First Pages: The Poet X
Did you know that our First Pages series is the most popular of all our posts? I love sharing first pages and analzying them as a writer to see what works and what didn’t work to draw a reader in.
I’m very good at starting books and not necessarily finishing them. Or, it’s just that I need to get over that ‘hump’ to pull through, especially if it’s an actual book because I usually find time to read while sitting in carpool to pick the girls up from school (not happening, obviously), or during lunch at work, waiting for the girls during appointments etc.
So I’m very good at holding onto books that I borrow from the library or from friends. There’s your warning.
And just as I returned all our school library books this week, I’m also returning our local library books too, one of which will be featured later this week. (And happens to be called The Library Book.)
My friend loaned me The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, and while Mini Me finished reading it long ago, I still have it. I just started re-reading it when my co-worker was telling me about Acevedo’s latest book, Clap When You Land. Yes, I started reading that one too, and I also started reading With the Fire on High, which—though I love books in verse and Acevedo is very talented—I’m finding more accessible in its prose. They are three different stories, however, and it may just be that I’m connecting more with her character. The last two I borrowed via cloud library and I didn’t finish Clap When You Land in time before I had to return it so I’m patiently waiting my turn again. And that’s why I’m back to The Poet X.
First Pages discussion for The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Acevedo starts off The Poet X with the feeling of New York in the summer. Her words evoke the humidity, the stoops, the sounds and the smells , and I can picture exactly what Xiomara is seeing.
What’s more, I can feel Xiomara’s insecurities and journey to self-discovery.
I can relate to Xiomara so much, even as we have vastly different backgrounds. She’s questioning her Catholic upbringing, she’s questioning her place in life, she’s wondering who she is and also who she is separate from her twin.
And, most of all, I can relate to Xiomara because she loves to write.
Acevedo’s choice to write the book in verse is spot on. We get snippets of Xiomara’s life, but we also hear her voice. After all, Xiomara is a poet, and these words are hers.
And though I’m slow to finish novels sometimes, this book is one I held on to because I knew it would be a good one. The opening pages pull us in right away and we want to know what will happen next with this young teen. The personification of Harlem as a character draws me in, and the gently rhythmic nature of Xiomara’s voice juxtaposed with some not-so-gentle words keep me hooked.
Excerpt from Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X
I started the First Lines and First Pages series in November 2017 as a homage to National Novel Writing Month. In the tradition of one of my previous writing groups, I decided to 'share' the first lines of successful middle grade and YA novels in order to figure out what made them successful first pages. I posted as many as I could in November, and now post the series on the first of every month (or close to it). Please let me know in the comment section if you have any First Pages book recommendations.
Excerpt from The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
