Xiomara is a fifteen-year-old Dominican-American girl living in Harlem with her twin brother Xavier (she calls him “Twin”), her indifferent Papi, and her religious and strict Mami. She grapples with normal teenage-girl issues, such as her identity, her body, boys, and questions regarding religion. Her writing is what gives her solace and catharsis; she is a poet but does not share her work with anyone.
The new school year brings with it new challenges. Her English teacher, Ms. Galiano, invites her to Poetry Club but she knows she cannot go because she is in confirmation classes with her best friend Caridad. She begins a relationship with a boy in biology class, Aman, but she is not allowed to date so she has to keep it secret. Twin is also involved with someone but she does not know whom. At confirmation class she expresses extreme doubt about God and the stories in the Bible; Father Sean, the kindly priest, tells her she should take time to think about these big questions for herself.
After a gossipy neighbor tells Mami they saw Aman and Xiomara kissing on the subway, Xiomara is heavily punished. She is forced to kneel down on coarse grains of rice before Mami’s altar to ask for forgiveness, and she loses her phone, lunch money, and free time. Xiomara is filled with resentment towards her mother. What makes things worse is that the next day at school, when a random boy grabs her butt and Aman sees, he does nothing. Distraught that she is truly on her own, she breaks it off with him.
The next couple months Xiomara turns inward, her writing her only companion. She does discover Twin is gay, which, if their parents found out, would destroy their view of him as their golden child. Xiomara is supportive, but worries about Twin.
Things finally start to improve as the year draws to a close. Ms. Galiano, noticing Xiomara’s behavioral changes, invites her once more to Poetry Club. Xiomara realizes she can go now that Father Sean has said she need not come to conformation class and Mami still thinks she is there. At Poetry Club Xiomara experiences the exhilaration of reading her work aloud to like-minded people. She makes friends with the other attendees, Isabelle, Stephen, and Chris.
Hers and Twin’s January birthday is actually quite wonderful, and things seem to be looking up: she is happy in the Club, she does a reading at a famous poetry club when Caridad signs her up without her knowledge, she feels safe and seen at school, and Mami is off her back.
However, this contentment comes to an end when Xiomara accidentally leaves her notebook at home and Mami finds it. Mami is utterly horrified reading of Xiomara’s thoughts on sex, God, and her family, and she viciously takes a match to it. Papi and Twin look on but do nothing. Xiomara grasps for the notebook but Mami pushes her away. Xiomara screams her verses while Mami screams back verses from the Bible.
Finally, Xiomara runs away. She texts Aman and he meets her and invites her up to the apartment where he lives with his father (who is not currently there). She briefly tells him what happens. They apologize to each other for what happened a couple months ago, and begin to kiss. Aman wants to go further but Xiomara stops him; she is not ready. He is completely understanding and the two of them hang out and eat and watch TV. She spends the night there, refusing to go home.
The next day Ms. Galiano asks her what is going on and Xiomara breaks down and tells her everything. Ms. Galiano validates her feelings but tells her she needs to go home and talk to her mother. Outside of school Twin and Caridad and Aman come to support Xiomara. She tells them she has an idea who can help her.
On the way home Xiomara picks up Father Sean. When they get inside the apartment, Xiomara sees her mother’s eyes are red with tears. She goes to her and they hug.
It is not easy, but over the next couple of weeks, with the help of Father Sean, mother and daughter learn to talk to each other. Sometimes Twin and Papi come and the whole family shares their feelings. Not everything is perfect, but this is a welcome breakthrough. The family even encourages and supports Xiomara’s participation in a citywide poetry slam, at which she excels. The novel ends on a positive note, with a sense that Xiomara is continuing to develop her voice as well as her relationship with her family.
