The authors of Punching the Air Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam says this book is “the power of art, faith and transcendence un the most debilitating circumstances. It is out hope that all readers will experience the journey of a boy who finds himself in a heated moment where one wrong move threatens his future and how he uses art to express his truth, THE TRUTH.” SLJ Staff (2021-06-23). "2021 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners Announced". School Library Journal . 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. Goldstein, Susannah; Hershberger, Katy; Knapp, Maggie; Leffel, Ashley; Riemer, Carla (2020-11-23). "Best Young Adult Books 2020 | SLJ Best Books". School Library Journal . Retrieved 2022-01-22. 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]If you are looking to explore this more, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is a must-read. For a look at the historical context of this issue, I also suggest reading Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (or Kendi's longer, more in-depth version: Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America). a b "CASA book club covers 'Punching the Air', features guest speaker". CHD. 2021-02-10 . Retrieved 2022-01-22. Barbiero, Delfina V. " 'Punching the Air' review: Yusef Salaam of Central Park Five pens moving racial justice story". USA TODAY . Retrieved 2022-01-22. I had never read a novel in verse before this one but I definitely would love to read more in the future! Punching the Air was a powerful novel that is definitely a must-read for everyone. I highly recommend it! Gutterman, Annabel; Katzman, Rebecca; Maunz, Shay (2020-11-24). "The 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2020". Time . Retrieved 2022-01-22.

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. Saunders, Barbara (2020-09-18). "Punching the Air - Book Review". Common Sense Media . Retrieved 2022-01-22. amal is a creative kid, and while incarcerated, self-expression through art is one of the only joys he is permitted. when that is taken from him, all that's left to do is read and study.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. Pasha, Omar T. (2022-01-18). "Punching the Air: Omar T. Pasha's 2021 BGHB Fiction and Poetry Honor Speech". The Horn Book . Retrieved 2022-01-22.

The illustrations/formatting didn’t come across particularly well on the ebook galley but now I have a hard copy, I can appreciate how wonderful the formatting and design is. Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white. Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2021-02-17). "ALSC announces 2021 Notable Children's Recordings". News and Press Center . Retrieved 2022-01-22. Amal is an artist, a poet, a young man, and his journey is heartbreaking and hopeful. Being in his head was captivating. he lists the authors he reads: james baldwin, richard wright, toni morrison, octavia butler, ibram x kendi, michelle alexander, ta-nehisi coates.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: That's the Thirteenth Amendment, known for being the abolition of slavery. Except it didn't abolish slavery. Slavery still exists.

There's no point in failing your students again and again. No one improves like that. Constant sarcasm and belittling the students don't do anyone good. This is also written in verse, and I think it lends itself very well to the text - giving Amal a more human, emotional connection to the reader as we get to experience Amal's life from his deepest, most inner thoughts. The prose are beautiful, and the imagery is perfectly pitched to match Amal's feelings of regret, remorse and grief at the loss of his future. 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. Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2021-01-14 . Retrieved 2022-01-22. 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. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?

I don't think I can express how important, poignant and devastating this novel was to read. Written in collaboration with Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated five, this clearly draws heavily in Salaam's own experiences to help shape the main character of Amal. Amal is simply a boy, in the wrong place, who makes one mistake that leads to devastating consequences. 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. Shelf Awareness's Best Children's & Teen Books of 2020". Shelf Awareness. 2020-11-24 . Retrieved 2022-01-22. What a beautiful, heart-wrenching, infuriating but hopeful journey. The story is about a teenage Alam who went against his gut instinct ended up in a situation where he made one wrong move that changed the course of his entire life. While this is not the story about Yusef Salaam, a prison abolitionist and one of the Exonerated Five, it does draw on some things that he experienced when he was wrongfully imprisoned. Al-Mateen, Sylvia (2020-06-17). "YA Maximum Shelf: Punching the Air". Shelf Awareness . Retrieved 2022-01-22.