The Poet X

by Elizabeth Acevedo

My brother was birthed a soft whistle: quiet, barely stirring the air, a gentle sound. But I was born all the hurricane he needed to lift—and drop—those that hurt him to the ground.

I worked on this comparison between Xiomara and Twin for several drafts of the novel. Twin’s gentleness felt important to establish early, and to establish the way Xiomara views herself as his defender.