feels unheard, invisible. Living in New York with her strictly religious mother, absentee father, and twin brother, she struggles to voice the words that build within her. When her brother gifts her a journal, that all changes. By writing down her experiences in poetic form, Xiomara finds that her words have power, that she can triumph against her obstacles as long as she acknowledges her truth. With her sights set on an upcoming poetry slam competition, Xiomara readies herself for the ultimate challenge as life continues to throw curveball after curveball her way.

Not being well versed in poetry I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this novel really packed quite a punch!

First and foremost, I think the format of this poetic novel really made all the difference. Rather than a simple collection of random poems, this book is structured in a chronological way that builds an interconnected story of young Xiomara’s life and all the trials and tribulations that come with adolescence. This makes the book so much more accessible to someone like me who is often hesitant to engage poetry for fear of not fully comprehending the meaning behind the words.

The poems themselves vary in style and format which kept things fresh, but at the same time they were simply worded so I never felt lost at the intent behind each work.

Xiomara is a great main character and I felt invested in her struggles against her overbearing religious mother and other family members, as well as her internal processing of feelings towards her love interest Aman. Through these poems we get to know her family and friends, and it fleshes them out through dialogue and actions without overtly telling the reader. Rather, we experience the characters first hand, which was very effective.

I honestly have zero complaints about this novel. Concise and effective, it’s a perfect read for anyone hesitant to read poetry or even the most seasoned poet. Definitely give this book a try!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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