Though their sentences have been overturned, there’s no way one can ever make up for a lifetime’s worth of trauma. Yet the narrative of this story was purposely chosen to provide hope.

Punching the Air is a young adult novel-in-verse by Ibi Zoboi and Dr. Yusef Salaam, published September 1, 2020 by Balzer + Bray. The following quote refers to how Amal's dream to become a poet and artist is snuffed out by the suffocating atmosphere of the prison: We have here a child who was accused, tried and convicted as if he was an adult. Yet his white counterpart was allowed to retain his status as a child.

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We have here a child that’s bearing the burden that comes with having a skin colour he had no choice in choosing. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam is a fantastic book about race. This is one of those books I wish everyone would read. I rate this along with The Hate You Give. The narrative in this novel had a moment-to-moment feeling that was pretty tension ridden and I read much of it with that sense of doom and despair conveyed by Amal’s feelings. There were some areas of the book that I felt were particularly impactful – both sides defendant and perpetrator were the same age, yet one was referred to as a boy and the other a man. That point really hit me deep. There were many more examples but I don’t want to spoil. Amal is an artist, a poet, a young man, and his journey is heartbreaking and hopeful. Being in his head was captivating. Zoboi and Salaam decided to write the novel in verse to mirror Amal's connection to poetry, as well as to incorporate the concept of hip-hop, which Salaam refers to as "a genre that was created by us for us. It is the language of the people. It is a protest language. It is a way that we codify the more powerful and salient ideas. Poetry can capture a feeling and when it's being read or spoken, it's magnetic." [9] Reception [ edit ]

Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2021-02-17). "ALSC announces 2021 Notable Children's Recordings". News and Press Center . Retrieved 2022-01-22. That's the Thirteenth Amendment, known for being the abolition of slavery. Except it didn't abolish slavery. Slavery still exists. I haven't met a kind and wonderful teacher in my life till date. I find teachers in movies and books (nonfiction, memoirs, autobiographies) far more inspirational. he lists the authors he reads: james baldwin, richard wright, toni morrison, octavia butler, ibram x kendi, michelle alexander, ta-nehisi coates.Al-Mateen, Sylvia (2020-06-17). "YA Maximum Shelf: Punching the Air". Shelf Awareness . Retrieved 2022-01-22. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.