Punching the Air

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated. Perfect for fans of the Noughts & Crosses series and The Hate U Give. One fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood escalates into tragedy. ‘Boys just being boys’ turns out to be true only when those boys are white. Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal Shahid’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it? With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both. This African American social fiction novel by Zoboi and Salaam is a poignant exploration of prejudice and law, and a stark portrayal of racism in the United States. The themes of diversity and multiculturalism are woven throughout, offering a unique perspective on the experiences of people in different places. For fans of Ruta Sepetys (The Fountains of Silence), Angeline Boulley (Firekeeper's Daughter), Jason Reynolds (All American Boys), Caleb Azumah Nelson (Small Worlds), and Elizabeth Acevedo (Clap When You Land).