Oddly enough, despite the unfamiliarity of the story’s format, I found myself effortlessly relating to the leading heroine. Xiomara’s uncertainty regarding her faith, questions about religion, confusion when it comes to feelings and attraction, inability to defend herself against her parents – all these things resonated so intensely within me because my younger self had extremely similar experiences. Even presently, a number of Xiomara’s inner demons are in line with my own.

I also found the characters of Xavier, Caridad, and Aman extremely intriguing! Sadly, I was disappointed that the lives and personalities of these minor characters weren’t explored and developed as thoroughly as I would have preferred. However, since the narrator of the story is Xiomara herself and all the verses were “written” by her, it’s understandable that there were constraints in the development of other characters. Still, a huge part of me is hoping for a sequel told from the perspective of Xavier or Caridad. I just really liked them!

I generally, really enjoyed reading this novel. To call The Poet X ‘powerful’ is a laughable understatement. Although I was not as emotionally affected as I thought I was going to be (i.e. I really thought I’d end up crying as I read, but that didn’t happen), the impact this story created on me is incomparable to anything else, if I’m being honest. This is a novel I wish I picked up years ago because, had I read this as a younger teen, perhaps I would have unearthed the courage to stop shying away from my own voice a whole lot earlier. To put it all very simply: this is empowerment in lyrical packaging.

Disclosure: I received a physical Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of The Poet X as part of my participation in a blog tour hosted by Afire Pages. This neither affects my opinion nor the content of this review. Many thanks to Karina and the publishers for the opportunity!