Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for an advanced copy of this audio book!

I did not realize going into this book that Dr. Yusef Salaam was one of the Exonerated Five. When it was finished, I immediately looked into him, because while I recognized Ibi Zoboi's name, I didn't recognize his. I listened to the notes at the end (do this! read or listen to them!) and was struck that although Amal's story is not his story, it's based on his experiences.

Amal Shahid is a sixteen year old Black, Muslim boy falsely accused of putting a white boy into a coma after an altercation over neighborhood turf. The other boy can't testify as to what the actual events were, so Amal is found guilty of a crime he didn't commit and thrown into a juvenile detention center. He's a poet and an artist and a child, and we see how these things don't matter. He's an inmate number, a statistic, another Black boy handed to the system.

This was a quick listen, but it was not lacking. Every line of this written word book has meaning, and the visuals of some of the passages are absolutely stunning.

It's a reminder for all of us, I think, that the school to prison pipeline exists. The 13th Amendment was brought up here, and while the book didn't go into detail, it didn't need to. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except in the case of prisoners. Prisoners are slaves. One out of every three Black boys today can expect to be sentenced to prison.

One out of every three Black boys today can expect to be sentenced to prison.

Slavery was not abolished, it was renamed. And Punching the Air reminds of us this - reminds us that the criminal justice system in the US is not fair or kind unless you are white, and especially if you are rich and white.

But more than these facts and figures, we get to see Amal. We may see their stories, but do we know these Black babies that are sent away? Do we know their stories? Amal write and paints and raps. He has a girl that he's crushed on since Freshman year. He's treated unfairly in school. He has a supportive family, supportive friends. He is not a 'bad' kid. He is not a 'thug'. He did not 'deserve it'. How many other children are made to put aside college choices and class schedules and arts class for crimes they either didn't commit, or crimes they're disproportionately punished for?

Read this book. Listen to it, like I did. The narrator is Ethan Herrise, who portrayed Dr. Salaam in the Netflix movie about the Exonerated Five - When They See Us. He does an excellent job, and if you're like me and you like to listen to your audio books sped up, I listened on 1.5 and it was perfect.

Required reading, friends.

<i>Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A black boy falsely accused of a crime committed against a white peer. We've heard this story many times on the news and yet I doubt not even that coverage could fully represent how many times black boys have been thrown in prisons and forgotten, even if they haven't done anything wrong--or, even if they have done something wrong, perhaps they were punished for something a white person most likely would walk away from free.

This relatively quick read, written in verse format, is the epitome of "less is more": few words, yet every single word is loud, each holding the value of a thousand more words. Amal, who loves poetry and hip-hop, hence the novel being written in verse, will make your heart ache. He's angry and short-tempered, seeming to always get himself into difficult situations, but Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam so excellently delve into the systemic disadvantages that have led to Amal's incarceration. Because let's be real here: plenty of teenage boys get angry and find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time, but why is it that some get away with it, and others don't--or, worse, get blamed for the repercussions of someone else's anger? I think by now, especially with all highly-discussed current events, it's not hard to point out a few patterns.

I appreciated the combination of authors here, especially with Yusef Salaam, who first-hand experienced criminal injustice during the Central Park Five case. I also absolutely loved Ethan Herrise as the audiobook narrator. I thought he was engaging and realistic, and it truly felt like I was listening to Amal.

Overall, <b><i>Punching the Air</i> exceeded my expectations in every way possible and it is, hands down, a must-read.</b> This is one of the very few books I've read that quite literally gave me chills. And may I add, I put the physical book on hold at the library as soon as I finished the audiobook since I was so moved by it that I wanted to experience the story again, but in its original format? I'm sending my greatest thanks to anyone involved creating this book and getting it in the hands of others.

