AUGUST 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Ethan Herisse’s voice is soft, slow, and somber as he narrates the poignant free-verse poems of the fictional character Amal Shahid. Herisse’s tone is so tender that one can imagine the sensitive shapes and perfect rhythms drawn and written by this 16-year-old artist-poet before he was incarcerated. Amal and his friends have been arrested for assault after a run-in with racist white boys. Herisse expresses Amal’s passion for creativity and how it helps him endure beatings and solitary confinement. The story was co-created by award-winning YA author Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, a prison reform activist. Both poets shine in every word. Together, the verses build and deepen as Herisse emphasizes the earnestness of Amal’s efforts to hold onto hope. A gripping, powerful listen for teens and adults from the opening to the authors' note at the end. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2020 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 08/03/2020
Zoboi (Pride) and Salaam (one of the Exonerated Five) together craft a powerful indictment of institutional racism and mass incarceration through the imagined experience of Amal, a Black, Muslim 16-year-old facing imprisonment. Amal, a gifted artist and poet attending a prestigious fine arts high school, has his life turned upside down when a nighttime park confrontation leaves a white kid from the other side “of that invisible line/ we weren’t supposed to cross” in a coma, and Amal and his four friends on the hook for assault and battery they did not commit. Using free verse, Zoboi and Salaam experiment with style, structure, and repetition to portray “old soul” Amal’s struggle to hold on to his humanity through the chaotic, often dehumanizing experience of juvenile incarceration. From the trial onward, the authors liken the pervasive imprisonment of Black bodies to the history of chattel slavery in America (“and this door leads to a slave ship/ and maybe jail”), and describe how educational racism feeds Black students into the school-to-prison pipeline (“I failed the class/ she failed me”). Zoboi and Salaam deliver an unfiltered perspective of the anti-Blackness upholding the U.S. criminal justice system through the eyes of a wrongly convicted Black boy (“shaping me into/ the monster/ they wanted me to be”). Ages 14–up. Agent (for Zoboi and Salaam): Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
This book will be Walter Dean Myers’s Monster for a new generation of teens. An important, powerful, and beautiful novel that should be an essential purchase for any library that serves teens.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
"Awardworthy. Soul-stirring. A must-read.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Prescient and sobering, Zoboi’s book is a vital story for young readers in a tumultuous time.” — Booklist (starred review)
“The sympathetic, nuanced portrayal of this young man will have readers holding out hope until the novel’s end.” — Horn Book (starred review)
“Zoboi and Salaam together craft a powerful indictment of institutional racism and mass incarceration through the imagined experience of Amal, a Black, Muslim 16-year-old facing imprisonment.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A mesmerizing novel-in-verse. The poems—sharp, uninhibited and full of metaphors and sensory language—quickly establish Amal's voice, laying bare the anger, despair, hope and talent it holds. Amal's experience of abuse by the system, as well as his peers', incites raw outrage, but his artistic self-expression offers a subtle yet significant kind of hope. It is a hope borne of anger, that knows the full depths of injustice and still dreams of a better future.” — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"A wrenching novel whose story, told in verse, is both urgent and heartbreakingly familiar....Amal’s name is the Arabic word for 'hope.' That is what this book ultimately offers, too. Everyone should read it." — New York Times Book Review
“Punching the Air highlights that wrongful convictions, the school-to-prison pipeline and the fear mongering of Black bodies is etched in the United States Constitution itself, ironically in the Thirteenth Amendment that criminalizes slavery but simultaneously creates an entirely new system of enslavement: the American prison system. It is not easy to break these topics down to adults, never mind children. But Punching the Air does so effectively through verse that feels honest and clear." — USA Today
“Amal’s voice is often poetic and compelling, and the details of life in NYC juvie are laceratingly vivid. An engaging and accessible read sure to provoke discussion, perhaps in conjunction with a factual exploration of Salaam’s own experiences or in partnership with Myers’ Monster.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Stories, at their best, will break something old in you or build something new. Remarkably, Punching The Air does both. Zoboi and Salaam have created nothing short of a masterwork of humanity, with lyrical arms big enough to cradle the oppressed, and metaphoric teeth sharp enough to chomp on the bitter bones of racism. This is more than a story. This is a necessary exploration of anger, and a radical reflection of love, which ultimately makes for an honest depiction of what it means to be young and Black in America.” — Jason Reynolds, award-winning, bestselling author of Long Way Down
“Punching the Air is the profound sound of humanity in verse. About a boy who uses his creative mind to overcome the creativity of racism. About a boy who uses the freedom of art to overcome his incarceration. About you. About me. Utterly indispensable.” — Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author
“In this beautifully rendered book, we are reminded again of how brilliant and precarious our Black Lives are and how art can ultimately heal us.” — Jacqueline Woodson, award-winning, bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming
Praise for BLACK ENOUGH: “A poignant collection of stunning short stories by Black, rock star authors” — Booklist (starred review)
