The Poet X
Publisher
HarperTeen
Publication Year
2018
ISBN
9780062662804
Pages
368 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel in verse
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. 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. Mami is determined to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, and Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. When she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she can't stop thinking about performing her poems.
Grade Level
6-8; 9-12
Lexile Measure
HL800L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Culture/Ethnicity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Family violence; Language barrier; Multicultural; Gay/Lesbian; violent parent; abusive mother; different languages; multicultural community; gay brother
Main Character
female teenager
Race/Ethnicities
Dominican American
Family Formation
mother and father
LGBTQ+
gay male
Awards
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2018, Winner, Fiction and Poetry
Cybils Awards, 2017, Nominee, Poetry
Keywords
poetry; journal; Catholic; Christianity; Harlem; twins; first love; body issues; body acceptance; self-acceptance; battle with religion
Diversity Impact
indirect
STARS Citation
Acevedo, Elizabeth, "The Poet X" (2018). Diverse Families. 1483.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1483