“The Poet X” Book Review-Struggling Teenagers

Elizabeth Acevedo, a Dominican Republic author, bases her award-winning novel, The Poet X, on her own stories. The story centers on a teenage girl and her encounters with her family, her teachers, and her friends. The teenage girl, named Xiomara, who goes by the name “X,” lives in a stressful family situation. Her mother is a control freak. She is a fervent Catholic and sets very strict rules for X to follow. For instance, although X is already 16, her mother doesn’t want her to spend much time with boys, and she insists that there be no physical contact at all. She imposes these strict rules on her daughter because her marriage is painful: Her husband cares about nothing of the family. He does nothing to educate his two children or give any useful help in raising them or regulating their behaviors. He just hangs out with his friends away from home because he doesn’t love his wife. Because he is both an irresponsible husband and an absent father, X feels stressed every day about being over-monitored by her mother. Luckily, X’s twin brother(whose interesting name is “Twin”) and her best friend Caridad help X cope with her mother’s overly strict expectations that negatively affect her mood and her confidence. X also copes with her unsettled feelings by writing poetry in her diary. She records her sadness, frustration, and anger at her mother’s rebukes, but she also records the joy she feels when she is with her new boyfriend, Aman. She also writes about her homework assignments, her friends, her family, or about any thoughts that help her understand others and relieve her stress. 

Her boyfriend, Aman, was first her lab partner, but as they become close, he embraces her poems and appears as a light of hope to her. They fall in love and hang out together, often kissing in front of the public. However, since this public display of affection, involving physical touch is strongly prohibited by X’s extremely religious mother, X’s mother punishes X when she finds out about her “sinful behavior.” Her mother forces her to go to confession with the priest, an activity that she dislikes intensely. X doesn’t believe in God, herself, and since her mother prohibits her to do things in God’s name, she simply finds confession pointless. The wise priest sees that X is forced to come to confession, so he teaches her the real meaning of atonement: "Our God is a forgiving God. Even when we do things we shouldn't, our God understands the weakness of the flesh. But forgiveness is only granted if the person is actually remorseful.” After offering these words of advice and encouragement, he doesn’t force X to continue with confessions and cancels them in the next weeks. He believes that she knows what she should do and what she shouldn’t and forcing her will not help her to agree with her mother or come to God. Because of his kind understanding, X learns the lesson he is trying to teach her: Confession is never just a formality. It is a ceremony for people truly committing the mistakes they feel guilty about from the heart.

X’s writing continues to help her cope with her struggles, so she continues to express herself through poetry. With the help of Ms. Galiano, her English teacher, X improves her poetry writing. She joins the poetry club and the emotions her poetry evokes are highly praised. She and Aman continue to get closer, too. It all seems perfect until her mother finds her poems. She becomes upset and criticizes the poems because X shows rebellion against her in the poems and shows expresses “sinful” thoughts according to her mother, X should obey all her instructions without any personal thoughts since her mother believes that she is saving X from the sins. Because she deems the poems an act of rebellion, so she burned them all. When all her hard work and efforts turn to dust, she feels numb to the world. It all becomes meaningless. She feels there is no necessity to keep writing if she cannot express what she thinks if her mind is not hers. At the same time, her brother, Twin is also troubled in a relationship, and X worries about him as he appears to be dispirited every day. Things seem to get worse when she cannot express herself in her poems.

Fortunately, Ms. Galiano notices a change in X and asks her if she is having some problems because she finds that X is showing signs of depression in her homework. X tells Ms. Galiano all the things that happened, about Aman, her mother, and her poems. Ms. Galiano suggests that she should have a serious conversation about this and tell her mom her true feelings. So, X finds the priest, her brother, and her friend to help. Although she has to face her mother, the monster who has controlled her for so many years, she bravely opens the door and talks to her mother. In the end, the families learn to respect each other, and they all become better people. Unfortunately for the reader, the climax and resolution are not well-handled. The important conversation is only summarized, and the reader only sees the result of the talk, which leaves a little to be desired.

In this novel, the author included many of her thoughts on the inequality in society and she also encourages us to fight back the unfair treatment. For instance, she suggests to the reader that communication is important, that you should to your parents when you feel uncomfortable about something they did to you and ask for help from others to solve your problem. Although X always tries to hide the problems in the story, it doesn’t work well. When she makes up her mind to deal with her mother and is brave enough to talk about how she is being held back, she solves the problem. Of course, she never solves the problem alone. There is Caridad, Twin, the priest, and Ms. Galiano. So, it is also important to have somebody who has your back; use your resources. You don’t have to be alone.

Because the heroine of the story is a teenager dealing with common teen problems, I highly recommend this book to teenage readers. Elizabeth Acevedo has the power to put herself into a 16-year-old mind and show exactly the way a teenager thinks. The story itself is intriguing because it fits Campbell’s hero story-making formula: A girl overcomes an intensely personal struggle to gain an advantage over and ultimately defeat a monster. X struggled to gain respect and trust from her mother (the monster). It may be an extreme analogy, but X did see her mother as a “monster.” At last, with crucial help from the adults and encouragement from her friends, X wins the love and respect from her rigorous mother that she desires. And last, the hero, X, receives great treasure, the achievements in poetry writing. Because Acevedo addresses these teen issues effectively, the readers will have a sense of looking into the mirror as they read the book. In addition to the applicable storyline, the format and structure of the text are particularly interesting and engaging: all the chapters are organized in poem form and every chapter is dated, so it looks like a true diary.

If we put this engrossing story into a bigger picture, we can see that this book is expressing themes of religious freedom, parent-child relationship, and feminism. In the novel, X’s mother represents overly strict parents versus non-religious freedom. Acevedo encouraged young people to fight back (through communication) and to have one’s voice instead of being controlled without resisting. Also, the book tells us that religion is never an absolute rule about which we are not even allowed to question. Not everyone has the same god or the same moral standards. Acevedo suggests that believers should do is regulate themselves instead of forcing others to believe what they believe. She shows through X’s story that religion should never be forced upon others. The author also includes a message about feminism in the novel: A boy in the story mocked X’s curvy body, so she felt ashamed and hid her true self, thinking she was at fault for the ridicule. X fights back and becomes a confident young woman whom no one can ridicule. This successful transformation is meant to encourage females to be confident in who they are.

“The Poet X” is an extraordinary novel that teaches great lessons and provokes thinking about the social structure. Acevedo reveals that teenagers can be powerful in this engaging book.