In her debut novel, Acevedo tells the story of a teen from Harlem, who finds her voice in writing poetry, but who struggles against her mother’s expectations.

I love poetry. I am in awe with how much a poet can convey in so few words. And Acevedo does a truly marvelous job in this novel-in-verse.

Xiomara (sometimes referred to as Xio or simply X) is not the best student, but when it comes to her poetry her English teacher recognizes talent and encourages Xio to express herself. Being a teenager is hard. Xio’s path is further complicated by her early development of “curves” and by her twin brother’s genius status. (He has skipped a grade and attends a different school.) Then there is her mother, who at one time wanted to be a nun, but instead married Xio’s father. Mami insists that Xio attend church and be pious, but Xio isn’t feeling it.

She isn’t at all wild, but she is attracted to a boy in her biology lab. She would like to be able to be a normal teenager, with friends, including boys, but she cannot talk to her mother. So, she pours her feelings into her poetry, written in a leather-bound notebook her twin gave her. As she finds her voice, she also finds the courage to be herself. ( )

I read this book switching back and forth between audiobook and physical, and it was really wonderful both ways! It’s honest, engaging, and lively, and there was never a point where I wasn’t interested in X’s story. The explorations of thoughts on family, religious belief, teenage feelings, and finding your voice were all handled with such care and truthfulness that it was almost impossible to not become emotional involved. Acevedo is definitely an auto-read author for me now, both this and “With the Fire on High” were incredible books! ( )

Sooo good! My favorite poem was the one originally written in Spanish. ( )

I listened to the audiobook edition of this novel in verse, The Poet X, narrated by the author Elizabeth Acevedo herself.
A Dominican American teen, Xiomara, living in Spanish Harlem, writes of her life with her family: her twin brother, her father and her extremely religious Catholic mother. She write of her hopes and dreams, her internal battles with Catholicism, unwanted attention by males, her first love, her love of writing and poetry. Beautiful! ( )

I do not like slam poetry generally. It often comes across as melodramatic to me and this was no exception. Xiomara has legitimate problems (overprotective mother, stifling expectations based on her gender, sexual harassment from boys and men, pressure to go through Catholic confirmation). I get it. But this book was almost too much like a real teenage diary for me (an adult) to enjoy it as literature. Do I think teens will love it? Yes, absolutely. I think a lot of young people will eat it up. It's raw and real and emotionally charged. Reading this book, there were many times when I just sighed and thought about how glad I am not to be a teenager anymore.

I might have given this four stars based on how well I think it will work for the intended audience, but the ending bothered me. So all Xiomara and her mother had to do was counseling with Father Sean? That tidily resolved their dispute? Now Altagracia will let X choose poetry over Bible study and let her go out with her boyfriend? Really? Did I misread that? It just confirmed what I felt about most of the book -- a teen's idea of high stakes is nowhere near my idea of high stakes. ( )