The Poet X

 The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, 368 pages.

Xiomara Batista often feels like no one is on her side. She's Afro-Latina and in possession of a body that gets her more attention from men than either she or her traditional catholic Mami would like. Which is just one in a long list of things her Mami blames her for, a tension that would explode if she ever finds out Xiomara is questioning her faith. It feels like the only place she can feel safe being herself and expressing her true thoughts is in the poetry she writes in her journal. But Xiomara is not the type of girl who is content to live her life quietly forever. 

This was an astonishing young adult novel. I listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author and really makes this novel in verse come to life, which is exactly what I would expect for a book of poetry read by an award-winning slam poet. I found this book startlingly honest, tackling hard issues for young adults without ever feeling exaggerated or implausible. Xiomara's troubles are undoubtedly hard, and sometimes seem impossible to solve from inside, but they never seem even a little hard to believe. Their resolution feels similarly believable. I would recommend this very widely to teens, but also to anyone else.