Isn't it a bit early to declare the best book of 2022? It is only the beginning of February.

I would feel the same if I were you. However, I am willing to go on record declaring The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo the best book I will read in 2022. And I'm only half done!

I stumbled upon this book when searching for short audio books as a way to motivate me to get on the treadmill. It has sort of been working but now that I can only listen to this book while on the treadmill, it's totally working. Every once in a while, a passage or phrase will stop me dead in my treadmill tracks and there has been a time or two when I find myself moved to tears on my treadmill.

The Poet X is fifteen-year old Xiomara who lives in Harlem with her twin brother, who she calls Twin, and her Dominican parents. Her mother's main love in life is Jesus and she tries her best to get X to feel the same. The story, basically Xiomara's journal, is written in-verse and I highly recommend listening to the audio version because it is beautifully performed. I usually listen to audio books on a faster speed but I slowed this down to give it its due.

I can't do The Poet X justice with my own words so I'm not even going to try. However, after listening yesterday, I decided I have to get every parent who is growing a young adult to listen (or read) and have their young adult listen. It's a coming of age story told differently than any I've heard before. It's about a girl coming into her body and dealing with the male gaze upon her body before she is ready, rectifying with the religiosity of her mother, and pouring all her feelings into her journal in a fragile yet righteous way as only a teenage girl can.

I'm already looking forward to the end of the year to see if my prediction is true.