“A breath of fresh air…nuanced and necessary.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Each entry is deftly woven and full of such complex humanity that teens will identify with and see some of their own struggles in these characters... This collection presents the beauty of black humanity in all its many forms.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“The stories, all worth savoring, share a celebratory outlook on black teenagers fully and courageously embracing life.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for PRIDE: “This Bushwick-set, contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice tackles gentriciation, Blackness, and romance with honesty, humor, and heart. This excellent coming-of-age take on a classic belongs on all YA shelves.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Stands solidly on its own while cleverly paralleling Austen’s classic… in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Self-assured, elegant and utterly captivating.” — New York Times
“Mixing gritty street life with the tenderness of first love, Haitian Vodou, and family bonds, the book is at once chilling, evocative, and reaffirming.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Filling her pages with magic, humanity, tragedy, and hope, Zoboi builds up, takes apart, and then rebuilds an unforgettable story. This book will take root in readers’ hearts.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Zoboi’s stunning debut intertwines mysticism and love with grit and violence…Fierce and beautiful.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Will reach young readers regardless of their background.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“A breathtaking story about contemporary America that will serve as a mirror to some and a window for others, and it will stay with anyone who reads it.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
Jason Reynolds
Stories, at their best, will break something old in you or build something new. Remarkably, Punching The Air does both. Zoboi and Salaam have created nothing short of a masterwork of humanity, with lyrical arms big enough to cradle the oppressed, and metaphoric teeth sharp enough to chomp on the bitter bones of racism. This is more than a story. This is a necessary exploration of anger, and a radical reflection of love, which ultimately makes for an honest depiction of what it means to be young and Black in America.”
New York Times Book Review
"A wrenching novel whose story, told in verse, is both urgent and heartbreakingly familiar....Amal’s name is the Arabic word for 'hope.' That is what this book ultimately offers, too. Everyone should read it."
Booklist (starred review)
"Prescient and sobering, Zoboi’s book is a vital story for young readers in a tumultuous time.
USA Today
Punching the Air highlights that wrongful convictions, the school-to-prison pipeline and the fear mongering of Black bodies is etched in the United States Constitution itself, ironically in the Thirteenth Amendment that criminalizes slavery but simultaneously creates an entirely new system of enslavement: the American prison system. It is not easy to break these topics down to adults, never mind children. But Punching the Air does so effectively through verse that feels honest and clear."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Amal’s voice is often poetic and compelling, and the details of life in NYC juvie are laceratingly vivid. An engaging and accessible read sure to provoke discussion, perhaps in conjunction with a factual exploration of Salaam’s own experiences or in partnership with Myers’ Monster.
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"A mesmerizing novel-in-verse. The poems—sharp, uninhibited and full of metaphors and sensory language—quickly establish Amal's voice, laying bare the anger, despair, hope and talent it holds. Amal's experience of abuse by the system, as well as his peers', incites raw outrage, but his artistic self-expression offers a subtle yet significant kind of hope. It is a hope borne of anger, that knows the full depths of injustice and still dreams of a better future.”
Horn Book (starred review)
The sympathetic, nuanced portrayal of this young man will have readers holding out hope until the novel’s end.
USA Today
Punching the Air highlights that wrongful convictions, the school-to-prison pipeline and the fear mongering of Black bodies is etched in the United States Constitution itself, ironically in the Thirteenth Amendment that criminalizes slavery but simultaneously creates an entirely new system of enslavement: the American prison system. It is not easy to break these topics down to adults, never mind children. But Punching the Air does so effectively through verse that feels honest and clear."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Will reach young readers regardless of their background.
Ibram X. Kendi
Punching the Air is the profound sound of humanity in verse. About a boy who uses his creative mind to overcome the creativity of racism. About a boy who uses the freedom of art to overcome his incarceration. About you. About me. Utterly indispensable.
Jacqueline Woodson
In this beautifully rendered book, we are reminded again of how brilliant and precarious our Black Lives are and how art can ultimately heal us.
New York Times
Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Self-assured, elegant and utterly captivating.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Amal’s voice is often poetic and compelling, and the details of life in NYC juvie are laceratingly vivid. An engaging and accessible read sure to provoke discussion, perhaps in conjunction with a factual exploration of Salaam’s own experiences or in partnership with Myers’ Monster.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Amal’s voice is often poetic and compelling, and the details of life in NYC juvie are laceratingly vivid. An engaging and accessible read sure to provoke discussion, perhaps in conjunction with a factual exploration of Salaam’s own experiences or in partnership with Myers’ Monster.
