Punching the Air

One fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood escalates into tragedy. 'Boys just being boys' turns out to be true only when those boys are white.  Suddenly, at just 16 years old, Amal Shahid'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?

A white boy is unconscious and a white court is building a case against Amal based on what they think happened. Amal is a boy and an artist facing prison for throwing a punch; he is treated as a thug, a criminal and a monster and endures institutionalised racism. The injustice and discrimination is sadly all too real and leaves you shouting at the novel in outrage. I practically fell over the words as I couldn't read them fast enough and I immediately went back and started again when I had finished - I've never done that before.

What can I say about this powerful YA verse novel? It's necessary, it's vital, it's captivating and above all it's so utterly relevant to today that everyone should read it, no matter who they are. Everything about this book from the front cover to the very last word, is asking to be read, to be heard. The illustrations throughout the book only add to this beautiful, hard-hitting, haunting and emotional novel.

If you only read one novel this year make it this one. The collaboration between Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam is outstanding. I went on to read all about Yusef Salaam once I had read Punching the Air for a second time and learnt so much.

'What do you see when you see me? The enemy? The inner me?'

400 pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Lucy Georgeson, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+