Xiomara (See-oh-Mah-ruh) is nearly 16, and sick of guys of all ages whistling and yelling lewd things at her. She wishes they would just stop. Her strict, devout Catholic mother (Mami) doesn’t approve of her daughter’s body either, making Xiomara feel even more terrible.

There are rules she must live by – her Mami’s rules are no boys in her life beside her twin brother. Work hard at school, attend church and her confirmation classes.

This was never a problem when she was younger, but now she feels different. Not only on the outside, but the inside too. There is a boy at school that makes her feel strange. There are questions bubbling up to the surface about God, that she begins to ask her parish priest about. Her poetry is changing too – more intense, more real, more revealing.

Xiomara’s poetry is part of her, and now it is spilling out even faster onto the pages of her journal. Her twin encourages her, and so does a teacher at school, but she believes she will never be brave enough to share it with anyone else.

The Poet X has won the prestigious CILIP/Carnegie Medal of 2019, and the author is the first person of colour to win it. (Really? is what I first thought!). This novel is in verse and beautifully written.

It’s intensity shares the confusion and struggles of the burgeoning sexuality of a young teen, the savagery of her mother’s faith on her family, and the freedom poetry finally gives her. Stunning!

Author – Elizabeth Acevedo

Age – 14+

(Poetry, Family, Religion, Control, Dysfunctional, Friendship, First relationship, First love, Poetry Slam, Latino, Dominican Republic, Award Winner, Carnegie CILIP Medal, Verse)