The Poet X
The Poet X, published March 6, 2018 by HarperTeen, is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, also known as "X" or "Xio," works through the tension and conflict in her family by writing poetry. The Poet X addresses themes of patriarchy, sexism, and objectification of young women through X's experiences. The book, a The [New York Times Best Seller list|New York Times bestseller], was well received and won multiple awards at the 2019 Youth Media Awards.
Plot
Xiomara Batista is a fifteen-year-old Dominican teenager living in Harlem who loves to write poetry. Though she longs to share it with the world, her religious mother is only concerned with her being confirmed, which has been put off for three years. She feels inferior to her brother Xavier, as he receives much praise for his work.During the school year, she develops a love for her lab partner, Aman. However, the relationship is broken when her mother sees them kissing on a train.
Eventually, her mother finds her poetry, forcing a confrontation between the two.
Banned book controversy
The Banned Book Project of Carnegie Mellon University identifies this book as banned. In a Federal District Court case in North Carolina, parents asserted The Poet X was anti-Christian and violated their right to freedom of religion. The court dismissed the case, citing the widely-held judicial principle that education is not indoctrination.Reception and awards
The Poet X was well reviewed, receiving starred reviews from The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, ''Shelf Awareness, and School Library Journal, as well as positive reviews from Booklist, the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, and The [New York Times].The audiobook received a starred review from Booklist. It was the fourth most ordered book at the New York Public Library in 2018.
In 2018, Kirkus Reviews named The Poet X one of the best young adult books of the year.