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charlottesomewhere's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
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
Absolutely brilliant verse novel about a young black man's experience of being in the prison system for a crime didn't commit. Thought provoking and packs a real punch. A must-read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Racism, and Racial slurs
solenodon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief
Incarcerationonemamareads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/punching-the-air
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Physical abuse
msbarnesela's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence
mndy's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
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
3.75
this book helped me further understand the racial inequality issues in the world. although the verse made Amal's story easier to read and keep up with, i did find moments where i started disconnecting with the book. the words were beautifully put into emotional metaphors, and there were also times where i strongly empathized with Amal. this book puts one at hope for his freedom and for the truth to out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Slavery and Violence
rebeckareads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
- Rated 9.29 using the CAWPILE rating system
There is so much anguish, grief, beauty and hope packed into this book. Amal is also a very nuanced characters, which I liked. I do feel like a bit of an idiot though, cause I did not realise it was written by one of the Central Park Five... it makes it all the more gut-wrenching! I remember watching When They See Us and choking up within minutes -- this book had the same effect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, and Racism
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Written in verse from the perspective of sixteen-year-old Amal, this book tells the story of his conviction and imprisonment for beating a white boy into a coma during a neighborhood fight.
Whether or not Amal is guilty remains, in my opinion, an active question throughout the novel, which made his narration all the more engaging and profound, though I am frustrated by the marketing and reviews that describe this as a book about a boy "wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit." Unlike the Central Park Five case on which this story was tangentially based (and in which co-author Yusef Salaam was one of five teens falsely convicted of attacking and raping a young woman), Amal's case involved a fight in which he did participate, in which he, in fact, threw the first punch .
Indeed, it is Amal's status as an unreliable narrator and a teenager who straddles the line of right and wrong that makes him so compelling. Amal loves his mother, lacks confidence around interactions with his female classmates, writes poetry and paints, and attends an art school in a mostly-white wealthy neighborhood, but this is not a clear-cut case of a racist system that views every Black teen as a thug when really the protagonist is an honor roll student and a rule-follower who simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rather, Amal is also presented as a teenager who cuts class, flouts his mother's rules and curfew, and has a history of getting into fights. These two sides are not in conflict but are what make the character feel human, and I absolutely loved that complexity, expressed so well through Amal's sensitivity and poetry.
I also loved the titles of the chapters/poems. Each one was short and poignant, immediately drawing me along to the next poem in the story.
My only qualm with the actual text (because the other complaint I mentioned is less to do with the novel and more to do with the framing of it) was the ending. Though I found the last few lines to be significant in their uncertainty, I thought the final scenes moved a bit too quickly and I was surprised when the book seemingly suddenly ended without the resolution I was anticipating. That said, the transition into the reflections by co-author Ibi Zoboi was fascinating and moving enough that I quickly forgot that initial disappointment at the end of the book.
I received an educator's advanced listening copy of this book from Libro.fm. Thank you to HarperCollins Audio and Balzer + Bray as well as authors Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. Opinions stated in this review are honest and my own.
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Whether or not Amal is guilty remains, in my opinion, an active question throughout the novel, which made his narration all the more engaging and profound, though I am frustrated by the marketing and reviews that describe this as a book about a boy "wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit." Unlike the Central Park Five case on which this story was tangentially based (and in which co-author Yusef Salaam was one of five teens falsely convicted of attacking and raping a young woman), Amal's case involved a fight in which he did participate
Indeed, it is Amal's status as an unreliable narrator and a teenager who straddles the line of right and wrong that makes him so compelling. Amal loves his mother, lacks confidence around interactions with his female classmates, writes poetry and paints, and attends an art school in a mostly-white wealthy neighborhood, but this is not a clear-cut case of a racist system that views every Black teen as a thug when really the protagonist is an honor roll student and a rule-follower who simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rather, Amal is also presented as a teenager who cuts class, flouts his mother's rules and curfew, and has a history of getting into fights. These two sides are not in conflict but are what make the character feel human, and I absolutely loved that complexity, expressed so well through Amal's sensitivity and poetry.
I also loved the titles of the chapters/poems. Each one was short and poignant, immediately drawing me along to the next poem in the story.
My only qualm with the actual text (because the other complaint I mentioned is less to do with the novel and more to do with the framing of it) was the ending. Though I found the last few lines to be significant in their uncertainty, I thought the final scenes moved a bit too quickly and I was surprised when the book seemingly suddenly ended without the resolution I was anticipating. That said, the transition into the reflections by co-author Ibi Zoboi was fascinating and moving enough that I quickly forgot that initial disappointment at the end of the book.
I received an educator's advanced listening copy of this book from Libro.fm. Thank you to HarperCollins Audio and Balzer + Bray as well as authors Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. Opinions stated in this review are honest and my own.
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Police brutality and Racism
Minor: Confinement, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
invaderlinz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Physical abuse
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
This novel in verse follows the experiences and feelings of Amal Shahid, a black teen facing a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit. These events are based on the experience of Yusef Salaam, who had a similar conviction and wrote some of the poems while in prison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Coma, wrongful incarceration, incarceration of a teenagermxfahrenheit's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, and Racial slurs