Literature & Fiction
![Ibi Zoboi - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B007YX3POE.jpg)
Punching the Air
New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. One of the most acclaimed YA novels of the year, this New York Times and USA Today bestseller is a must-read for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo and is now available in paperback!
The story that I thought
was my life
didn't start on the day
I was born
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated. Then, one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white.
The story that I think
will be my life
starts today
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?
With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth in a system designed to strip him of both.
From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. One of the most acclaimed YA novels of the year, this New York Times and USA Today bestseller is a must-read for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo and is now available in paperback!
The story that I thought
was my life
didn't start on the day
I was born
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated. Then, one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. "Boys just being boys" turns out to be true only when those boys are white.
The story that I think
will be my life
starts today
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?
With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth in a system designed to strip him of both.
Editorial Reviews
"This book will be Walter Dean Myers's Monster for a new generation of teens. An important, powerful, and beautiful novel that should be an essential purchase for any library that serves teens." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
"Awardworthy. Soul-stirring. A must-read." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Prescient and sobering, Zoboi's book is a vital story for young readers in a tumultuous time." -- Booklist (starred review)
"Zoboi and Salaam together craft a powerful indictment of institutional racism and mass incarceration through the imagined experience of Amal, a Black, Muslim 16-year-old facing imprisonment." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The sympathetic, nuanced portrayal of this young man will have readers holding out hope until the novel's end." -- Horn Book (starred review)
"A mesmerizing novel-in-verse. The poems-sharp, uninhibited and full of metaphors and sensory language-quickly establish Amal's voice, laying bare the anger, despair, hope and talent it holds. Amal's experience of abuse by the system, as well as his peers', incites raw outrage, but his artistic self-expression offers a subtle yet significant kind of hope. It is a hope borne of anger, that knows the full depths of injustice and still dreams of a better future."
-- Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"A wrenching novel whose story, told in verse, is both urgent and heartbreakingly familiar....Amal's name is the Arabic word for 'hope.' That is what this book ultimately offers, too. Everyone should read it." -- New York Times Book Review
"Punching the Air highlights that wrongful convictions, the school-to-prison pipeline and the fear mongering of Black bodies is etched in the United States Constitution itself, ironically in the Thirteenth Amendment that criminalizes slavery but simultaneously creates an entirely new system of enslavement: the American prison system. It is not easy to break these topics down to adults, never mind children. But Punching the Air does so effectively through verse that feels honest and clear." -- USA Today
"Amal's voice is often poetic and compelling, and the details of life in NYC juvie are laceratingly vivid. An engaging and accessible read sure to provoke discussion, perhaps in conjunction with a factual exploration of Salaam's own experiences or in partnership with Myers' Monster." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Stories, at their best, will break something old in you or build something new. Remarkably, Punching The Air does both. Zoboi and Salaam have created nothing short of a masterwork of ...
"Awardworthy. Soul-stirring. A must-read." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Prescient and sobering, Zoboi's book is a vital story for young readers in a tumultuous time." -- Booklist (starred review)
"Zoboi and Salaam together craft a powerful indictment of institutional racism and mass incarceration through the imagined experience of Amal, a Black, Muslim 16-year-old facing imprisonment." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The sympathetic, nuanced portrayal of this young man will have readers holding out hope until the novel's end." -- Horn Book (starred review)
"A mesmerizing novel-in-verse. The poems-sharp, uninhibited and full of metaphors and sensory language-quickly establish Amal's voice, laying bare the anger, despair, hope and talent it holds. Amal's experience of abuse by the system, as well as his peers', incites raw outrage, but his artistic self-expression offers a subtle yet significant kind of hope. It is a hope borne of anger, that knows the full depths of injustice and still dreams of a better future."
-- Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"A wrenching novel whose story, told in verse, is both urgent and heartbreakingly familiar....Amal's name is the Arabic word for 'hope.' That is what this book ultimately offers, too. Everyone should read it." -- New York Times Book Review
"Punching the Air highlights that wrongful convictions, the school-to-prison pipeline and the fear mongering of Black bodies is etched in the United States Constitution itself, ironically in the Thirteenth Amendment that criminalizes slavery but simultaneously creates an entirely new system of enslavement: the American prison system. It is not easy to break these topics down to adults, never mind children. But Punching the Air does so effectively through verse that feels honest and clear." -- USA Today
"Amal's voice is often poetic and compelling, and the details of life in NYC juvie are laceratingly vivid. An engaging and accessible read sure to provoke discussion, perhaps in conjunction with a factual exploration of Salaam's own experiences or in partnership with Myers' Monster." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Stories, at their best, will break something old in you or build something new. Remarkably, Punching The Air does both. Zoboi and Salaam have created nothing short of a masterwork of ...
