The Poet X

Who it's for

Written as Xiomara's own poems, the book lets readers experience writing as a pressure valve: anger, desire and doubt become lines on a page rather than explosions.

Feelings it meets

• Family Conflict
• Identity
• Faith
• Gender Expectations
• Cultural Identity

What it is

Elizabeth Acevedo's 2018 young adult novel in verse, published by HarperTeen. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, a Dominican teenager in Harlem, pours her frustrations into poetry while her deeply religious mother pushes her toward confirmation.

Where to find it

In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla, where held) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. Author-narrated audiobook.

Before you start

Heads up: A parent's physical and verbal abuse.

Age: Ages 14+

Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys' house.Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Part 1, Chapter 1 (tr. Constance Garnett)