Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Mes coups seront mes mots by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam

87 reviews

melmattocks21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

While this was a quick read, it took awhile due to the heavy content. I enjoyed reading Amal’s story, but couldn’t believe how abrupt the ending was. That disappointed me because I felt there was so much left unsaid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, and Violence

thyroyalreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Police brutality

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Violence, and Classism

criticalbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.5

Wow was very good. I honestly had no clue what this was about when I picked it up, I just recognized the author. This is such an important story that everyone should read. It does discuss hard, but important topics so be prepared. Some of the poems(?) gave me goosebumps. The reason it’s a 4.5 is because it did take me a while to get used to the verse and kind of connect with the story, but once I did I couldn’t put this down. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dpearson5257's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I knew going into this book it would be very challenging and very emotional but man it was so beautifully done and so much better than I expected! It is a fiction story that was inspired by a true story, revolving around an incarcerated teen, wrongly convicted, the justice system, and racial injustice. It is a very traumatic read but so worth it. And the underlying theme of hope no matter what your circumstances are, just had me reeled in from the very beginning. I did have to stop a few times to gather myself because of how emotional it is. And loved it was written is prose, very intriguing read!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

rachael_amber's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

anniereads221's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

lofi_insect's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Slavery

monicalaurette's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book first caught my eye because of the beautiful colors on the cover and the imagery with the butterfly. So I picked it up and read the summary. 

I personally love to watch documentaries about people being proven innocent and getting to go back into freedom, and I’ve seen ‘When They See Us’ that showcased the Exonerated Five (granted I saw it after purchasing this book but whatever). I wish there weren’t so many documentaries and shows that are about helping those wrongfully accused get free, but I like to see them get to hug their families and drive away from the prison that was their home for however long. I feel bad that I can’t do anything for them, since they are already out, and the most I can do for others wrongfully accused that are still locked up is just retweeting their story. But hopefully stories like this and the ones before it, and the world we are creating today, that that will be less common.

“....like everything that I am, that I’ve ever been counts as being guilty.”

So based on the above, and the summary you’ve probably already read, this story follows a young, black teen named Amal who is wrongfully accused of assaulting another teen (a white one from the rich(er) side of town). Written in gorgeous poetry (and in my opinion sometimes they were like lyrics), this follows Amal’s life from trial to into his time in juvenile detention. You watch as Amal works hard to not lose himself while staying alive. Ways that he does this is using art, both words and drawing.

I gave Punching the Air 5 stars because the flow of the words was beautiful and painted a heart-breaking and emotional story. I wish stories like this didn’t have to be something that is so common that while fictional, it’s based off Yusef’s own incarceration, but instead they were truly rooted in fiction.

“They call it free time and it's the biggest lie because we are still in here.”

I loved the comparison of the courtroom doors leading to the jail with the Door of No Return to America. It was powerful and I felt that for many, especially the younger ones that are in these situations, it has this same feeling.

I know I’ve wanted to punch the real life versions of Ms. Rinaldi in the different documentaries that I’ve seen and I wish that she was real so my anger could be put towards someone else. How dare she help him hone his art to get into a summer program and testify against him like that? (also like…I know why she did it too….starts with a ‘R’)

Wished we could have learned the outcome of Jeremy’s testimony and how it affected Amal’s sentence and if he’d stay in there because Amal’s future rested on that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood

hazel_t23's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Cursing, Violence, and Police brutality