punching the air by ibi zoboi and yusef salaam

Furthermore, the reality of ‘being inside’, from the lack of hope to the privations and hostility is brutal. The horror of being found guilty for a crime you did not commit is revealed starkly in this title. Punching the Air is the verse prose collaboration from author Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam of The Exonerated Five- BBC Newsbeat Exonerated 5 Central Park Five. Meanwhile, Amal recalls his trial and feels the stones in his throat at his actions and the shame he is causing Umi. It seems that everything rests on the evidence of the victim, Jeremy Mathis, who remains unconscious in hospital. He is wary of Clyde Richter, his defence lawyer, who will not declare his belief in Amal’s innocence. (HarperCollins) Amal was in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he’s doing time. Punching the Air is a magnificent verse novel for Young Adult readers, that we urge them to choose. Yet the writing, the illustrations, the moments when Amal finds a pen, has a letter, imagines, hears and shares, are glorious. This is harsh, real, dreadful writing- dreadful in that it is a stark wake up call as to what too many youth face. It pulls no punches in recreating the unfairness of the system that incarcerates black boys, and thereafter abandons them. Yusef Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five, collaborates with bestselling writer Ibi Zoboi on Punching the Air. It seems as though he is Punching the Air, seeking fairness from the law, the system, from the chinks of light from the poetry tutor…

Thereafter, this boy of words and music is diminished by hostility and a lack of hope as he tries to make sense of his life, the guidance of Umi, the fateful night and how he might move ahead. Amal did not do the crime for which he is convicted and sent to prison. Amal throws the first punch, yet it’s not the punch that leaves Jeremy Mathis unconscious. Thereafter, his misgivings are proved correct when the group is surrounded and insults are hurled. It’s a ‘no go’, whites’ only area, yet Amal was persuaded. Amal didn’t want to go to the skate park with Omari.

Punching the air by ibi zoboi and yusef salaam