Saunders, Barbara (2020-09-18). "Punching the Air - Book Review". Common Sense Media . Retrieved 2022-01-22.

I was a bit worried when I saw that the entire book was told in verses because it can be either a hit or miss for me. I cannot begin to tell you how each of these verse punches you in the gut again and leave you feeling helpless about the injustice faced by Alaam and real-life imprisoned people. The writing was raw, layered, beautiful, honest, angering, hopeful, hopeless and so many other different emotions. 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. There are stories like these that surpass the point of it being just fiction only and encompass the full capacity of what powerful storytelling can do, more than a non-fiction story ever could. Instead of being understanding and getting to the root problem, constantly doubting the students do more harm.Rather than succumbing to rage and despondency, Amal uses his art to save himself. To make sense of this senseless world and the life he has been given. Stevenson, Deborah (2020). "Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 74 (2): 110. doi: 10.1353/bcc.2020.0724. ISSN 1558-6766. I was only vaguely aware of the CP5 case until I watched When They See Us and when I saw that Yusef Salaam was a co-author, I was quite intrigued. Barbiero, Delfina V. " 'Punching the Air' review: Yusef Salaam of Central Park Five pens moving racial justice story". USA TODAY . Retrieved 2022-01-22. In general, yes, teachers! Can you be less cranky and not make your classes feel like someone else has punished you to do your job and in turn shove that hatred towards your students? I mean both parties hate classes because of this. And not all students are the same. Some are introverts and some can act well to get credits. It's your job to see into that and make out the difference yourselves.

Al-Mateen, Sylvia (2020-06-17). "YA Maximum Shelf: Punching the Air". Shelf Awareness . Retrieved 2022-01-22. Amal sees the injustice in the system, sees how institutional racism marks him as a criminal even though he is a kid. He sees the very different life choices laid out for him and his friends, and for the white kids.

That's the Thirteenth Amendment, known for being the abolition of slavery. Except it didn't abolish slavery. Slavery still exists. 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. We have here a child that’s bearing the burden that comes with having a skin colour he had no choice in choosing.

I absolutely loved Punching the Air. I felt so much during this book. I felt all the injustice for Amal. The writing style made me become instantly attached to Amal. Amal go through all the injustices his faced in juvie and leading up to then as well as childhood made me so sad. i really appreciate when such evocative fiction can be used to teach young readers about important subjects (racism and our country's need for prison reform, in this case). In a positive review for Booklist, Terry Hong complimented the audiobook narrator, Ethan Herrise, for how he "embodies the novel in verse" with "careful, thoughtful precision." [8]I love the family dynamic representation the most. Umi is one such great mother. A strong woman. It's her character (though the book isn't told from her perspective) that kept me glued till the end.

a b Pineda, Dorany (2021-04-17). "Winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes announced". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2022-01-22.The writing part didn't do much. The poetry lines, the verse didn't work for me. It felt like it was trying too hard but it did its job well of telling the story of the boy. It presented well the angst, the confusion, the loneliness, the beliefs of the narrator but I didn't get that connected to the character. I wanted to feel so much more for tthe character and the story.