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A review by seeceeread
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
π "Every dumb shit I did, they thought it was because of ... 'Trouble at home.' 'An absent father.' 'A tired mother.' 'Not enough books.' 'Not enough vegetables.' 'Not enough sleep.'"
Amal Shahid threw the first punch. But he didn't deliver the last, the one that put Jeremy Mathis into a coma. A Black boy who failed art class, despite having studied the likes of Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Kerri James Marshall. He's failed to conform to a juvenile justice expectation of subdued self and suspended growth. He's failed by adults and especially institutions. To pass into managing his emotions about it all, Amal first abandons, then reclaims art β poetry, rap, drawing and painting β to lend color, line and shape to his realizations about it all.
The plot unfolds slowly, pulling readers into Amal as a narrator before sharing a full understanding of how his ruminations interlock. Then, captive and caged, we are strapped into his rage-realize-remember-regret-resent loop until a moment of vulnerability reminds him of how to choose expression to keep the rollercoaster on its track. Amal doesn't feel any less; rather, he channels his feelings into processes and pieces that offer others more meaningful containers for what spills over.
The authors capture an adolescent boy so well! I was transported back to conversations with former students: Ronald, who filled pages and pages with poetry and told me stories of disappointing his mother the year before with middle school antics. Delon, who loved Myers' π πΌπ»πππ²πΏ (a literary precursor!) and wanted to learn screenwriting once we finished; a boy who hadn't so much as looked at other assignments. Tevin, a gregarious football player whose neoligisms included iBall in a piece on identity. Amir, who aspired to self-publish a collection of love notes. Amal's perspective is constructed with images of sinking stones and butterflies, recurring thoughts, and sincere grappling with the emotional risks of being authentic (or not).
The plot unfolds slowly, pulling readers into Amal as a narrator before sharing a full understanding of how his ruminations interlock. Then, captive and caged, we are strapped into his rage-realize-remember-regret-resent loop until a moment of vulnerability reminds him of how to choose expression to keep the rollercoaster on its track. Amal doesn't feel any less; rather, he channels his feelings into processes and pieces that offer others more meaningful containers for what spills over.
The authors capture an adolescent boy so well! I was transported back to conversations with former students: Ronald, who filled pages and pages with poetry and told me stories of disappointing his mother the year before with middle school antics. Delon, who loved Myers' π πΌπ»πππ²πΏ (a literary precursor!) and wanted to learn screenwriting once we finished; a boy who hadn't so much as looked at other assignments. Tevin, a gregarious football player whose neoligisms included iBall in a piece on identity. Amir, who aspired to self-publish a collection of love notes. Amal's perspective is constructed with images of sinking stones and butterflies, recurring thoughts, and sincere grappling with the emotional risks of being authentic (or not).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
This is an in-depth, poetic look at juvenile incarceration.