Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. However, despite how everything in the world is set up against him, Amal is still able to find hope which bursts forth in his art and poetry.īeautifully written and impactful, Punching The Air needs to be added to everyone’s to be read lists immediately.Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. At every turn, he’s experienced a multitude of racism whether it’s perpetuated by other people or whether it’s a system that is set up in a way to discriminate against people, Amal continuously feels like there is no escape. We know that he truly never got the chance to be or feel like a kid because society is set up in a way that doesn’t see Black children as such. The weight and impact of Amal’s voice is powerful throughout the novel. The rollercoaster of emotions that Amal goes through are the same emotions that become your own as you continue to read the novel. The emotional depth that Punching The Air has is truly unmatched. It tackles subject matter that is oftentimes hard to read but is also the reality for Black youth in America and beyond. While the verse makes it a book that one can read quickly, by no means is it in an easy read. At every turn of the page, you were fully immersed in Amal’s life every step of the way. As it was written in verse, you truly felt as though the words you were reading were from Amal’s notebook, were written upon a piece of paper he was given.

From school to the fight, to the courtroom, to the prison cell, everything in Punching The Air is so visceral.Īs Punching The Air is the first book I’ve read written completely in verse, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of how it would tell the story. Beautifully written in verse, Punching The Air truly allows you to feel and experience everything that Amal goes through. Not only does it expertly show the many institutions (school system, justice system, prison system) that have failed Black people, especially Black youth, but poignantly portrays all of Amal’s various experiences. Yusef Salaam (of the Exonerated Five), Punching The Air is a book that everyone needs to read right now.

Written by Ibi Zoboi ( Pride, American Street) and Dr.

Cover for Punching The Air (Courtesy of Balzer + Bray)

Punching air book