Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white. Then, one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated.

One of the most acclaimed YA novels of the year, this New York Times and USA Today bestseller is a must-read for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo and is now available in paperback!Īmal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. More witnesses come to the stand in “White Space II,” including the college student who filmed the fight between Amal’s friends and Jeremy’s friends.New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * New York Public Library Best Book of the Yearįrom 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. Rinaldi says she works with Amal “To channel his anger into his art” (10). “Anger Management” tells readers that Ms. It is the first time that she has seen Amal in a suit and tie, which his mother, Umi, told him to wear “because optics” (9). Rinaldi, who is a character witness for him. In “Character Witness,” Amal introduces readers to his high school art teacher Ms. During the trial, Amal gradually reveals more about his predicament by sharing about the people who surround his case. Mathis, who is in a coma, cannot testify that Amal is not the one who beat him up. Amal is on trial for allegedly beating up a white teenager named Jeremy Mathis. The second poem takes place in the courtroom, where Amal’s trial is taking place. He states that he “was born with an / old, old soul” (4).

From the very first poem, “Birth,” the novel in verse reveals how reflective and serious Amal’s voice is through the tone of his words.

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi