Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Punching the Air

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam

10 reviews

takarakei's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It was very well narrated. I loved the theme of art being therapeutic and a way for people to express and connect. This was my first novel in verse, but I think especially on audiobook it reads very much like a novel and I would’ve liked more poetry to the prose.

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djimerson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is tough. We follow Amal, a 16-year-old Black teen charge with a crime he didn’t commit. Using his art talent and poetry/ rhyming skills, we watch him struggle through this sudden turn of events that have up-ended his life. It’s a very power message, but it is also rage inducing because the reader is faced with another case of racial injustice.

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your_true_shelf's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I absolutely believe stories like this need to be told. Stories of black trauma, particularly those of broken justice systems and biased criminal accusations, are extremely common in YA, and for a reason - things aren’t changing in the world, so the same story must be told over and over again.

The co-author is what makes Punching the Air stand out from others. Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five, co-authored this novel to show the corruption in the system and inspire those who would fight for change. In that way, Punching the Air is probably the purest form of this oft-told story - an author speaks from lived experience.

The thing that made this book less enjoyable for me has less to do with the book or its authors. Specifically, I didn’t enjoy the narrator. Without seeing a physical copy, I am left to assume that this book was written in prose and the narrator reads it like poetry. The dialogue is very slowly spoken, and there are significant pauses at the end of every sentence. For a short poem, this type of narration works. For a full length novel, it got exhausting very quickly. Perhaps with a different mirror, I would’ve enjoyed it more. But regardless of whether or not I enjoyed it, I deeply respect it and I am grateful to the authors for sharing the story.

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knifewifestan's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow was very good. I honestly had no clue what this was about when I picked it up, I just recognized the author. This is such an important story that everyone should read. It does discuss hard, but important topics so be prepared. Some of the poems(?) gave me goosebumps. The reason it’s a 4.5 is because it did take me a while to get used to the verse and kind of connect with the story, but once I did I couldn’t put this down. Highly recommend!

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective

5.0

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rachelwierick's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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erinaskelley's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is such an important book. I am so glad I read it.
I don't read books written in verse generally, but I really enjoyed this one. And it worked so well as the way to tell their truth. It had so many important moments to it, and I cannot wait to discuss this book as part of the book club I am in that is reading it.
Definitely recommend this book. Especially if you like books written in verse or any kind of artistic expression for a story.

I did read this as an ebook because that is what was available to me at the time. However I have a feeling that print is the way to go with the artwork incorporated. Also it could be a very cool audiobook.

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