Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Poet X

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

55 reviews

nitya's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Read for MLIS elective

Powerful and I love that it's in verse! Not sure how I feel about the ending and resolution (and the lack of development with certain characters). It was incomplete and half-assed; it could have been better imo.

Content warning: misogyny/sexism, racism, sexual harassment, child abuse, religious themes, homophobia (not by main character), bullying, drug use (pot)

Content Warnings

lisa_m's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was beautiful. It is a story about a poet, told through poetry.

It is heartwarming, sweet, painful and so so relatable.

A feminist view into the life of a poc teenage girl who grows up in a very religious family.
The guilt of being different, of dealing with unfairness and ones own failures or short comings.

This is a coming of age story told so beautifully that I feel like I really know Xiomara now. I relate to her struggles and her pain. I was very close to tears throughout a large part of this book.

It is very inspiring and I feel like everyone should read it. The target demographic is girls and woman and probably also poets but I believe everyone would be able to enjoy this book and take something away from it.

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shantastic_reads's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this poetic, emotional, authentic, cutting, angsty, and hopeful work. In terms of YA books, this has to be at the top of its genre. The main character and narrator Xiomara Batista is 15 years old and confronts many issues common to her age - being misunderstood by her family, feeling tension with her mother, questioning her religious upbringing, and experiencing a major crush on a boy at school. Instead of this being a basic coming of age story, though, Acevedo writes in poetry and prose, uniquely presenting Xiomara's clear and strong voice and poignant story. Xio finds her strength and peace in writing poetry in a journal her beloved twin brother gifted her. Ultimately this becomes an essential outlet of personal expression as well as an act of rebellion that empowers Xio to believe in herself. It's an altogether moving and beautiful book that I can't recommend enough! Especially listen to the audiobook, read by Elizabeth Acevedo herself - it's so compellingly told. I'll be picking up anything she writes from here on out. I give this book 5 stars and a whole lotta love.

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minbyrnes's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I listened to this as an audiobook in one sitting and it was an amazing listening experience but it was so good that I wished I had a physical copy that I could read and annotate.

Some quotes that really stood out to me that I had to pause the audiobook and write them down were:

“And I think of all the things we could be if we were never told our bodies were not built for them.”

and

“The world is almost peaceful when you stop trying to understand it.”

(I wrote these as I heard them so idk what they’re supposed to look like in the book, which is why I really want to purchase a physical copy).

I really connected to Xiomara’s story and struggles and I love her so much. Her struggles with religion, the way other people perceive her, and being forced to act strong for her own sake and for the sake of her loved ones; I’m sure a lot of young girls can relate to her even if the situations aren’t exactly the same.

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criticalbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kathsaph's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

"The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo is the story of Xiomara Batista, a teenage girl living in Harlem who keeps a journal of her life in the form of poems. Throughout the novel she discovers her love of slam poetry and uses art to find her voice.

This book was powerful and vulnerable all at once. Xiomara's struggle to find her own identity while others in her life push their narratives on to her is both familiar and authentic. Her struggles with being a first generation American, a girl, Dominican and having a very religious family are all met with her relentless passion for writing, it gave me chills. Acevedo's writing cuts out all the unnecessary chatter and takes you to the heart of each character instantly. This was a story about love, forgiveness, voice and poetry, it took me about 3 hours to read, and I could not put it down.

Content Warnings