MARCH 2018 - AudioFile
The author's passion and pacing unite in her rhythmic reading of linked free-verse poems telling the story of Xiomara Barista. The author, a performance poet, and her heroine possess a gift for arranging words, sequencing sounds, and enriching both with emotions. Xiomara (X) is a first-generation Dominican-American teen who has "a little too much body for a young girl." She has grown used to deflecting the inappropriate attention of men in her Harlem neighborhood but welcomes attention from her gentle schoolmate, Aman. Her zealous Catholic mother is blind to X's need to understand love, sex, and religion. X's beloved twin brother is consumed with painful secrets, so X writes to find solace and strength and her own voice. The subject, tone, form, and expression of this audiobook are diverse and poignant. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2018 Best Audiobook, 2019 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Julie Fogliano
Somehow, Acevedo's powerful free verse manages to stay contained within the book's covers. The force and intensity behind her words practically pushes them off the page, resulting in a verse novel that is felt as much as it is heard. This is a book from the heart, and for the heart. I wouldn't be surprised if I put my ear to its cover and found it had a heartbeat all its own.
Publishers Weekly
★ 01/22/2018
Harlem sophomore Xiomara Batista isn’t saintly like her virtuous twin brother. And her tough exterior—she’s always ready to fend off unwelcome advances and unkind words—hides questions and insecurities. As her confirmation nears (after two failed attempts), Xiomara begins to voice her uncertainties about the Catholic faith and patriarchal piety pressed on her by her mother and the church. Both intrigued and disgusted by the advances of her peers and older men, she begins a secret relationship with her lab partner Aman, who seems interested in more than her curves (“who knew words,/ when said by the right person,/ by a boy who raises your temperature,/ moves heat like nothing else?”). Xiomara pours her innermost self into poems and dreams of competing in poetry slams, a passion she’s certain her conservative Dominican parents will never accept. Debut novelist Acevedo’s free verse gives Xiomara’s coming-of-age story an undeniable pull, its emotionally charged bluntness reflecting her determination and strength. At its heart, this is a complex and sometimes painful exploration of love in its many forms, with Xiomara’s growing love for herself reigning supreme. Ages 13–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
The force and intensity behind her words practically pushes them off the page, resulting in a verse novel that is felt as much as it is heard. This is a book from the heart, and for the heart.” — New York Times Book Review
“A story that will slam the power of poetry and love back into your heart.” — Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Chains
“Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice. Every poem in this stunningly addictive and deliciously rhythmic verse novel begs to be read aloud. Xiomara is a protagonist who readers will cheer for at every turn. As X might say, Acevedo’s got bars. Don’t pass this one by.” — Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation
“In The Poet X, Acevedo skillfully sculpts powerful, self-contained poems into a masterpiece of a story, and has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” — Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street
“Though vivid with detail about family, love, and culture, The Poet X is more of an exploration of when the poet becomes the poem... Acevedo delivers an incredibly potent debut.” — Jason Reynolds, author of National Book Award Finalist Ghost
“A glorious achievement. This is a story about what it means to be a writer and how to survive when it feels like the whole world’s turned against you.” — Daniel José Older, author of the Shadowshaper Cypher series
“A powerful, heartwarming tale of a girl not afraid to reach out and figure out her place in the world.” — Booklist
★ “Themes as diverse as growing up first-generation American, Latinx culture, sizeism, music, burgeoning sexuality, and the power of the written and spoken word are all explored with nuance. Poignant and real, beautiful and intense.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “Debut novelist Acevedo’s free verse gives Xiomara’s coming-of-age story an undeniable pull, its emotionally charged bluntness reflecting her determination and strength. At its heart, this is a complex and sometimes painful exploration of love in its many forms, with Xiomara’s growing love for herself reigning supreme.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “In nearly every poem, there is at least one universal truth about adolescence, family, gender, race, religion, or sexuality that will have readers either nodding in grateful acknowledgment or blinking away tears.” — Horn Book (starred review)
★ “The Poet X is beautiful and true—a splendid debut.” — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“Acevedo plays with language, form, and space in a way that commands attention, pulling readers from one emotional extreme to the next without pause or remorse... Readers will applaud Xiomara as she journeys from a place of cautious defensiveness to being confident in the power of her voice.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
★ “Acevedo’s poetry is skillfully and gorgeously crafted, each verse can be savored on its own, but together they create a portrait of a young poet sure to resonate with readers long after the book’s end.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“The Poet X is beautiful and true—a splendid debut.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
Horn Book (starred review)
★ “In nearly every poem, there is at least one universal truth about adolescence, family, gender, race, religion, or sexuality that will have readers either nodding in grateful acknowledgment or blinking away tears.
