Printz Winner 2019: Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Acevedo, E. (2018). The poet X a novel. New York: HarperTeen.

 Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo was chosen as 2019's Printz Award winner. This is not the only award and recognition this book has won since published in 2018. It also won the 2018 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, Horn Book Award for Best Fiction in 2018, and the 2018 Pura Belpre Award. This book has received a lot of recognition since it's publication- as it showed up on a multitude of award lists for me to choose from in this assignment. So it made perfect sense that this book was a "Must Read.' After reading it, I can only agree with all of the critics and sing its praises. 

 Poet X tells the story of Xiomara as talented poet, hardened girl, and loving sister and daughter. Xiomara sturggles expressing herself aloud with words, as she often goes into bouts of silence, not speaking to anyone. She struggles with the persona and expectations that are put upon her by her family, culture, and community. When she grew into a young woman- she was no longer seen as a good girl because she can never seem to do the right thing or be the nice quiet polite girl that others want her to be. This book shows how religion, cultural and familial expectations, and coming of age often conflict with each other. X has been hardened by always having to use her fists to express herself, as she always stands up for her twin brother that is too soft. X is silenced by her families expectations- knowing that you do not talk back to your mother even if all she is doing is insulting you. X wants to be smaller to confine all of the things that make her different and special so that she can be invisible. X can only be herself and speak her truth through her poetry. This book is raw and so important for girls coming of age. She slowly learns how to express herself without violence, but it seems that her poetry comes at a cost as well. This book gives a gripping insight into the lives of Latino people and the expectations that the family and culture demands. It shows how religion plays into the way young girls think of themselves and the pressure their families put on them. The book beautifully points out the dichotomy between the expectations of boys and of girls. The poems that Acevedo uses to communicate the past and present experiences of Xiomara are poignant and refreshing. 

 This book is so very well put together and refreshing. I think this book communicates the topics of religion, culture, Latino experience, and a young woman's coming of age experience so well. I also appreciate that these topics and experiences are given equal time and exploration within the book and her poetry. It allows both and insight into Latino culture, but also it illuminates some similarities of the female experience growing up. I think that there should be so many more books like this to help us all understand each other's experiences and how they impact us as we grow up and grow old. 

Other books you might like if you enjoyed Poet X:

  • Gabi: A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero (talks about Latino experience and female's coming of age and sexuality) 
  • The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (female coming of age and sexuality- expectations, specifically when you can no longer control what others think of you and your body when you develop faster than expected.)
Source: 
Skuenn. (2019, May 22). Printz Award. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz-award#previous

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