Punching the Air
AuthorIbi Zoboi
Yusef Salaam
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung adult fiction
Published2020
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages400
ISBN978-0-06-299648-0

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.”[8]

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."[9]

Reception

Punching the Air is a New York Times best seller[1][2] and Junior Library Guild book.[3][4]

The book received starred reviews from Booklist,[10] Publishers Weekly,[11] Kirkus Reviews,[1] Shelf Awareness,[12][13] and School Library Journal,[14] as well as positive reviews from Common Sense Media,[15] USA Today,[16] The School Librarian,[17] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[18] and The Horn Book.[19]

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."[10] 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."[10]

Kirkus called the book, "Awardworthy. Soul-stirring. A must-read."[1]

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."[8]

Kirkus Reviews,[1] TIME,[20] Shelf Awareness,[21] School Library Journal,[22] the New York Public Library,[23] and Publishers Weekly[24] 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.
2020 Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction Finalist [25]
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature Winner [5]
2021 Association for Library Service to Children's Notable Children's Recordings Selection [26][27]
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry Honor [28][29]
Walter Dean Myers Award Winner [6][7]
YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection [30]
YALSA's Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Top 10 [31][32]
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book Award for Children's Literature Winner [33]

References

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