Hi, friends! I thought this week it would be fun to spotlight my current audiobook read: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam. Despite not being very far into this book, so far it’s absolutely fantastic! Written in verse, this book is compelling from the start, and you will find yourself utterly entranced by the poetry. Centred around Amal, a teenage boy convicted and imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, this book explores the systematic racism in the justice system in an impactful and devastatingly beautiful way. And I tell you what, I cannot wait to finish it and write a full review for the blog.
Here’s the full synopsis!
From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo.
The story that I thought
was my life
didn’t start on the day
I was born
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.
The story that I think
will be my life
starts today
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?
With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.
Like I said, I cannot wait to finish this book. I can just tell it’s going to be a five-star read. What are you currently reading? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!
Links for Punching the Air: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.