The Poet X - Discussion Questions

    

1. What would be your first impression when you read a novel in verse?

2. Describe Xiomara Batista?

3. What would Xiomara’s mother do if she caught her hanging outside after school?

4. What are the differences between Xiomara and her twin brother Xavier?

5. How did Xiomara first feel about the confirmation class?   

6. Who is Caridad? Why does Xiomara say Caridad and she shouldn’t be friends?

7. When Xiomara turned twelve what present she got from her brother?

8. As a teenager with a body of a full grown woman what are the problem Xiomara has to face?

9. What do you think of these verses in the poem “Church Mass”  -

“Just when Father Sean

starts talking about the Scriptures

that everything inside me

feel like a too full

too dirty kitchen sink.”

10. How did Xiomara’s teacher, Ms. Galiano change the course of Xiomara’s existence?

11. How does writing help Xiomara to release her frustration? 

12. What do you think of Aman? If you were Aman, would you throw a punch to the boy who "groped" your girl? Why and why not?

13. If you were Xiomara, would you forgive Aman?

14. How does Xiomara’s relationship with writing change her relationship with her mother over the course of the novel?

15. If your mother read then burned your journal, what would you do? 

16. What is it about writing that makes Xiomara feel brave?

17. What do you think of the bilingual phrases? If you don’t speak Spanish do you understands the story?

18. At its heart, The Poet X is a novel about teenage rebellion against strict parents and a coming-of-age story. Why this is a common theme in YA novels?