The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Jan. 5, 2024 is The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers — especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

The Poet X was the recipient, in 2019, of the Michael L. Printz Award, which “honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit,” and the Pura Belpré Award, which recognizes a Latino or Latina author and illustrator “whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth.” Both awards are presented by the American Library Association.
https://youtu.be/66-ym-Mwdhw