Jason Reynolds
Though vivid with detail about family, love, and culture, The Poet X is more of an exploration of when the poet becomes the poem... Acevedo delivers an incredibly potent debut.”
Booklist
A powerful, heartwarming tale of a girl not afraid to reach out and figure out her place in the world.
Daniel José Older
A glorious achievement. This is a story about what it means to be a writer and how to survive when it feels like the whole world’s turned against you.
Laurie Halse Anderson
A story that will slam the power of poetry and love back into your heart.
Justina Ireland
Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice. Every poem in this stunningly addictive and deliciously rhythmic verse novel begs to be read aloud. Xiomara is a protagonist who readers will cheer for at every turn. As X might say, Acevedo’s got bars. Don’t pass this one by.
New York Times Book Review
The force and intensity behind her words practically pushes them off the page, resulting in a verse novel that is felt as much as it is heard. This is a book from the heart, and for the heart.
Ibi Zoboi
In The Poet X, Acevedo skillfully sculpts powerful, self-contained poems into a masterpiece of a story, and has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.”
Booklist
A powerful, heartwarming tale of a girl not afraid to reach out and figure out her place in the world.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Acevedo plays with language, form, and space in a way that commands attention, pulling readers from one emotional extreme to the next without pause or remorse... Readers will applaud Xiomara as she journeys from a place of cautious defensiveness to being confident in the power of her voice.
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
★ “The Poet X is beautiful and true—a splendid debut.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Acevedo plays with language, form, and space in a way that commands attention, pulling readers from one emotional extreme to the next without pause or remorse... Readers will applaud Xiomara as she journeys from a place of cautious defensiveness to being confident in the power of her voice.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Acevedo plays with language, form, and space in a way that commands attention, pulling readers from one emotional extreme to the next without pause or remorse... Readers will applaud Xiomara as she journeys from a place of cautious defensiveness to being confident in the power of her voice.
Horn Book (starred review)
★ “In nearly every poem, there is at least one universal truth about adolescence, family, gender, race, religion, or sexuality that will have readers either nodding in grateful acknowledgment or blinking away tears.
Daniel Jose Older
A glorious achievement. This is a story about what it means to be a writer and how to survive when it feels like the whole world’s turned against you.
Shelf Awareness
The Poet X is beautiful and true—a splendid debut.
-Jason Reynolds
Though vivid with detail about family, love, and culture, The Poet X is more of an exploration of when the poet becomes the poem... Acevedo delivers an incredibly potent debut.”
