The Poet X vs. Nevermoor

The Poet X:
 I am voting this one through reluctantly as I didn't totally love it but I did like it more than Nevermoor. It could be the disconnect as I listened to the audiobook version and am easily distracted when doing so. I often encourage students to listen to audiobooks but perhaps the disconnect I felt with Xiomara was because of the audiobook and not the writing. X is a believable and compelling character with all of her struggles and teenage angst growing up in a family with religious overtones and strict expectations from her mother. Typical of most YA fiction, there's a girl and she must find her voice in the world BUT the selling point on this novel is that her voice comes through in her poetry. Exposing young people to poetry and having them buy into the form is constantly a struggle as students shy away instantly out of fear. Kwane Alexander has opened up the form to young people with his various novels, specifically The Crossover and the more that authors utilize poetry, the more we have a chance at teaching kids to connect to it and not fear/ loathe it. X reminded me of my many students that have found their voice in our spoken word poetry unit and for me, this made the novel a hit! ~ Krystal (Jan Reimer)

Nevermoor:

This round I thought both books were okay. Neither really captivated me but Poet X had a slight edge over Nevermoor. It is difficult to read Nevermoor without comparing it to Harry Potter. For those students who loved reading Harry Potter they will want to read this. I enjoyed that it was a female protagonist, Morrigan Crow, who was blamed for her town’s misery and doomed to die on her eleventh birthday. The story is light-hearted and fun compared to the darker side of Harry Potter and the violence of The Hunger Games trilogy. Despite the main character being sentenced to death, there was still humour and a sense of playfulness. For this reason I believe upper elementary students would enjoy Nevermoor as well. ~Rachel (Jan Reimer)



My vote is for Poet X, as I found the protagonist to be someone with whom many students could relate. As well, I appreciate how her love of poetry could help to engage my own students in poetry. I think students see poetry as difficult, perhaps due to the types of poems we introduce in the classroom? I would use this novel to demonstrate how poetry does not need to be so prescribed and difficult. As for the book Nevermoor, this just isn't my type of book. Was not a fan of the genre, but feel bad because I do think some of my students would enjoy it. ~Karen (Michael Strembitsky)