Review: 'The Poet X' by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Caroline Selby
- Mar 19, 2020
- 1 min read
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo tells the story of a fifteen year old girl named Xiomara who discovers the power of slam poetry as a way to express herself. Even though she is blatantly forbidden by her mother, Xiomara questions the church, has a boyfriend, and writes poems about her thoughts and even her family. Even when broken down, she continues to write and try to express herself. What is most interesting about this book, however, is its structure. The entire book is written as a series of poems that are all part of the same story, with the poems also being broken into three larger sections.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I definitely did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Besides getting lost in the actual narrative of the book, I also really liked the structure of it. It was really interesting to see the story broken up in short sections that are sort of their own but also part of a larger story at the same time. Reading the story in poems also makes it more free-flowing and eloquent, which I really enjoyed. A few of my favorite poems were God, After, Cuero, The Ugly, Burn, and Things You Think About in the Split Second Your Notebook is Burning. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes narrative poetry or is trying to get into poetry, because this book is a very quick and easy read!
I also read it in one sitting! It was so easy to get into the story that it was hard to put it down. I completely agree with you about Ms. Galliano- she made me think of all the great teachers I love not only as teachers, but also as people (including you). I’ll definitely check out Brown Girl Dreaming, thanks for the suggestion! The Poet X was the first verse style personal narrative I’ve read, but I really loved it since it’s so free-flowing and easy to read.
I finally got a chance to read this since schools closed and I couldn't put it down. I basically read it in one sitting, which reminds me of when I was young and could read for as long as I wanted without interruption. I wish Ms. Galliano was a real person so I could befriend her.
If you liked the personal narrative written in verse style, I would suggest checking out Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. It's one of my favorites. It tackles some similar issues but is also a memoir (rather than fiction), so it pulls in a lot of historical and social context.