A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet 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, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she 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. (taken from goodreads.com)Â
Xiomara has a lot to say and is sick of holding it all in, she writes her poems and has her friends but no one truly gets her. Until she meets Aman, her bio lab partner who sees her more than others do.
I can not believe I waited so long to finally read/listen to this book! This was amazing! In the past month, I have really been noticing how my book choices are mainly books about white women and white people in general. This is something I am trying to change, because the world is more than that. I have started making sure that I read books about Black men and women and their lives. While reading books about activisim and racisim are important, reading books about Black people leading every day lives are just as if not more important too.
I listened the audio book over the course of the week, listening to bit by bit as I went for walks in the morning.
This is one of the first novels in verse I have read and I loved it. I loved getting to know our main character, Xiomara and I loved getting to know her. Her bond with her brother is strong and one that will never be broken.
Xiomara’s voice throughout the novel is genuine, strong and she knows what she wants. She is tired of being objectified for her body by the boys around her and even by those she loves. She breaks out of her shell, joining poetry club and starts sharing her words with the world.
The story is set in Harlem, and brings through the culture of the area. I love how the audio book is narrated by the author, you can hear the passion and it gives the story so much more depth because its something the narrator loves, their own work.
Its a novel about finding yourself, growing pains, religion and so much more. I am so happy I got around to read this book because I think I have found a new favorite author. I highly recommend this!