Oof was this emotional. There were multiple points in this story that I had to pause and step back because of how angry/sad/upset this story made me. The way Amal was treated both inside and outside of the prison system is so disgusting and to know that people and actual CHILDREN get treated like that is unacceptable. I’m glad there was at least one redeemable adult trying to help Amal throughout this situation because the other characters sucked!!!! The narrator of this really got the emotion and anger across that Amal was experiencing (rightly so) and made me feel so immersed in this story.

Received an Audiobook arc from publisher via Netgalley  in exchange for an honest review.

Punching the air is about a 16 year old name Amal Shahid who was convicted of a crime that he did not commit. Who was sent to a Juvenile Detention Center as his sentence for an unknown amount of time. Amal is a talented Muslim black boy who loves to read, write poems, skate, and who also like to draw and paint. A talented kid who was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. In which one mistake could ruin a promising future before it begins.

This book is such a sucker punch to the gut right now in the middle of 2020. A year where racial injustice has been in full view thanks to a pandemic which pulled back the curtain. In a time that Black Lives Matter movement is finally being seen a recognized as movement as synonymous as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. It talks about how messed up the judicial and prison system is when comes to Blacks especially Black Men and other People of color.  How essentially the prison system is pretty much a more legal form of Slavery in the United States since Slavery was abolished after the Civil War.  It’s also shows how a support system like Amal had with had family can be so important to keep a soul from not breaking in a system that is trying to crush a soul.

Thanks to me reading Pride a couple years back this was not my first time being enthralled by Mrs. Zoboi’s words but in PTA, she took it to another level with it being written in verse. It was so deep and lyrical as the narrator make her words comes to life. The words of a 16 year old boy who trying to keep the hope in a situation that where becoming hopeless can happen so quick because of the color of your skin.  The narrator who was nothing but short of amazing was able to capture the spirit of Amal as he was trying to navigate in his situation where staying alive is pretty much the biggest prize.  Mrs.Zoboi along with  Yusef Salaam captured that sprit very well.  I don’t know to much about the Central Park Five since I was young when it happen but I still need to more research about the five Men to complete understand their horrid ordeal.

It’s really funny how racism works.

Black Men get call boy to make them feel inferior.

Black Boys get called Men to in the court of law in order from them to feel inferior in the court of law. To justify them being thrown the book at them.  Also to get killed for no reason what so ever.

When will this cycle ever end?

#BLM

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the complimentary audio of this book.

I loved everything about this audiobook. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam feels like a hybrid of Dear Martin and The Poet X - two books I absolutely adored.

The book is a first person narrative from the viewpoint of Amal Shahid, a young black man, who is convicted of aggravated assault under somewhat dubious circumstances. The books explores Amal's emotions with regards to prison, his conviction, his school life, and so much more. The writing is in verse and is quite simply beautiful. The depth of emotions and feelings that this books evokes are incredibly powerful. I could go on and on but really, just do yourself a favor and find a copy of this book to read or listen to.

I personally listened to the audiobook. The narration was top notch. The narrator does a beautiful job conveying the beauty and emotions behind the verse. As is often my opinion with books in verse, I think this is a book that I'd love to have in both audiobook and written formats. The audiobook lends to the lyrical and emotional quality of the verse, but the written word allows you to view how those stanzas were composed on a page. Two completely different sensory experiences that combine to a create a whole.

This book was fantastic. It’s a collaboration between Ibi Zobi and Yusef Salaam, best known as an inspirational speaker and one of the exonerated five. This is not Yusef’s story, but it has similarities. Amal was wrongfully convicted. A mediocre lawyer and another boy in a coma lead to his guilty verdict and time in a juvenile facility. The words flow so well. It’s almost a shame I didn’t read this novel in verse, but the lyrical quality of the audiobook is like the best song ever heard. The reader is enveloped in the story. We follow Amal through the court battle, and then through his time locked up. My guy is a corrections officer and found himself just as engaged as i was. He freely said, it’s sad, but many institutions are like this. And Tattoo should be the first staff member “defunded”. Uggghhhh. To think people like that work with juveniles. I love that Amal didn’t give up. That he kept learning, both by books, and about himself. Amal was not a “thug”, but a student of life at the wrong place and the wrong time. This was a fantastic listen, and I am sure the read is just as great. This will be on many best of best lists, as well as genre and subject lists for years to come.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC of the audiobook for Punching the Air.

