The Poet X: A Classic Young Adult Novel in Verse (Ages 13+)

Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award, The Poet X is a novel-in-verse by Elizabeth Acevedo, an award-winning slam poet. Xiomara Batista is an Afro-Latina teenager living in Harlem who feels unheard. Since her body developed curves, she has relied on her fists and fierceness to communicate. She pours her frustration and passion into a leather notebook, writing like prayers—especially after developing feelings for Aman, a boy in her biology class whom her family can never know about. Xiomara's mother is determined to enforce the laws of the church, so Xiomara keeps her thoughts hidden. When invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she faces a dilemma: she wants to perform her poems but fears her mother discovering her involvement. Caught between her mother's devout faith and her own need for self-expression, Xiomara must navigate a home where her developing thoughts and feelings are viewed as sins. Ultimately, she refuses to remain silent in a world that may not want to hear her.