The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a coming-of-age novel about finding your voice. It follows Xiomara, a Dominican teen in Harlem who feels unheard and misunderstood, especially by her strict and religious mother. Xiomara pours her feelings into poetry, expressing her struggles with faith, family and her first love. When she joins a slam poetry club, she starts to embrace her voice and identity, even when it means standing up to those she loves.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a fast-paced novel in verse about grief, revenge and tough choices. It follows Will, a teenager whose brother was killed. Following the neighborhood’s unspoken rules: no crying, no snitching and getting revenge, Will grabs a gun and heads to settle the score. During an intense elevator ride, Will meets the ghosts of people from his past, each sharing their own tragic stories. As he goes down each floor, he’s forced to question whether revenge is the right path.
This anthology is a compilation of the works of poet Elizabeth Bishop. Her creations are clouded metaphorical representations of her life and resolve. The themes the works reach can be as simple as the simple observations of the environment to sobriety and alcoholism. It is clear by her writing that these messages are intended to be buried deep into the works, only discovered by those determined to find them and those who look through each work and her personal life with a magnifying lens. This is the benefit and limitation of her work.
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur is a beautiful collection of poetry that helps people understand the different stages of pain, love, hurt, and healing. The book is separated into four sections, healing a different heartache in itself from the heartache of a parent's love fading to the realization of having to find love in yourself.
The Aeneid is an epic poem of Rome’s founding history written during the Roman Empire’s reign. The poem follows Aeneas and his fellow Trojans as they flee Troy following its destruction from the Trojan War. Aeneas searches for a way to fulfill his destiny, to set sail to Italy and found the Roman people, as told by Jupiter, King of the Gods.
Pillow Thoughts is a poetry book written by Courtney Peppernell that shows raw emotions through prose of writing. She writes about heartbreak, love, and raw emotions.
This is one of my favorite poetry books that I own. The way Peppernell expresses her mindset through writing. I rate this 5 out of 5 because of her artistic writing style and the content she writes about.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Fiction) is a novel that describes the life of a teenage girl, Xiomara Batista. Xiomara lives in Harlem and can’t seem to be enough for her mother. Her mother is a devout Catholic who wants her children to be as well, which isn’t a problem for her brother Xavier, better known as Twin, or so Xiomara thinks. Twin has always been the better of the two, being confirmed first, and being ridiculously smart. Whereas, Xiomara doesn’t even know if the Catholic faith is right for her.
