Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Poet X cover art

The Poet X

Written by: Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.29

Buy Now for $24.29

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Don't miss this acclaimed audiobook, read by the author-winner of an Odyssey Honor and an AudioFile Earphones Award winner!

The Poet X is also the winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award.

Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing #ownvoices novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth.

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, whom 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.

"Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice." (Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation

“An incredibly potent debut.” (Jason Reynolds, author of the National Book Award finalist Ghost)

“Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” (Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street)

This young adult novel, a selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List, is an excellent choice for accelerated tween readers in grades six to eight, in the classroom or for homeschooling.

Plus don't miss Elizabeth Acevedo's With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land

©2018 Elizabeth Acevedo (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

What the critics say

"An incredibly potent debut." (Jason Reynolds, author of the National Book Award finalist, Ghost)

"Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero." (Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street)

"The author's passion and pacing unite in her rhythmic reading of linked free-verse poems telling the story of Xiomara Barista. The author, a performance poet, and her heroine possess a gift for arranging words, sequencing sounds, and enriching both with emotions.... The subject, tone, form, and expression of this audiobook are diverse and poignant." (AudioFile)

Featured Article: The Best Young Adult Audiobooks For Women Of All Ages


Many people equate "growing up" with "growing serious." But while interests may change over time, age does not have to be the deciding factor in what games you play, movies, or books you enjoy. Young adult novels are the perfect example of this. Though written with a teenage audience in mind, women of all ages are sure to enjoy the genre’s hallmarks: strong yet flawed characters, heartbreaking twists and turns, romance, and drama.

What listeners say about The Poet X

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    77
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    78
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    54
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poetic Justice

Current themes and struggles of youth in ethnic communities. It is beautifully written. Going to suggest it to my students.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

I am not usually a fan of books I have to read/listen to my uni classes, but this one was amazing. Very, very well written, impactful, and it made me tear up. Thank you for writing this story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love tHIS

that was the most I've cried from a book in a while. I'm literally drowning in my tears.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must hear!

A perfect partnership with Audible. Acevedo's performance was superb; it made me smile with the nostalgia of teenage love and cry at the pains of growing up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved the story presentation was perfect

Immediately a favourite. Am sharing this one with my network. Reader captures your attention and you are left wanting more at the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I Wish I Had This Book When I Was Younger

I tore through this book like I was hungry. Like I have been starving for a long time. Like the author, when I was a teenager I was in a home that shamed me for my poetry for religious reasons. I wish I could have had this book when I was younger... it might have made an impact on some of the choices that I made back then. I loved tbe narrator... I really feel like she captured the soul of the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is searching for a story and a heart to get lost in. #Audible1

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!