Readers Top Reviews
CourtneyNigel Eccles
Wow, what a book!! This is the first book that I have read in verse, and oh my!!!! I loved all the poetry throughout this story! Some words have definitely stuck with me! The main topic of this book is something that needs to be spoken more about, it is moving, heartbreaking and incredibly important! I genuinely needed to stop myself reading and take a few moments as I was so incredibly moved by them 😭 It is just so beautifully written!! This book is actually based around the true events of One of the authors of this book - 'Yusef Salaam'. He was only 15 years old when he was falsely imprisoned & lost 10 years of his life. So you know reading this that there is so much truth behind the words. This book is about a boy who tries to maintain his humanity & also fight for the truth, which you seem that the system is built to strip him of both. This book also covers a failing US system that's drastically needs to change!! This is a heartbreaking, moving, beautiful book & I recommend everyone to read it!!!
Jazz
I read this whole story aloud, for no reason in particular but it allowed me to submerse myself in Amal's emotions and really feel his journey through the story. I wish there was a version of this book that contained no swearing so I could share it with my Year 6 students and help them understand the circumstances that lead some young black men into prison. Coming from a predominantly white area of the UK, I think this story would serve a huge purpose and have a massive impact on them. This book is beautiful, relevant and poignant.
D. Perchez#askmisspa
I purchased this book for my granddaughter to read in her schools summer book assignment as she prepares for her freshman year. Even though this book was an interesting and an easy read, I did not think it was a good choice for the summer reading program in today’s climate. It was touted as the story of a young black man who was wrongly accused of a crime and incarcerated. All the reviews I read agreed that the young man was innocent however this was clearly a mob action in which he threw the first punch. It doesn’t matter what the victim said or his attitude, the main character of the story threw the first punch. He was guilty as charged. He claimed innocence because he did not throw the last punch which he assumed was the punch that caused the victim to be in a coma. I just don’t think that it was a book that lifts up individuals and brings healing to our fractured communities.
Thebookbella
This is a YA story about Amal Shahid, who is a black Muslim accused of beating his white classmate into a coma. He stands trial and is convicted by everyone, and sentenced to juvie. Amal is an artist, he has aspirations to go to an art college and make a living out of making art. But when he is convicted, he feels all of that has slipped through his fingers. This book is extremely powerful and intense and I really loved it. It had a steady rhythm in both the points of systematic racism that this book touches upon, as well as the Amal's emotional narrative about his heritage. This touched upon many things that are currently being brought to light in the Black Lives Matter movement and this is extremely relevant to our time. I do love this but being that this is a book told completely in verse I think its powerful narrative could have been amplified further if I had consumed it as an audio book rather than in physical book form. As much as I love this book, it is definitely meant to be heard and not seen. These verses follow that of spoken word poetry and I might consume it again in the future through my ears rather than through my eyes.
M. Turner
I can remember vividly the days surrounding the Central Park jogger case. I remember the collective fear that held New York City in a vice. The way the press preyed on our emotions with descriptions of roving gangs of teens “wilding out”. Five teens — black and brown — were accused of this depraved act. They were villainized. Trump took out a full page ad in the New York Times demanding the death penalty in their case. In the days the followed one person stood out for me. Yusef Salaam’s mother. Because of her stoicism. She never faltered. In the heat of the frenzy she boldly proclaimed her son’s innocence across her chest. In the end the five would spend 6-13 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit. Punching the Air is a collaboration between award winning author Ibi Zoboi and Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. It tells the story of a teenage boy Amal who has been wrongfully convicted of a crime. The book is a beautifully rendered piece that delves into the disenfranchisement of young black men. “Locking you up isn’t enough for them They will try to crush your spirit until you’re nothing but — Dust we both say together” Written in verse, Punching the Air shows Amal whose name means hope draw strength through creativity. His poems and art are glimpses of freedom that give him hope to carry on. ” And what does dust do, Amal? What did Maya Angelou say about dust? Umi asks It rises, I whisper”
