Punching the Air explained

Punching the Air
Author:Ibi Zoboi
Yusef Salaam
Language:English
Genre:Young adult fiction
Published:2020
Media Type:Print (hardback)
Pages:400
Isbn:978-0-06-299648-0

Punching the Air is a young adult novel-in-verse by Ibi Zoboi and Dr. Yusef Salaam, published September 1, 2020 by Balzer + Bray.

The book is a New York Times best seller[1] [2] and Junior Library Guild book.[3] [4] It has also won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature[5] and the Walter Dean Myers Award.[6] [7]

Background

Zoboi and Salaam met at Hunter College in 1999, two years before Salaam was exonerated for allegedly assaulting and raping a woman in Manhattan's Central Park.[8] Although Punching the Air is not based on Salaam's experience of racial profiling, “Amal’s character is inspired by him as an artist and as an incarcerated teen who had the support of his family, read lots of books, and made art to keep his mind free.”[9]

Zoboi and Salaam decided to write the novel in verse to mirror Amal's connection to poetry, as well as to incorporate the concept of hip-hop, which Salaam refers to as "a genre that was created by us for us. It is the language of the people. It is a protest language. It is a way that we codify the more powerful and salient ideas. Poetry can capture a feeling and when it's being read or spoken, it's magnetic."[10]

Reception

Punching the Air is a New York Times best seller[11] [12] and Junior Library Guild book.[13] [14]

The book received starred reviews from Booklist,[15] Publishers Weekly,[16] Kirkus Reviews,[17] Shelf Awareness,[18] [19] and School Library Journal,[20] as well as positive reviews from Common Sense Media,[21] USA Today,[22] The School Librarian,[23] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[24] and The Horn Book.[25]

Booklist's Reinhardt Suarez wrote about how Salaam's "experiences lend a visceral gravitas to Zoboi’s pen, and together they capture Amal’s emotional struggles as he grasps for hope despite his circumstances."[26] Suarez also noted that Salaam's experience allowed Zoboi to "accurately depict the justice system as an engine fine-tuned to crush the urban poor and young Black men in particular," ultimately calling the novel "[p]rescient and sobering."[27]

Kirkus called the book, "Awardworthy. Soul-stirring. A must-read."[28]

In a positive review for Booklist, Terry Hong complimented the audiobook narrator, Ethan Herrise, for how he "embodies the novel in verse" with "careful, thoughtful precision."[29]

Kirkus Reviews,[30] TIME,[31] Shelf Awareness,[32] School Library Journal,[33] the New York Public Library,[34] and Publishers Weekly[35] named Punching the Air one of the best young adult books of 2020.

