Title: Punching the Air

Authors: Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

ISBN: 9780062996503

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Format: Paperback

Genre: Young Adult, Poetry, Social Issues

Age Range: 14+

Pages: 416

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Language: English

"Punching the Air" is a powerful young adult novel in verse by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (one of the Exonerated Five). Sixteen-year-old Amal Shahid, a Black Muslim boy, is wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Through art and poetry, Amal expresses his pain and fights for freedom, challenging systemic injustices. This narrative explores racial injustice, oppression, identity, and the power of art.