The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Publisher Information: New York, NY: Harper Teen, 2018
Summary: 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 Acedevo.
Xiomara Baptista 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, Xiomaara 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 poetry.
Becuase in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.
Book Talk:
Read-a-Likes:
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
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Links of Interest:
Author website: acevedowrites.com
Educator's guide: HERE
Epic Reads page about Elizabeth Acevedo: HERE
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