I'm blown away. Punching the Air technically the story of Amal (meaning hope in Arabic), but it serves as more of a vehicle to demonstrate how the american judicial is biased against Black Americans.

After Amal gets stuck in a 'wrong place, wrong time' situation, he goes from art school to prison. Even in his extremely liberal art school, Amal faced constant stereotyping and discrimination from peers and teachers, labeling his actions as 'disruptive' when similar actions taken by his white peers would simply leave them with the label of 'class clown'. Punching the Air follows through on this, demonstrating how in every single aspect of his life, even the well intentioned adults around Amal consistently set him up for failure and disappointment.

In prison, artful, poetic, Amal struggles to cope with his now much-smaller world while contemplating his life, the notion of guilt and innocence, and racism/ racial prejudice and how he can show and cope with his struggles through his art.

Told stunning verse brought beautifully to life by narrator Ethan Herrise, this is the type of story that everyone needs to experience.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this one. When i requested it, i didn’t recognize either of the authors names right away. But it quickly became obvious that even though this story was fiction, much of the feelings and experiences had happened and were real. When a story can convey those things so well it becomes incredibly powerful. And not only that, but it was written beautifully. I don’t think I’ve read something so well written and poetic since reading Kiese Laymon’s Heavy last year. I stayed up until 3am to finish this book because i wanted to get it all “read” in one sitting. Wow. Just wow. I’ve read about 100 books this year and this is definitely in the top 3.

4/4.5

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam tells the story of 16 year old Amal Shahid, aspiring poet and artist, whose bright future is upended when he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. The story portrays in verse the unfairness of the school and criminal justice systems towards the African American population.

This book was hard and challenging to read but at the same time very powerful and emotional. Going into this book I didn't know much about Yusef Salaam's past of being wrongfully imprisoned for almost seven years for the assault and rape of a 28 year old caucasian woman in New York when he was just 15 years old. I highly recommend looking up the Central Park Jogger Case before reading Punching the Air l to help add to the impact of this crucial and timely book. I highly recommend!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Balzer + Bray for sending me this Audiobook for an honest review

Usually I have a hard time reading novels told in poem but listening to the audiobook really helped, and made the story more personal. This is a haunting, but powerful read. I wanted to see if he did get out of jail, but I realized the story really wasn’t about that. It was about Amal finding himself. Finding hope. Finding creativity, at the hardest part in his life thus far. I think this is such a necessary and important read this day in age. Amal was written so well, and I just wanted to jump into the story and give him a hug. As for the audiobook aspect, the narrator was amazing. He really made me feel as though he was Amal, and he was telling his story to only me. I would recommend this book to anyone, because as I said, it is very relevant at the moment and voices need to be heard.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49151299-punching-the-air" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Punching the Air" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584643837l/49151299._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49151299-punching-the-air">Punching the Air</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5241080.Ibi_Zoboi">Ibi Zoboi</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3508351291">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Thank you to Netgalley and Balzer + Bray for sending me this Audiobook for an honest review<br /><br />Usually I have a hard time reading novels told in poem but listening to the audiobook really helped, and made the story more personal. This is a haunting, but powerful read. I wanted to see if he did get out of jail, but I realized the story really wasn’t about that. It was about Amal finding himself. Finding hope. Finding creativity, at the hardest part in his life thus far. I think this is such a necessary and important read this day in age. Amal was written so well, and I just wanted to jump into the story and give him a hug. As for the audiobook aspect, the narrator was amazing. He really made me feel as though he was Amal, and he was telling his story to only me. I would recommend this book to anyone, because as I said, it is very relevant at the moment and voices need to be heard.