A review by translove
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

this was amazing. I read it in basically one sitting and even when I had to stop to collect myself and my thoughts, I couldn't stay away from these pages for long.

a part I particularly liked was "African American":

And maybe jail                   maybe jail
is                                                 is America


I really appreciated how this book was emotional in the way it told the story of Amal, a black teen wrongfully accused of a crime and sent to juvie, without shying away from touching on topics related to racial injustice and fundamental to changing the unjust system. like abolishing prisons. I do sort of wish it was expanded on more, but in the end I think it wasn't the focus of this story and that's okay. I loved the focus on how art is a massively important tool to get through everything, including the worst possible times in your life, and how crucial it is that we let black kids explore art (whatever form, drawing, painting, writing, etc.) to both find positive outlets for the rightful anger they feel living in a world that's so antiblack and also simply... find out what they like without having white people police the way they go about it and put needless obstacles in their way to succeeding in what they choose to focus on. encourage black kids to pursue careers and passions that they feel are right for them. don't put them into boxes that they won't fit in.

I colored outside the lines
I colored outside the boxes
                                 like freedom
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