Book: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Read From: 3rd December - 6th December 2021
Rating: 4/5 stars
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. In spite of a world that might not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to remain silent.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but I often feel stupid when it comes to poetry because I don’t really ‘get it’. So many people say it speaks to them in a certain kind of way and I’ve never really felt that connection and so as a general rule, I tend to avoid books written in verse because I feel that as a reviewer I won’t be able to do the words and the story they are telling any justice.
I don’t quite know what it was about The Poet X specifically (maybe that it was told in a novel-like format), but it absolutely blew my socks off. Xiomara’s story, feelings and words completely captivated me from the first page and as a result I read this over the course of a couple of days in only a few sittings. I quite literally couldn’t peel my eyes from the page - there are so many raw feelings: navigating familial relationships, feeling disconnect from a religion you have been raised to follow, discovering your own identity, dealing with sexism, experiencing love for the first time… accompany all of these themes with the most impactful of words and you have the most enthralling and emotional of stories.
For someone who already struggled enough with poetry, it will definitely be made more difficult in future. I don’t see how another book written in verse can live up to the enormous scale of feelings I experienced while reading this. SO many reviews have recommended the audiobook which I know I definitely need to try now, if my experience with the physical book was this good I can’t imagine how much more impact it will have listening to Xiomara’s words, and her journey of self-discovery, said aloud.
It goes without saying that I’d definitely recommend this to everyone - even those of you out there like me that usually struggle with poetry. Because of the verse format, you could consider it a relatively quick read but I can guarantee this is one you’ll want to take slow in order to fully absorb every word. This book is one I won’t forget for a long time and I can also tell that a reread will be as equally incredible as the first read. Although I have to say, I’ll definitely be listening to the audiobook when I do get around to rereading!