School Library Journal
★ 08/01/2020
Gr 8 Up—Sixteen-year-old Amal is tried and convicted of an act of violence against a white boy. While there is a sense that he might not have done what he was accused of doing, it is unimportant whether this is the case for the book to work. Through Amal's first-person verse narration, readers learn about his aspirations as a poet and artist, as well as his experience entering the prison system as a young Black man. It is clear that Amal has had a complex relationship with his education, particularly with his art teacher, who clearly saw his talent but also did not work very hard to support Amal's burgeoning interest, and did a bad job of being a character witness at his trial. The authors do an excellent job of showing how the prison experience can dehumanize young men and how their inherent talents can be overshadowed by their feelings of powerlessness and rage. Coauthored by Zoboi and Salaam, who is one of the Exonerated Five and, as such, has firsthand experience of serving an unfair and unjust prison sentence, this book is not a memoir. Instead, it can be seen as an important statement about widespread experiences and the prison industrial complex, rather than the depiction of a single, notable case. What is clear is that this is not an isolated story. VERDICT This book will be Walter Dean Myers's Monster for a new generation of teens. An important, powerful, and beautiful novel that should be an essential purchase for any library that serves teens.—Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Lib. Svcs., OR
School Library Journal - Audio
★ 03/01/2021
Gr 8 Up—Amal Shahid is in jail for something he didn't do. The only way his name will be cleared is if the victim wakes up from a coma. This novel in verse tells Amal's story—about what it is like during the trial and for him in jail but the narrative also flashes back to the moments of his life where he could have been given the chance to excel but wasn't. Despite setback after setback, Amal continues to fight for the truth and for his freedom and turns to poetry and art to express himself. Coauthors Zoboi and Salaam paint a heartbreakingly clear picture of life for a Black, male teenager in the New York City juvenile detention system. While this is not based specifically on Salaam's experiences as one of the Exonerated Five, his wrongful conviction and his current work as a prison reform activist provide a powerful and necessary insight. Narrator Ethan Herisse embodies the lyricism and emotion portrayed throughout this short book, bringing Amal's pain, anger, and frustration to the surface in a way that will resonate with audiences of any age. Be sure to also read the Author's Note at the end. VERDICT This is a must read/listen. While this is a story of injustice, it is also the story of a boy and his humanity.—Courtney Pentland, Omaha, NE
AUGUST 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Ethan Herisse’s voice is soft, slow, and somber as he narrates the poignant free-verse poems of the fictional character Amal Shahid. Herisse’s tone is so tender that one can imagine the sensitive shapes and perfect rhythms drawn and written by this 16-year-old artist-poet before he was incarcerated. Amal and his friends have been arrested for assault after a run-in with racist white boys. Herisse expresses Amal’s passion for creativity and how it helps him endure beatings and solitary confinement. The story was co-created by award-winning YA author Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, a prison reform activist. Both poets shine in every word. Together, the verses build and deepen as Herisse emphasizes the earnestness of Amal’s efforts to hold onto hope. A gripping, powerful listen for teens and adults from the opening to the authors' note at the end. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2020 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2020-07-03
Reviving a friendship that goes back almost 20 years, Zoboi writes with Exonerated Five member Salaam, exploring racial tensions, criminal injustice, and radical hope for a new day.
Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed When They See Us tells the story of Salaam’s wrongful conviction as a boy, a story that found its way back into the national conversation when, after nearly 7 years in prison, DNA evidence cleared his name. Although it highlights many of the same unjust systemic problems Salaam faced, this story is not a biographical rendering of his experiences. Rather, Zoboi offers readers her brilliance and precision within this novel in verse that centers on the fictional account of 16-year-old Amal Shahid. He’s an art student and poet whose life dramatically shifts after he is accused of assaulting a White boy one intense night, drawing out serious questions around the treatment of Black youth and the harsh limitations of America’s investment in punitive forms of justice. The writing allows many readers to see their internal voices affirmed as it uplifts street slang, Muslim faith, and hip-hop cadences, showcasing poetry’s power in language rarely seen in YA literature. The physical forms of the first-person poems add depth to the text, providing a necessary calling-in to issues central to the national discourse in reimagining our relationship to police and prisons. Readers will ask: Where do we go from here?
Awardworthy. Soul-stirring. A must-read. (Verse novel. 12-18)
