X + U = SLAM

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
New York, NY : HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2018.   
361 p. ; 22 cm.

I'm not even going to pretend to be objective about this book.  After seeing and hearing Acevedo read at our local library last week, while I was about half way through this book, all I can say is "Yes, read this book and recommend it to students you know." 

She is a great performer and a strong writer, too.  When I handed a copy of this book to a student recently, I said, "Be sure and look her up on YouTube."

The book is a fine telling of Xiomara, a girl coming of age in contemporary Harlem, NYC.  She is a sensitive, but bold, young woman who is being raised by a very strict and very religious mother, and a somewhat distant and checked-out father - both who are immigrants from the Dominican Republic. She is also a twin of a brother she loves, and they both are struggling to become the adults they want to be - while under the restraints of their loving, but oppressive family.

Fortunately for Xiomara, her salvation is in nurturing her gift for poetry and spoken word performance.  Will it be enough to overcome the binds of family and religion?  Will she be able to find romantic love when her mother doesn't even want her talking to boys?  Can she help her brother as he struggles to own his gay identity?

Well, you'll have to read the book to find out.  There are unexpected plot twists and scenes of great emotion - and you won't be disappointed. I swear!

A Wondrous Read

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

by Junot Diaz
New York : Riverhead Books, 2007.
1st U.S. ed.
340 p. ; 22 cm.

No wonder Wondrous won the Pulitzer Prize for 2008. It is a stunning read - full of passion, humor, history, wit, and anger (and an unforgettable protagonist, the overweight and unlucky in love Oscar). Reading this book, most Americans will realize how little they know of the Caribbean Stalin aka Trujillo, who merits some unsavory nicknames from the author, the nicest of which is the Cattle Thief. Unfortunately, Trujillo ruled with help from Uncle Sam, and when overthrown, popular rule was again thwarted by US Marines sent in by LBJ. The joy of this novel is all in the telling though - the history is woven in with such scathing humor and deadpan craziness that it only really sinks in after you have put the book down.

And what about the high school audience? Well, the book was written for adults, though Booklist recommended it for mature YA readers, which makes sense with the teen/college-aged protagonist. It's definitely not a book one could assign since it has mature sexual scenes and rather salty language. It's also rough with political violence, but for any student who wants to get a grip on the history of the Dominican Republic through an inspired coming of age/immigration novel - this is it.