Poet X
Hello dear readers, I will bring you the book review of Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Book Review
Author
ELIZABETH ACEVEDO is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High—which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, which was a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor book and a Kirkus finalist.
She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo, and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and resides in Washington, DC with her love.
Briefly
summarize the book
It is a
book of poetry about a Dominican-American teenage girl, whose name is Xiomara
Bautista, she writes poems about what is happening in her life, her mother is a
very devoted, the conservative and religious Dominican mother, her father, was
always busy and she has a twin brother, whose name is Xavier, and is her polar
opposite, and he decided to give her a notebook so she can express what she
feels because she is very reserved.
Her daily
life is a mess, she goes forced by her mom to confirmation, she doesn’t have a
lot of friends in school and she is constantly teased by the boys because of
her body, and she felt constantly misunderstood, until one day the new English
Teacher, Mrs. Galiano, who constantly motivated her to join the poetry club and
express herself.
She wanted
to feel love and one day in biology class she falls in love with a boy name
Aman, and they shared the same taste in music, she started to fall slowly in
love with him and wrote poems about him. Then she snuck out to see him because her
parents will not let her talk to boys, neither have a boyfriend.
Months
later they became a couple and when she went on a ice skate date with him, her
mother found out they were kissing, and she beated her with the chancla, and
make her say prayers, she was not allowed to see Aman anymore, also not to talk
in the phone.
She felt so
bad that she could do the English assignments right, and her teacher was
worried about her, and she saw her after class.
After a few weeks her phone was returned, and she went to confirmation
classes, she started to go to the poetry club and felt more motivated about
herself, she started to have new
friends.
Then
another day after she ended confirmation clases, her mother found her notebook,
and forced to burn it, the situation was out of control, and her twin and her
father talked with her mother. She apologized with Anan and explained to him
what happened. She stayed at his house for days, until her teacher found her.
She talked to father Sean also, about what happened.
Her mother
started to understand her a little more and let her to go to the Slam poetry
competition, and after this, her mother, her father, her twin, her best
friend, and her boyfriend reunited
happily, like a family.
Describe
the character/person who changed the most from the beginning of the book to the
end of the book. Explain the change and what caused it.
Altagracia,
Xiomara s’ mother, before she was very strict towards her, but after she burned
her daughter s’notebook and beaten her daughter, by her anger, she became more kind towards her.
Describe a
minor character/person in the book who had major importance. Explain
A minor
character who had importance is Mrs. Galiano because she helped Xiomara to be
in the poetry club and play a supportive role as her mentor.
Describe
one major external conflict and one major internal conflict found in this book.
One mayor
external conflict is the bullying Xiomara suffered and one internal conflict is
the doubts Xiomara has with herself and religion.
Above you
rated this book. Explain in detail why you gave this book that score.
I gave it a
10 because I felt identified with the book, not only because the main character
is Dominican, and is a teenager that used the poetry to deal with her life like
I used to do when I was her age.
Evaluate
the end of the book. Considering how the book unfolded, is it an effective
ending? Why? Why not?
Yes
because, she apologized with Anan and they still a couple and the conflicts she
had with her family and her best friend Caridad got solved in the best way.
If this
book had gone one more chapter, what would have happened? Explain
If the book
had gone one more chapter, she will write a poem about how her relationships
with her family, boyfriend, and friends are going.
Choose five
(5) of the following sentence starters and write a brief reflection for each.
1. I think
Xiomara looks like me physically.
2. While I
was reading I realized where my love of poetry came from.
3. As I
read I wondered if I could think back when I was younger.
4. When I
read I was surprised Xavier was gay.
5. If I
were Caridad I would not judge Xiomara to fall in love with a boy
Author’s
purpose
The author
is purpose is to entertain
Intended
audience(s)
Teenagers
13-17
Unknown
words
none
Biblography
http://www.acevedowrites.com/about
Read you later, Sofía Books.
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