Synopsis:
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. 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.
“She tells me words give people permission to be their fullest self and aren’t these the poems I most needed to hear?”
I ❤ THIS BOOK.
THE COVER GIVES ME LIFE! It’s SO BEAUTIFUL!
My mom picked this book out for me to listen to on audible. Me and my mom listened to this entire book in one setting, and it only took three hours. I usually don’t like to listen to books, but I don’t have time to sit down and read nowadays. I’m actually glad I listened to it though. I felt like, this was Xiomara. (OH, I LOVE her name!)
Anyways, I really enjoyed this book. I feel like I could relate to the main character on some level because we both love to write. I really just like traditional writing, but Xiomara Batista loves expressing herself in writing poems. The way she expresses the way she feels throughout the book makes it feel so real and really relatable. I also like the way she makes connections with her feelings to make it easier for readers to understand.
I really liked how the author made this book interesting by adding another form of writing in the mix – poetry. When the tension starts rising in the book, it’s almost as if you can feel the tension and conflict, which, to me, makes the book so real.
Overall, I really love this book. Xiomara is a strong character and she seems like a real typical teenager just trying to get through. This book is short, beautiful, attention grabbing and very inspirational. Xiomara Batista’s words through her poems and writing were very inspiring, so inspiring I now want to go to a Poetry Slam!
READ THIS BOOK!!! You will not regret it!
~Happy Reading!
