Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam

20 reviews

brookey8888's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

Wow was very good. I honestly had no clue what this was about when I picked it up, I just recognized the author. This is such an important story that everyone should read. It does discuss hard, but important topics so be prepared. Some of the poems(?) gave me goosebumps. The reason it’s a 4.5 is because it did take me a while to get used to the verse and kind of connect with the story, but once I did I couldn’t put this down. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Hate crime

amandalorianxo's review

challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Powerful, emotional and raw. This is my first five star read of 2022 and I’m hoping this won’t be the last. Amal is wrongly accused of committing a crime he didn’t do and turns to poetry & art to help him get through his first few months in jail. I annotated and tabbed a lot as I read & it breaks my heart that this is still a reality for black boys across the U.S. This book is also written in verse which I think made the storytelling that much more impactful. If you haven’t read this, I’m imploring you to do so. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Cursing and Racism

hazel_t23's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Police brutality, Violence, and Cursing

sisters_reads7's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much! It's about Amal who is falsely accused of a crime. He is put in prison or juvie. He learns how to turn his anger into art.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Hate crime

Minor: Violence

hemmr3252's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Slavery

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This novel in verse follows the experiences and feelings of Amal Shahid, a black teen facing a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit. These events are based on the experience of Yusef Salaam, who had a similar conviction and wrote some of the poems while in prison. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Coma, wrongful incarceration, incarceration of a teenager

stevielynne's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Confinement, Islamophobia, and Police brutality

Moderate: Cursing and Emotional abuse

chloeschapters's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

bretagnereads's review

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Cursing

fromjuliereads's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is such an important book. I am so glad I read it. 
I don't read books written in verse generally, but I really enjoyed this one. And it worked so well as the way to tell their truth. It had so many important moments to it, and I cannot wait to discuss this book as part of the book club I am in that is reading it. 
Definitely recommend this book. Especially if you like books written in verse or any kind of artistic expression for a story.

I did read this as an ebook because that is what was available to me at the time. However I have a feeling that print is the way to go with the artwork incorporated. Also it could be a very cool audiobook.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence