As a complete poetry dunce, I approached The Poet X with some degree of caution. But my hesitation was outweighed by the sheer amount of love Elizabeth Acevedo receives on bookstagram, and I just had to find out for myself! The risk paid off, this book is incredible and so full of heart, and I completely get the Acevedo love!

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Xiomara Batista is a fifteen-year-old girl growing up in Harlem, feeling at once like no one hears what she has to say and like she cannot hide. She suddenly finds herself the centre of unwanted attention from men and boys, who are deaf to everything except Xiomara's body. She withdraws, letting her fists talk for her, but in private she turns to her poetry, transforming her thoughts, frustrations, desires, anxieties and everything else in between into words on the page. Acevedo brings themes such as adolescence, first loves, religion, mother-daughter relationships, and of course coming to terms with your identity.

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Through Xiomara, Acevedo's passion for poetry shines furiously. It's impossible not to be drawn in, and be moved by the emotion filling these pages. The entire thing is told through 350 pages of poems, which I've never seen before. I've read a novel told in verse but one long continuous flow, this is broken up into separate poems and is stronger for it. The constant variation in length and style keeps it from feeling monotonous, and the shorter, punchier poems sear their way into your skull with the raw emotion.

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I already got Clap When You Land out of the library too, and they have the audio as well so I might listen along as well. I've heard many good things about Acevedo's books on audio! If you've been hesitating because it's a book written in verse, put that trepidation aside and pick up The Poet X! You'll be taken in completely by Xiomara's words and live her experiences and feelings along with her.