School Library Journal - Audio
★ 07/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—That Acevedo narrates her debut novel in verse is a sublime gift. She's undoubtedly the ideal aural arbiter of her spectacular coming-of-age tale about a Harlem teen whose generational, cultural, religious, and emotional conflicts coalesce to teach her "to believe in the power of [her] own words." Not yet 16, Xiomara is unlike her brilliant, never-gets-in-trouble twin brother: "He is an award-winning bound book,/Where I am loose and blank pages." She fills those pages with everything she can't say, revealing doubts, aches, secrets: "It almost feels like/the more I bruise the page/the quicker something inside me heals." She's not devout like her immigrant mother or her best friend, and she's hidden her maturing body for years, until that first kiss: "He is not elegant enough for a sonnet /too well-thought-out for a free write,/taking too much space in my thoughts/to ever be a haiku." Encouraged by her English teacher to claim her voice, Xiomara's performance of her verses will be "the most freeing experience of [her] life." VERDICT Libraries should prepare for eager audiences requesting multiple formats. Patrons who opt for the audio format can access Acevedo's additional explanatory track about a final contrapuntal poem.—Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
School Library Journal
★ 03/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—Magnificently crafted, Acevedo's bildungsroman in verse is a stunning account of a teen girl's path to poetry. Sophomore Xiomara Batista is simultaneously invisible and hyper visible at home, at school, and in her largely Dominican community in Harlem—her body is "unhide-able" she tells readers early on, and she bristles at how others project their desires, insecurities, failures, and patriarchal attitudes toward her. Though she is quick to battle and defend herself and her twin brother Xavier, Xiomara's inner life sensitively grapples with these projections and the expectations of her strict, religious mother. Acevedo's depiction of a faith in crisis is exceedingly relatable and teens, especially those going through the sacrament of Confirmation, will deeply appreciate Xiomara's thoughtful questioning of the Church and how it treats women. Forbidden kisses with a crush and an impromptu performance at an open mic prove to be euphoric, affirming moments for Xiomara: "it's beautiful and real and what I wanted." Acevedo's poetry is skillfully and gorgeously crafted, each verse can be savored on its own, but together they create a portrait of a young poet sure to resonate with readers long after the book's end. VERDICT Truly a "lantern glowing in the dark" for aspiring poets everywhere. All YA collections will want to share and treasure this profoundly moving work.—Della Farrell, School Library Journal
MARCH 2018 - AudioFile
The author's passion and pacing unite in her rhythmic reading of linked free-verse poems telling the story of Xiomara Barista. The author, a performance poet, and her heroine possess a gift for arranging words, sequencing sounds, and enriching both with emotions. Xiomara (X) is a first-generation Dominican-American teen who has "a little too much body for a young girl." She has grown used to deflecting the inappropriate attention of men in her Harlem neighborhood but welcomes attention from her gentle schoolmate, Aman. Her zealous Catholic mother is blind to X's need to understand love, sex, and religion. X's beloved twin brother is consumed with painful secrets, so X writes to find solace and strength and her own voice. The subject, tone, form, and expression of this audiobook are diverse and poignant. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2018 Best Audiobook, 2019 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Review
★ 2017-12-21
Poetry helps first-generation Dominican-American teen Xiomara Batista come into her own.Fifteen-year old Xiomara ("See-oh-MAH-ruh," as she constantly instructs teachers on the first day of school) is used to standing out: she's tall with "a little too much body for a young girl." Street harassed by both boys and grown men and just plain harassed by girls, she copes with her fists. In this novel in verse, Acevedo examines the toxicity of the "strong black woman" trope, highlighting the ways Xiomara's seeming unbreakability doesn't allow space for her humanity. The only place Xiomara feels like herself and heard is in her poetry—and later with her love interest, Aman (a Trinidadian immigrant who, refreshingly, is a couple inches shorter than her). At church and at home, she's stifled by her intensely Catholic mother's rules and fear of sexuality. Her present-but-absent father and even her brother, Twin (yes, her actual twin), are both emotionally unavailable. Though she finds support in a dedicated teacher, in Aman, and in a poetry club and spoken-word competition, it's Xiomara herself who finally gathers the resources she needs to solve her problems. The happy ending is not a neat one, making it both realistic and satisfying. Themes as diverse as growing up first-generation American, Latinx culture, sizeism, music, burgeoning sexuality, and the power of the written and spoken word are all explored with nuance. Poignant and real, beautiful and intense, this story of a girl struggling to define herself is as powerful as Xiomara's name: "one who is ready for war." (Verse fiction. 14-18)
