Scan barcode
A review by stephsbooktalk
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
4.5
This is my 3rd Elizabeth Acevedo book and it was such a quick read! Clocking in under 4 hours on audio, easily digestible in a days listen.
The way that Acevedo wrote this felt so real and I'm sure her experience as a teacher helped capturing the life of a teenager. This was told in verse and even though the sections were often time short, you still were able to get a full picture of what was happening in the story. I actually thought it was going to be more intense than what it was.
I love the relationship Xiomara had with her twin. But her relationship with her mother was probably the most intense relationship in the book. Being a teenager is hard no matter what generation you grow up in. When her mom burned her poetry book, my heart broke for her. I used to write in a journal and I am pretty sure looking back, I think my parents did read it likely because I was not open. But if I had known at the time, I would have been very upset!
The relationship between Xiomara and Aman was frustrating because I just wish she communicated with him on her parents rules. I'm sure that goes back to her being a teenager. I am glad he did seem like a respectful young man (though he did not stick up for her while at school).
Just like with the other books I read by her, Acevedo did the narration for this one and it was spectacular. Her tone and the way she expresses the words make it even more impactful. These are characters she creates and she knows how she wants them to sound.
Two quotes that stood out to me:
The way that Acevedo wrote this felt so real and I'm sure her experience as a teacher helped capturing the life of a teenager. This was told in verse and even though the sections were often time short, you still were able to get a full picture of what was happening in the story. I actually thought it was going to be more intense than what it was.
I love the relationship Xiomara had with her twin. But her relationship with her mother was probably the most intense relationship in the book. Being a teenager is hard no matter what generation you grow up in. When her mom burned her poetry book, my heart broke for her. I used to write in a journal and I am pretty sure looking back, I think my parents did read it likely because I was not open. But if I had known at the time, I would have been very upset!
The relationship between Xiomara and Aman was frustrating because I just wish she communicated with him on her parents rules. I'm sure that goes back to her being a teenager. I am glad he did seem like a respectful young man (though he did not stick up for her while at school).
Just like with the other books I read by her, Acevedo did the narration for this one and it was spectacular. Her tone and the way she expresses the words make it even more impactful. These are characters she creates and she knows how she wants them to sound.
Two quotes that stood out to me:
Just because your father's present
doesn't mean he isn't absent.
The world is almost peaceful
when you stop trying
to understand it