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A review by cripcor
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
oh my God I need to go cry I need to go lay in the dirt for at least 3 centuries.
this book is fucking beautiful. I've never read a novel in verse before, but as someone who loves reading and writing poetry I was very excited to read this.
I don't even know, like. Following Amal through his journey of being found guilty and being incarcerated, as a child, he is sixteen years old,, it hurts it really really hurts. This is a book that hurts and I'm so glad that it does.
Amal faces obstacles that are honestly hell. His white lawyer doesn't even really believe he's innocent. His white art teacher, who he depended on and looked up to as a source of comfort, is chosen as his character witness in court, only for her to describe him as angry. He has every right to be, but nobody ever understands why.
At the same time, he's such happy and hopeful character. Amal means hope in Arabic, and he holds that truth close enough to keep him going. He wants to write poetry, and he makes beautiful drawings from stolen markers and crushed crayons. He is not given hope easily from the inside of a cell, so he finds it, creates it in every space he gets. His art truly is him.
This book is about racism, the criminal justice system, bias. It's also about how art is part of being alive, it's part of communicating, and expressing yourself. It's part of being a child. Amal is a young, Black boy, and art is his freedom, his hope. This book is about art, it is art, and it's a reminder that art and hope are forever connected.
Where there is art, there is hope, and Amal means hope in Arabic.
(anyways i have to go sob more, xoxo)
this book is fucking beautiful. I've never read a novel in verse before, but as someone who loves reading and writing poetry I was very excited to read this.
I don't even know, like. Following Amal through his journey of being found guilty and being incarcerated, as a child, he is sixteen years old,, it hurts it really really hurts. This is a book that hurts and I'm so glad that it does.
Amal faces obstacles that are honestly hell. His white lawyer doesn't even really believe he's innocent. His white art teacher, who he depended on and looked up to as a source of comfort, is chosen as his character witness in court, only for her to describe him as angry. He has every right to be, but nobody ever understands why.
At the same time, he's such happy and hopeful character. Amal means hope in Arabic, and he holds that truth close enough to keep him going. He wants to write poetry, and he makes beautiful drawings from stolen markers and crushed crayons. He is not given hope easily from the inside of a cell, so he finds it, creates it in every space he gets. His art truly is him.
This book is about racism, the criminal justice system, bias. It's also about how art is part of being alive, it's part of communicating, and expressing yourself. It's part of being a child. Amal is a young, Black boy, and art is his freedom, his hope. This book is about art, it is art, and it's a reminder that art and hope are forever connected.
Where there is art, there is hope, and Amal means hope in Arabic.
(anyways i have to go sob more, xoxo)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Blood, and Police brutality
Minor: Cursing, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts