''The Poet X'', published March 6, 2018 by

HarperTeen HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

, is a

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

Elizabeth Acevedo Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican-American poet and author. In September 2022, the Poetry Foundation named her the year's Young People’s Poet Laureate. Acevedo is the author of the young adult novels ''The Poet X'', '' With the Fire on High'', ...

. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, also known as "X" or "Xio," works through the tension and conflict in her family by writing poetry. The book, a ''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 (affectionately called Twin) 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.

Reception and awards

''The Poet X'' was well reviewed, receiving starred reviews from ''

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'', ''Kirkus Reviews'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

,'' Shelf Awareness, and ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'', as well as positive reviews from ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

,'' '' the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books,'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. The audiobook received a starred review from ''

.'' It was the fourth most ordered book at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

in 2018. In 2018, ''Kirkus Reviews'' named ''The Poet X'' one of the best young adult books of the year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poet X 2018 American novels 2018 children's books American young adult novels African-American young adult novels Hispanic and Latino American novels National Book Award for Young People's Literature winning works Michael L. Printz Award-winning works Carnegie Medal in Literature winning works Literature by Hispanic and Latino American women Novels set in New York City Harlem in fiction Quill Tree Books books