Pages: 358
Published: 6th March 2018
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world.
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.
As soon as I first heard about The Poet X, I was totally intrigued. A whole novel written in verse? While this was undoubtedly a very unique and diverse concept, it was hard to imagine at first how it could lead to flowing, cohesive story that I could connect with. Looking back, this makes me even more pleased to say that it truly succeeds into something powerful and for many readers, relatable.
From the beginning, the story is easy to follow. We are quickly introduced to Xiomara, a Latina girl whose strict mother prevents her from showing any individuality. The only way she can find her own voice and gain freedom of expression is through her poetry, which she writes vicariously but lacks the confidence to share it with others, despite encouragement from her teacher Ms Galiano.
I found it easy to empathise with Xiomara. Her voice is authentic and genuine, and her true personality comes across in the writing. Through the narrative, a strong insight is provided into each of the other characters. Her mother is made to seem resolutely dictatorial, while her twin brother Xavier also has a nice story arc.
It was great to see how the format still allowed for a impactful and effective story. My only real problem with it was that it presented a sequence of events rather than giving the plot a natural progression. However, the verse remained a fabulous novelty throughout and I loved how the writing combined informal language with lyrical elegance.
The way the book plays out makes it seem you are experiencing a journey with Xiomara. It is a coming-of-age story, and I like how it ends. Along the way a series of challenging moral, ethical, and philosophical questions are asked, and they are all handled smartly. Acevedo writes with a lot of flair, but also with great understanding.
Overall, I am very happy I decided to read The Poet X. It seemed some way out of my comfort zone to begin with, but for the most part the format works wonderfully well. The plot is reasonably good, but where it really triumphs is in the writing, the characters, and the themes explored. An extremely nice example of original storytelling.
Just like Xiomara, Elizabeth Acevedo is of Dominican descent. With a decade and-a-half of poetry experience, she is a National Poetry Slam champion, having gained qualifications in performing arts and creative writing.
The Poet X was her debut novel, and her follow-up With The Fire On High was released in 2019. That is high on my reading list now!
A powerful and affecting read, told in a unique style that enables you connect effortlessly with Xiomara and her story.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stephen Reads Books 