Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

101 reviews

startjpw23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a Young Adult book made up of poems. I read the physical book at the same time as I listened to the audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by the author Elizabeth Acevedo. All of the poems are told in the first person by the lead character Xiomara. Xiomara is the daughter of first generation Dominican immigrants. Xiomara has a twin brother. The family lives in Brooklyn. The poems tell Xiomara's experiences from just before the start of her sophomore year in high school through a month and a half or so after New Year's Day. Her mother is a strict Roman Catholic. This is the most important part or her being. It is the biggest factor that impacts her relationship with Xiomara. Xiomara is rebelling against the her mother's expections for her. Acevedo does a great job narrating the audiobook. This book packs an emotional punch. I loved it. I would rate it more than 5 stars if I could. I think it is a great entry point for someone new to poetry because the series of poems in the book tell one story. I recommend it for anyone who wants to read a books of poems that present a realistic view of a few important months in the life of a 15 year old child of immigrants. The only people I wouldn't recommend it to are those who don't enjoy Young Adult books and those who may find offense in the portrayal of Xiomara's mother's strict Catholicism (the church priest is quite reasonable though). Anyone who does read the book should listen to the audiobook as their first choice of a way to read the book. 

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startjpw23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a Young Adult book made up of poems. The audiobook is narrated by the author Elizabeth Acevedo. All of the poems are told in the first person by the lead character Xiomara. Xiomara is the daughter of first generation Dominican immigrants. Xiomara has a twin brother. The family lives in Brooklyn. The poems tell Xiomara's experiences from just before the start of her sophomore year in high school through a month and a half or so after New Year's Day. Her mother is a strict Roman Catholic. This is the most important part or her being. It is the biggest factor that impacts her relationship with Xiomara. Xiomara is rebelling against the her mother's expections for her. I read the physical book while listening to the audiobook. Acevedo does a great job narrating the audiobook. This book packs an emotional punch. I loved it. I would rate it more than 5 stars if I could. I think it is a great entry point for someone new to poetry because the series of poems in the book tell one story. I recommend it for anyone who wants to read a books of poems that present a realistic view of a few important months in the life of a 15 year old child of immigrants. The only people I wouldn't recommend it to are those who don't enjoy Young Adult books and those who may find offense in the portrayal of Xiomara's mother's strict Catholicism (the church priest is quite reasonable though). Anyone who does read the book should listen to the audiobook as their first choice of a way to read the book. 

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catwhisperflubbs's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective 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

3.75

compelling and page-turning. read this in under 3 weeks

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bluebirdost's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
 I am not a poetry fan by any means but the way the author performed her work was hard not to love. I can't really articulate all my feelings for this book but just know I highly recommend it.

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zoiejanelle's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

this book was a gift from one of my lovely cousins! i started reading it back in september and finally got around to finishing it today. i was a very quick read — only a few hours — and did A LOT of emotional damage in that short time. i 100% understand why this book has so many awards! it was beautiful.

i don’t typically enjoy novels in verse, and there were a few poems that i felt were not entirely necessary or slow, so that automatically knocks this down from a 5 star rating. however, the medium (of poetry) was ESSENTIAL to this book and i cannot imagine Xiomara’s story being told any other way. i connected with her love for the written and spoken word and really appreciated how authentic her feelings and desires were. the author portrayed the 16 year old mind perfectly. 

the first half was enjoyable, but a little slow. after the mid-point, the story moved very quickly and hit all of the emotional beats. i was unexpectedly greatly impacted by this story—X’s relationship with her mom, religion, her struggles with puberty and growing up, her loneliness—and i really recommend it for anyone looking for a tear jerker, uplifting YA read from a latina author/perspective.

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onegalonelife27's review

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emotional inspiring 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

4.0

 Raised in a super religious household, Xiomara struggles with what her mom and church want for her, what men want from her because of her body, and she wants for herself. The only place that she can truly confide in is her journal, writing down the thoughts and feeling she feels no one else would listen to. However, when she finds herself drawn to a boy in class as well as a poetry club taking place at the same time of her confirmation classes, it may be time for Xiomara to let her thoughts be heard.

The last novel in verse I possibly read-do books read in epic poem style count?-was back in college and I had no idea what was going on like 90 percent of the time. This one is a lot of more novel like with dialogue and plot happening fortunately so a lot easier to follow. 

Xiomara really speaks to any woman who’s found herself harassed by men, of course I never hit any guy but I’ve always had weak noodle arms. Despite her rage, she only gets into fights with guys that start it. Also she resonates with anyone who feels like they aren’t understood by those around them, since she doesn’t really have any friends outside her twin and a childhood friend due to her appearance and the gossips that ensues. She slowly begins to reach out from a boy in class, to the teacher who runs the poetry club, finding more folks to speak to.  

I did have some parts of the plot that was a bit confused about, like everyone assuming that Xiomara hits her twin brother. Yet she never says anything about that. If anything she hits other men for her brother! It comes up often enough that it feels weird Xiomara has to keep defending herself from that accusation. But then again she gets accused of a lot of things by her parents, mainly her mother, so this is may be part of the course. But you would think her parents of all people would know if kids hit one another.

Overall, this book is about finding a way to express yourself and finding the people who will listen to what you have to say. May need some tissues since this does hit on some serious tops and feels! 

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joynayakate's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-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


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honeycupreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This book is incredibly powerful. The struggle Xiomara goes through to figure out who she is along with so many other parts of her life is a very hard thing to witness. The strained relationship she has with her parents and God, the tender relationship that forms between her and Aman, the raw understanding that she shares with her twin brother of being afraid to share who they really are with their parents. Throughout the entirety of this book you go through so many emotions along with Xiomara as she figures out this chapter of her life. I highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook, the way Elizabeth Acevedo narrates this story is absolutely beautiful and really elevates the experience of reading this book.

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savreads28's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

2.0


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odd_eye's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.5

 Fast-paced, poetry-based story about a 15-year old Afro-Latina girl who just wants to be herself & free from the pressures of her mother and the eyes of men. Some of the poems were really great, some didn't read as poems to me (just exposition), but I guess that's to be expected since this is really a novel and not a collection of poetry.
Other Things You Think About in the Split Second Your Notebook is Burning
was two sentences and extremely heartbreaking to read because that is what happened to me. Although, I may feel inspired to write again after reading this. 

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