Punching the Air

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam is a novel-in-verse centering around Amal Shahid, a teen artist and poet, who is convicted of a crime he did not commit. Told through poetry, Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five, a group of Black teenage boys who in 1990 were wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park, and Zoboi artfully navigate Amal’s world as he depicts his home life, his trial, and his incarceration. In vivid and gutting language, Zoboi and Salaam tease out themes of truth, justice, and resilience. Although the subject matter will best be handled by teens, the language is stirring and welcoming enough that tweens may be able to handle it as a buddy-read with a parent.