A review by readingwordsmith
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book made me feel so many strong, potent feelings. It unlocked emotions and thoughts that I usually keep buried at the back of my mind and explores these feelings in an incredibly powerful way. This story was absolutely phenomenal and I definitely connected with all the anger and the turmoil contained in its pages. I have not read something that I have related to this strongly in a long time. Xiomara, or The Poet X, has so many unresolved feelings but in the end is able to unleash these thoughts and release them through her written words as poems. I related closely to some of her personal struggles especially the turbulent relationships she has with her family and the world around her. Her writing, and writing in general, is an extremely powerful tool that can be wielded to eloquently express our inner emotions in a way that spoken language never can. I loved that this book shows us how powerful the written word really is. 

Side note: I felt really frustrated at certain points in this book with the way that Xiomara was treated and how she treated other people in this book. As frustrating as this book was, it was incredibly realistic and accurate to real life. The story was also greatly serviced by being written in verse. I can now safely say that I will read anything written by Elizabeth Acevedo. This is the best book I’ve read in 2022 thus far and I’m not sure any other book will top this!