xiomara's relationship with her mother is central to the book.s core, a massive cultural difference between the two of them. netanyahu for's mother a dominican immigrant and trying to reconcile. tell me more about that theme. >> i did not go in thinking this would be a story about mothers and daughters. this was my debut and i thought i would talk about the power of poetry. i realize very quickly that in order for someone to do something like performance poetry, like take up three minutes on a stage, they had to practice at home. they had to read work out loud and can't really be writing. of course, an interested parents do begin asking questions. the mom as the antagonist begins to develop. she is someone so devout, she thinks her child should be seen, not heard, and her child is saying, not only do i want to be heard, i want to be heard by the world. i think that silence is a problem and a part of why we are in conflict. this relationship, and this how do you get someone to understand where you are coming from when they want to protect you so b