The poet X is told entirely in verse, this was an immediate turn off to me but to my surprise, I found the story to hold many parallels to my own teen years and found the story an easy read. Xiomara could not win, she was born into a curvy body and shamed for that by her mom and lusted after by any male she encountered which lead her to her fair share of fistfights. Her only outlet was writing her feelings through poetry, once her mother found her poetry, she burned her notebook. Only having a small group of friends (one being her twin brother), Xiomara befriended a boy in school, Aman, who she eventually began a relationship with only to be punished for it by her religious mother. If I could relate to this story, I have no doubt that other young adults would benefit from reading the words of Xiomara. While portrayed by others as a rebellious and a "Cuero", Xiomara only wanted to be herself and learn who she was in the world.

Acevedo’s novel won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature 2018, Carnegie Metal 2019, and Golden Kite Award for Young Adult Fiction 2019. Xiomara is the voice in The poet X, she tells her story through poetry kept in a notebook gifted to her by her twin brother. Growing up in Harlem with a religious mother, Xiomara struggles with many important topics: sexual harassment, religion, homosexuality, teen relationships, overbearing parents, and her gift of verse. Anyone with a TV or Facebook knows that two important topics are the #metoo movement and the #blacklivesmatter, both bringing to light social and societal injustices, this book would be a great starting point for a discussion on those topics. Xiomara is Dominican, living in Harlem and has experienced both types of injustice. Sexuality and shame is an important theme as well, Xiomara and her brother experience it from their family, Xiomara is shamed for having any sort of sexuality and Twin cannot even tell his family he is gay for fear of how they would react.
Religion is also a strong topic in this story. It's portrayed as extreme in the case of her mother but slightly more understanding in the case of Father Sean. After the climax of the story, we see a shift in understanding from all parties, giving hope to all characters in the story for new and better relationships. Teenagers can struggle in their relationships with adults and adults can also struggle to understand teenagers, especially if they have a religious film over their eyes, I think it's important for both parties to see their faults and come to a mutual understanding.