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Cindy's Reviews > The Poet X
The Poet X
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Contemporary YA and poetry are usually a miss for me, so I am pleasantly surprised at the near-perfection of this coming-of-age story. The verse formats feel purposeful instead of gimmicky and the writing is so good without compensating with flowery language. It's simple yet effective and does a wonderful job at portraying the complexities of a teenager finding her voice within a culture that often suppresses young women. Even though our upbringings are not the same, I greatly enjoyed reading about Xiomara’s struggles with her religion and relationship with her mother because it felt authentic. I was engaged with her growth because it is one that reflects the lives of so many women and comes from a real place.
The reason why I’m not committing to a full 5 stars is because I felt the ending was rushed in a way that seemed jarring. Acevedo did such a great job building up Xiomara’s internal conflicts throughout the story that it felt strange to have them so quickly resolved at the end, wrapping it up in a neat little bowtie and lessening the nuance of the book. The book feels so realistic that it doesn’t feel quite right to me that it would abandon that realism by having the conflicts suddenly tied up neatly. I think a happy ending could still be achieved without such a narrative leap, even if it’s just Xiomara coming to terms with the power of her voice. Despite that, this is still a fantastic book that I’d recommend any young girl to read.
The reason why I’m not committing to a full 5 stars is because I felt the ending was rushed in a way that seemed jarring. Acevedo did such a great job building up Xiomara’s internal conflicts throughout the story that it felt strange to have them so quickly resolved at the end, wrapping it up in a neat little bowtie and lessening the nuance of the book. The book feels so realistic that it doesn’t feel quite right to me that it would abandon that realism by having the conflicts suddenly tied up neatly. I think a happy ending could still be achieved without such a narrative leap, even if it’s just Xiomara coming to terms with the power of her voice. Despite that, this is still a fantastic book that I’d recommend any young girl to read.
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The Poet X.
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Reading Progress
February 15, 2019
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Started Reading
February 15, 2019
– Shelved
February 17, 2019
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Finished Reading
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Stephanie
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rated it 5 stars
Feb 15, 2019 06:59AM
just finished this book this month! curious to see what you think
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I listened to this as an audiobook and it is so much more stricking for it. Acevedo is a slam poet and reads this herself in her own style which adds even more of that authenticity you mentioned. You're absolutely right about the ending though. I couldn't put into words exactly what bothered me but I think I'll have to agree that it felt rushed. Glad to see you liked it despite that still! Look forward to hearing more if your thoughts on your YouTube channel!
It’s on my shelf waiting for me to hurry the f up! I wasn’t sure how a story could be written in poetic prose, until I picked up Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. It opened my mind to how stories can be moving when written in short increments. I hope you get a chance to check it out.
I completely agree with how rushed the ending felt. For all the time that was put into developing that conflict, the ends were tied up too quickly and too nicely for a satisfying narrative. But like this was still real good and surprised me with how much I liked it.
my library has poet x in their audiobook overdrive collection...considering giving it a try
Whenever I've read a book that Cindy has, I always get scared that she will destroy all the good thoughts I have about it like she did with The City Of Bones.
Wow, Cindy! I have very little acquaintance with the norms and standards of YA. I have the idea that a book wouldn't be labeled "YA" in the first place if the expectations of "adult" or unlabeled literature were applicable. I, too, felt that the ending was a little rushed. But, I was surprised at how well the free-verse style of narration worked. I was astonished, though gratified, that high-schoolers nowadays were reading critiques of religion, all the controversial topics that Acevedo addresses here. Also really appreciated how thoroughly, yet delicately, she handled the various issues around sexuality -- dodging nothing, yet completely avoiding sensationalizing. And all this in an honest presentation of life among poor people in the big city -- again, without sentimentalizing or sugar-coating. I think I'll change my four stars to five!
