The Poet X

Have you ever read a book and literally read every single word? And focus on every single word? Maybe you have, but I haven’t. I read really fast, I mean, fast, and so I go through words like... Pop Rocks. You don’t just eat one Pop Rocks piece at a time, you pour the package into your mouth and get the experience that way. I take in full sentences like that, not word over word, but full sentences at a glance.It’s really hard to explain. I understand everything I read, with amazing clarity but I’ve never focused in, really looked at the words used in every single sentence in a book until The Poet X.Of course I’ve analyzed literature and poetry for school work, and I read words out loud of course, but if I think about words on the page, The Poet X, made me think about the economy of words, and the precision with which to use them.The whole book is poetry, told in narrative, about Xiomara, a Dominican girl growing up in a strict home, trying to find her voice. She uses this book as her journal so readers gain insight to her as she writes her feelings down about her family, religion, growing up, boys, and poetry.Acevedo has a powerful way of expressing the thoughts and feelings of a girl growing up in a stifling home. Of a girl growing up in a body she has no control over. She’s got so many powerful poems in this book.My favorite is “Unhide-able” because Xiomara is trying to come to terms with her body in a house that wants her to cover up her body, in a neighbor that wants to catcall her body, in a generation that wants to speak out about her body and the jealousy that comes along with it. She writes:“I am I unhide-able.Taller than even my father, with what Mami has always said / was “a little too much body for such a young girl.” / I am the baby fat that settles into D cups and swinging hips / so that the boys who called me a whale in middle school / now ask me to send them pictures of myself in a thong.The other girls call me conceited. Ho. Thot. Fast. / When your body takes up more room then your voice / you are always the target of well-aimed rumors, / which is why I let my knuckles talk for me. / Which is why I learned to shrug when I name was replaced by insults.I’ve forced my skin just as thick as I am” (7).So many women go through this same thing. So many teenagers and women alike just have to take this kind of criticism and this kind of rumor gossip mill stuff and Xio captures it perfectly here in this one poem. Xio learns to shrug the gossip off, like many of us do, but at 16 --- what kind of message is she internalizing?At the climax of the book, Xio writes, “The world is almost peaceful / when you stop trying / to understand it” (223). It’s so powerful, right? Acevedo has such a gift for language. If you’ve never heard any of her actual spoken word, please do yourself a favor and go now. She’s so amazing.The story Acevedo weaves through her poetry is one about self acceptance more than anything but it takes a huge family detonation to come about. That hit home for me. I think it does for a lot of people. It’s so relatable and honest. It’s hard to find out what we’re meant to be when we aren’t allowed to be ourselves, right? I think Acevedo captures that so well in this book.Do yourselves a favor. Get this book. Binge it. You’ll thank me.

I'd forgotten how much I love books told in verse. I used to read verse books back in the day but haven't picked up one in a while. The Poet X was so good. I highly recommend it.I love Acevedo's writing and how she portrays Xiomara. It is like I was transported into her head and I could feel everything she was feeling. It was so refreshing to get a new perspective while I was reading this book. I could relate to many of the things Xiomara goes through. I definitely understand the questioning of her religion. There were many things I can't relate to but getting to see the struggles of a young woman growing up in a very religious household and who has to deal with how she can explore who she is was very eye opening.I loved the poetry aspect of the story. I have never been big into poetry but this book was so beautiful. You can tell that Acevedo is a true master at it. I did wish we would have gotten to see some some of the poems that Xiomara actually wrote or performed at poetry club or the slam sessions. But none the less, it was an integral part of who she was and her character growth and I loved seeing that blossom.Overall, I loved this book and getting to know Xiomara and her family. It was so incredible and revitalizing to read. I am so glad I picked this book up. I am not always the biggest fan of contemporary reads, but this one is a must read. If you haven't picked this one up yet, you definitely should.I also wanted to mention that I did a combination of reading the physical book and listening the audio book. I think it is amazing that Acevedo narrates her own audio book. I thought it gave another layer to the story that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I will definitely be checking out her other books.

Words can not describe how The Poet X made me feel. It took the breath right out of me. My heart was beating like a drum. I felt heaviness in my chest, but also felt like I was flying. Even now that I’ve finished reading, I’m left with an emotional weight in my heart.How did this amazing, beautiful author manage to capture such power and raw emotion with so few words? How have I never found the beauty of a story told through verse before? This book was everything! It was beauty. It was power. It was a sensational Own Voices story, and it was incredibly poignant, moving and thought provoking!Xiomora was fierce! She was strong, and she fought. She fought through her questioning her faith, she fought for her independence, she fought for her freedom of expression, and she fought for herself! She was brave and intelligent, and she was beautiful!Though I never really grew up embracing, or being taught, my Mexican culture, I know my mother and her sisters and brother did. You could say I didn’t have much I could relate to with Xiomora, except for the expression of herself through her poetry, but, I did feel like I could still relate to her home, and neighborhood life, slightly in knowing that my mom’s family was raised Catholic and knowing what kind of neighborhood she grew up in (and had to walk home from school through) where my grandfather and the neighborhood gang members had a mutual respect and understanding with each other. I also remember being taken to church (and completing communion) as a child because it was what grandma had wanted.And, though there was still very little I could personally relate to with the story (I could very much relate to writing poetry to express my feelings, as it was an outlet for me during a bout of depression in high school), or see as a reflection of my own life, I realized how important it was that there are readers out there who could. This story was so powerful, and it really showed how important it is to have Own Voices representation.The Poet X was a coming of age story. It was a story of self-discovery, self-love, and the importance of family, friendship, and standing up for those you love. It highlighted issues of rape culture, body acceptance, abuse, forced religion, and homophobia. It was powerful, beautiful, and poetic.

Bon produit

Fantastico

A surprising, exciting coming of age novel made out of poems that are meant to be delivered out loud. So... you imagine the delivery. A testimony of dignity and youth. Loved it.

such a beautiful and empowering story.i just love reading Elizabeth Acevedos’ books in verse.so touching it made me cry multiple times because it’s written in an incredibly emotional way and illustrates social issues very well

Ouvi o audiobook em inglês desse livro pelo scribd enquanto acompanhava pelo e-book e totalmente me apaixonei. A escrita de Elizabeth Acevedo carrega força, e sua narração potencializa essa força. A história de Xiomara me lembrou as histórias da Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. As duas autoras escrevem sobre a dor, sobre o silenciamento, sobre o fortalecimento e sobre o amor de forma única e bela. The Poet X é um livro singular que retrata os percalços de uma garota descobrindo suas potencialidades mas que tem sua liberdade e descoberta privadas desde sempre. Dificilmente alguma mulher não se sentiu assim em algum momento da vida.