🎤🔥 The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – Book Review (3.5/5 Stars)
🖋️ A coming-of-age novel-in-verse that punches you in the feelings, one poetic stanza at a time.
📚 Affiliate link: Get The Poet X on Amazon
⚠️ Spoiler Alert!
This review contains FULL SPOILERS including the ending. Proceed only if you're cool with finding out how Xiomara’s poetic rebellion turns out.
💭 My Thoughts — “Wait… is this nonfiction?”
I accidentally wandered into poetry territory, and I’m not even mad about it. The Poet X is written entirely in verse — not the rhyming, Shakespearean kind, but more like slam poetry, straight from the soul and seasoned with teenage angst. And as someone who doesn’t love poetry, I still found myself laughing out loud, raising my eyebrows in admiration, and wondering if Xiomara was a real person (spoiler: she’s not, but it feels that real).
That said, I wasn’t completely hooked. While I admired the writing and voice, and I appreciated the realistic take on girlhood, identity, religion, and culture, I found myself hastily skimming the last chapters. Not because I needed to know what happened — I just… wanted it to be over. Not a slam on the quality, just a reflection of my personal vibe with poetry-heavy reads.
⭐ Final rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
🚨 Trigger Warnings
✔️ Religious trauma
✔️ Body shaming / objectification
✔️ Parental abuse (physical and emotional)
✔️ Homophobia (internal and cultural)
✔️ Bullying
✔️ Teen sexuality
✔️ Gender expectations
📖 Full Plot Summary — Spoilers Ahead!
🧠 Meet Xiomara Batista — Teenage Girl with a Lot to Say (But No One to Hear It)
Xiomara (pronounced See-oh-MAH-rah) is a 15-year-old Afro-Latina girl growing up in Harlem with strict Dominican Catholic parents, a twin brother (Xavier), and a body that draws too much attention. She doesn’t want to be seen for her curves — she wants to be known for her mind, her heart, her words. But talking out loud isn’t really safe in her world, so instead…
🎤 She writes. In secret. In verse. With fire.
🙏 Religion vs. Reality
Xiomara's mom, a.k.a. Mami, is deeply religious. Like, rosaries-in-your-face religious. She wants Xiomara confirmed into the Catholic Church and believes her daughter's job is to be pure, obedient, and invisible. But Xiomara is questioning everything: God, tradition, and her place in it all.
Spoiler: That goes over like a lead prayer candle.
💘 And Then There’s Aman — The Boy from Bio
Xiomara starts secretly dating Aman, her biology lab partner (fitting, because there’s definitely chemistry). Their relationship is sweet and respectful, and for the first time, Xiomara feels seen as a person. She tries to keep it quiet, but when Mami finds out…
💥 Cue the religious meltdown.
Mami finds Xiomara kissing Aman and reacts by hitting her, then burning her poetry notebook. Yeah. She BURNS IT.
🎙️ But Xiomara Has Found Her Voice
Before the Aman Incident™, Xiomara had secretly joined her English teacher Ms. Galiano’s poetry club. She writes powerful, vulnerable poems about identity, religion, love, and her body. Despite the chaos at home, she doesn’t back down.
She finally performs one of her poems at a slam poetry competition, and she brings. The. House. Down. 🙌
💔 Family, Forgiveness & Finding Her Way
Xiomara and Mami finally talk (well, cry and yell and pray and then talk). Mami doesn’t completely understand her daughter’s choices, but she starts trying. They begin healing — slowly.
The book ends with Xiomara feeling heard, supported by Aman, Xavier (who is queer and also dealing with his own identity crisis), her dad (quiet but present), and Ms. Galiano.
And the notebook? It rises from the ashes — not literally, but Xiomara begins writing again, stronger than ever.
📝 What Worked for Me
✅ The writing: It’s lyrical, raw, funny, and packed with emotion.
✅ Xiomara’s voice: Honest, fierce, and painfully real.
✅ Themes: Girlhood, body image, Catholic guilt, identity — all explored with nuance.
✅ Acevedo’s insight: She clearly knows what it’s like to teach and to listen to teenagers.
🧍♀️ What Didn’t Work for Me (Just Being Honest)
✖️ The verse format made me feel detached at times — like I was skimming surface emotions, not fully sinking into them.
✖️ The pacing slowed near the end, and I was just… ready to close the book.
✖️ As a non-poetry lover, I didn’t connect with every page, but I still respected the artistry.
📌 Buy the Book
Support the author, support your brain.
📚 If You Liked This, You Might Also Enjoy:
👉 Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (also in verse, also hits hard)
👉 Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (elevator ride turned poetic thriller)
👉 Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (memoir-in-verse)
👉 Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam (verse novel about justice & art)
✨ Final Words
Even if poetry isn’t your thing (raises hand), The Poet X is still worth picking up. It’s bold, honest, and beautifully written — and for those of us who grew up with a strict upbringing or complicated faith, it hits close to home.
💬 Have you read The Poet X? Are you Team Poetry or Team Please-Just-Give-Me-Paragraphs? Drop your thoughts below!
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