Awards and accolades for Punching the Air!Year!Award / Accolade!Result!Ref.
2020Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult FictionFinalist[36]
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult LiteratureWinner[37]
2021Association for Library Service to Children's Notable Children's RecordingsSelection[38] [39]
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and PoetryHonor[40] [41]
Walter Dean Myers AwardWinner
YALSA's Best Fiction for Young AdultsSelection[42]
YALSA's Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult ReadersTop 10[43] [44]
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book Award for Children's LiteratureWinner[45]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020-07-03. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Kirkus Reviews.
  2. Web site: 2021-02-10. CASA book club covers 'Punching the Air', features guest speaker. 2022-01-22. CHD. en-US.
  3. Web site: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi. 2022-01-22. Junior Library Guild.
  4. Web site: Punching the Air (Audiobook) by Ibi Zoboi. 2022-01-22. Junior Library Guild.
  5. Web site: Pineda. Dorany. 2021-04-17. Winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes announced. 2022-01-22. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  6. Web site: Schaub. Michael. 2021-01-22. Winners of the Walter Dean Myers Awards Announced. 2022-01-20. Kirkus Reviews. en.
  7. Web site: Nutt. Gina. 2021-03-15. Walter Dean Myers Awards. 2022-01-20. Shelf Awareness.
  8. Web site: Hong. Terry. 2020-10-15. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  9. Web site: Hong. Terry. 2020-10-15. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  10. Web site: Al-Mateen. Sylvia. 2020-06-17. Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam: Finding Power Within. 2022-01-22. Shelf Awareness.
  11. Web site: 2020-07-03. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Kirkus Reviews.
  12. Web site: 2021-02-10. CASA book club covers 'Punching the Air', features guest speaker. 2022-01-22. CHD. en-US.
  13. Web site: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi. 2022-01-22. Junior Library Guild.
  14. Web site: Punching the Air (Audiobook) by Ibi Zoboi. 2022-01-22. Junior Library Guild.
  15. Web site: Suarez. Reinhardt. August 2020. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  16. Web site: Children's Book Review: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-06-299648-0. 2022-01-22. PublishersWeekly.com. en.
  17. Web site: 2020-07-03. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Kirkus Reviews.
  18. Web site: Al-Mateen. Sylvia. 2020-09-01. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Shelf Awareness.
  19. Web site: Al-Mateen. Sylvia. 2020-06-17. YA Maximum Shelf: Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Shelf Awareness.
  20. Web site: Courtney. Pentland. 2021-03-01. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. School Library Journal.
  21. Web site: Saunders. Barbara. 2020-09-18. Punching the Air - Book Review. 2022-01-22. Common Sense Media. en.
  22. Web site: Barbiero. Delfina V.. 'Punching the Air' review: Yusef Salaam of Central Park Five pens moving racial justice story. 2022-01-22. USA TODAY. en-US.
  23. Kindregan. Emily. Winter 2020. Punching the Air. The School Librarian. 68. 4. 248. ProQuest.
  24. Stevenson. Deborah. 2020. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. en. 74. 2. 110. 10.1353/bcc.2020.0724. 1558-6766.
  25. Web site: Njoku. Eboni. 2020-09-22. Review of Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. The Horn Book.
  26. Web site: Suarez. Reinhardt. August 2020. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  27. Web site: Suarez. Reinhardt. August 2020. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  28. Web site: 2020-07-03. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Kirkus Reviews.
  29. Web site: Hong. Terry. 2020-10-15. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  30. Web site: 2020-07-03. Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Kirkus Reviews.
  31. Gutterman. Annabel. Katzman. Rebecca. Maunz. Shay. 2020-11-24. The 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2020. 2022-01-22. Time. en.
  32. Web site: 2020-11-24. Shelf Awareness's Best Children's & Teen Books of 2020. 2022-01-22. Shelf Awareness.
  33. Web site: Goldstein. Susannah. Hershberger. Katy. Knapp. Maggie. Leffel. Ashley. Riemer. Carla. 2020-11-23. Best Young Adult Books 2020 SLJ Best Books. 2022-01-22. School Library Journal.
  34. Web site: Best Books for Teens 2020. 2022-01-22. The New York Public Library. en.
  35. Web site: Best Books 2020: Publishers Weekly. 2022-01-22. Publishers Weekly.
  36. Web site: Punching the Air. 2022-01-22. Goodreads.
  37. Web site: Pineda. Dorany. 2021-04-17. Winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes announced. 2022-01-22. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  38. Web site: 2021-03-15. Notable Children's Recordings: 2021. 2022-01-22. Booklist.
  39. Web site: Schulte-Cooper. Laura. 2021-02-17. ALSC announces 2021 Notable Children's Recordings. 2022-01-22. News and Press Center. en.
  40. Web site: SLJ Staff. 2021-06-23. 2021 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners Announced. 2022-01-22. School Library Journal.
  41. Web site: Pasha. Omar T.. 2022-01-18. Punching the Air: Omar T. Pasha's 2021 BGHB Fiction and Poetry Honor Speech. 2022-01-22. The Horn Book.
  42. Web site: 2021-01-14. 2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults. 2022-01-22. Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). en.
  43. Web site: 2021-01-05. 2021 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. 2022-01-22. Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). en.
  44. Web site: Lam. Anna. 2021-01-06. YALSA names 2021 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers. 2022-01-22. News and Press Center. en.
  45. Web site: Shelton. Paige. 2021-10-25. Awards: NAIBA Book Winners. 2022-01-22. Shelf Awareness.

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