Taking Ownership of Self
The process of maturing through adolescence is inevitably intertwined with the idea of taking ownership of oneself. In Xiomara's case this process is compounded by having parents—a mother in particular—who are very strict, religious, and old-fashioned. She wants to be, and finds herself for a time, in a society which affirms and supports her individuality and empowers her femininity, rather than restricting it. In the most defiant and bold act of her young adult life Xiomara refuses to ask for forgiveness because she feels no shame for having pursued Aman or her poetry. As she takes charge of her own life, she feels less and less need to follow her parents' Catholicism. She does not reject the religion, but Xiomara makes her decisions according to her own value system and her own conscience.
Practicing Vulnerability
As a teenage girl, Xiomara is prone to emotional angst. Developmentally speaking, high school kids are learning to process their radically shifting emotions, often on their own, in high-pressure situations. Xiomara responds to this challenge with an incredible amount of maturity. Through poetry club and her budding friendships, she learns to express her feelings within a constructive framework. She intentionally cultivates vulnerability. This is why she is so outraged and crushed when her mother finds her poetry and destroy it. For Xiomara, these poems are a part of herself, one which her parents are readily rejecting because they believe they can simply throw it away and be done with it. If Xiomara cannot just destroy her feelings and experiences, then she must learn to accept them somehow, even without the support of her parents. Although this sort of transformation is often typified in literature and popular culture as melodrama or awkwardness, it is an important life stage which Xiomara navigates with a surprising amount of skill.
Rejecting Sexism
Much of Xiomara's conflict with her parents revolves around sexism. Because she has her twin brother, Xavier, with whom to compare, she is especially conscious of how her parents treat her differently because she's a girl. Not only do they impose different, stricter rules upon her, they also encourage certain behaviors in their son which they forbid for Xiomara. For instance, she is not allowed to pursue any sort of romantic relationship, but Xavier has no such restriction. When Xiomara kisses Aman, she is dragged into church and told to confess to the priest. This moment represents a pinnacle in her personal development because Xiomara is being asked to make a profession of values, and she chooses her own instead of her parents'. She refuses to confess because she rejects the idea that she has made a mistake in kissing Aman.
Art as Liberation
Throughout the novel Xiomara struggles with her mother's repressiveness, her changing body and relationship with boys, her religious doubts, and much more, but the one constant is that for her, art is liberation, catharsis. She is constantly writing, as writing is the only way she can truly get her voice out there into the world (initially it is a private endeavor, but eventually she does start to perform for others). Her writing is what sustains her and keeps her sane and grounded; it helps her understand who she is and what she wants. Acevedo uses her novel not just to tell the story of a vibrant young woman but to make the case that art is a powerful release and palliative.
Immigrants and their Children
Mami and Papi are from the Dominican Republic and retain some of their culture and customs from that country, while their children are born in the United States and almost fully embrace that country's way of life. This is an age-old story—the immigrants who are the first to arrive struggle to find their way in their new home and their children who are born here do not understand why their parents are so old-fashioned or different or unwilling to assimilate into the new country. Combined with Mami's religiosity, this situation proves to be very difficult for young Xiomara as she struggles to define herself.
Religion
Religion is not necessarily a positive part of Xiomara's life. Her mother's Catholicism manifests itself as an extremely strict, judgemental, and repressive religion. Xiomara struggles with whether or not she even believes the Bible's stories, but also with the way the Bible and its adherents treat women. She feels like Jesus is a friend she no longer wants to talk to anymore, that confirmation class is a waste of time, and that the things she is told are wrong with her are simply normal aspects of being a human being. Acevedo does not totally condemn religion, showing Father Sean as a kind and supportive person and some of the Bible's teachings as uplifting and nurturing, but she does give the reader a lot to ponder in terms of how human beings wield religion to make life difficult for others.
Twins
Xiomara and Xavier are twins, but their relationship isn't always the stuff of twin-legend. Xiomara often wishes Twin understood her better, that they had deeper twin intuition, that he would stand up for her when she was suffering, that he would simply notice her more. This isn't to say that there are not moments in the text when there is something that passes between them, and they definitely love and support each other, but Xiomara often feels adrift even though she is supposed to have this person who understands her on a deeper level. Part of this can be attributed to their differing genders and the way they are treated—Xavier is favored by his parents, has to do less work, does not get in trouble and escapes the constant monitoring Xiomara receives. As the novel progresses, Xiomara comes to terms with the fact that she cannot turn solely to Twin for succor and sympathy.
