Title: The Poet X

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Rating: 5/5 ⭐

Genre: Poetry/Contemporary

Age: Young Adult

Format: Audio

From Goodreads: A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

This was really good! I’m so glad someone recommended this one to me on audio. I have a terrible time reading poetry and books in verse but with the author reading it to me, it wasn’t a problem at all.

I liked Xiomara a lot. She’s not your typical YA protagonist but I love her even more for it. And she gave me a new appreciation for Nikki Minaj. X is fierce and defiant and talented and honest and so many more things. She’s not perfect but she grows and that’s all any of us can do.

Growing up it bothered me how much freedom my parents gave me because it didn’t come from a place of trust, it was because they honestly didn’t care or worry. Then I hear a story like this one and I think it’s probably better to not be berated for having a boyfriend.

I thought her discussions of sexual harassment that she experiences and the stereotypes she has to endure were particularly powerful, although the whole novel really hit me in the feels. I listened to it while driving to and from my sister’s house and it made me all teary-eyed. No worries, no one was hurt!