The Poet X

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, 361 pages.
Xiomara Batista, daughter of immigrants, high-school student in a tough school, twin, a young woman trying to get comfortable with her new larger self, and the self-named Poet X of the title, tells in a long beautiful series of poems the story of herself. She fights with her mother, does her best to protect her twin brother, questions her faith, and tries to navigate encounters with male classmates and grown men and their unsolicited and often crude comments regarding their desire for her. The Poet X emerges slowly, after her break-up with her boyfriend, after her move away from the church, and after she feels the loosening of the lifelong bond with her twin, as Xiomara starts to read and perform her poems in public. A very well-written, engaging and moving book written for a young-adult audience.