The Poet X

by Elizabeth Acevedo

[Beth C.]

This book deserves EVERY accolade it has gotten. And for me, audio was the way to go. The author knew the cadences and rhythms and it drew me in even more.

Even as an adult, I relate to this story. In my case, it's on a couple of different levels. First - I have that girl who has a body already, while many of her peers don't. She's strong, and muscular, and yes - she has a butt. She spends hours in the gym each week, working on her chosen sport - but her strength doesn't necessarily remove the feeling of "other" she can feel at times. And...I was a kid who grew up with a challenging relationship with her mother. I often felt like there was NOTHING I could say or do that would be *right* enough. There always felt like there was a "...but if..." to everything I did. I rarely felt truly loved or SEEN, and almost never really felt HEARD for who I was and who I wanted to be. So much of my life growing up felt like my mom's reaction to her own youth. From BOTH those perspectives, Acevedo *nailed* it. The feelings that have no where to go, the frustration at not feeling heard, for feeling like you're just an extension of your mom instead of who you want to be. And the empowerment that girls can feel when given the freedom to fly in the way that they choose...

I have worked very hard as a mother - harder than I like to admit sometimes - to be that mom who is firm, but always loving. Who supports, rather than restricts. Rules there are, but sometimes, those rules are made to be bent - occasionally, even broken. I wanted to be the mother I often felt like I never had. And The Poet X reconfirms that desire, from both the young me who never had it, and the older me, who is watching her own strong, beautiful daughter try to forge her own path.