The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: audiobook (library)
Also by this author: With the Fire on High
One of the Book Riot Read Harder 2020 challenges is an audiobook of poetry. I don’t read poetry. I don’t listen to audiobooks. So I thought this was going to be a difficult challenge for me.
When I was in elementary school, I remember listening to A Series of Unfortunate Events audiobooks in the car with my mom, but I know I also read every one of those physically. We listened to the audiobooks because of Tim Curry and the Gothic Archies. Since then, I’ve gotten really into podcasts, but audiobooks still haven’t worked for me.
First, my thoughts on the audiobook experience: Elizabeth Acevedo has a background in slam poetry, and I knew this book was written in verse and narrated by the author herself so I thought it would be an excellent one to try. I really appreciated having the author's own intonation and rhythm since she knew exactly how the words should sound. I also loved that she was able to create an authentic atmosphere with the Dominican Spanish that she uses. I think the writing in this book also lends itself extremely well to being read aloud (at least since that is my only experience with it). So overall, the audiobook itself was an enjoyable experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the book or even just hasn't listened to the audiobook before. (And it's short, only 3.5 hours so... another plus in my book.)
Now for the actual story itself. I thought the story was paced well and the characters were all fleshed out. I especially enjoyed literally hearing Xiomara's voice, since even her words were so distinctive. I thought the story line was really excellent for high school kids, in terms of Xiomara's relationships with her family, her friends, and her religion. I think everyone will be able to find something that they can relate to, even if they have a very different overall lived experience than the main character.
But... I didn't believe in the romance. Probably it's because I don't know what it's like in high school or now (hi I'll be single for the rest of my life). But it had really strong insta-love vibes and I wasn't here for it. I know high schoolers feel things more strongly than the average human, but it just felt like there wasn't a lot of development. Maybe I missed something (one of the reasons I don't love audiobooks: I often listen in the car and if I'm distracted by driving, I miss things), but it felt like all of a sudden Aman was there and POOF Xiomara was pressed her arm into his and fantasizing about all these intimate romantic gestures. I just can't believe it anymore!! I'm too old for it and I'm over teenagers falling in "love" in two seconds with the first nice person that comes along!! But I get why it was important for the overall character development of Xiomara so I'm not too angry about it as a plot device.
I did enjoy this book and I would definitely recommend it, especially to high school age children. I never want to dictate who should read what book at what age, but in terms of this book specifically, I would want to make sure that it got into the hands of high schoolers. I think they would get the most out of reading it and it is clear that they are the intended audience. I am learning slowly that this type of YA is just not what I’m really interested in reading anymore and that’s simply a personal preference. But I still enjoyed this new experience and the Read Harder challenge ended up being more entertaining than I expected.
