{"product_id":"punching-the-air-9780062996480","title":"Punching the Air","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/em\u003e bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * \u003cem\u003eTime\u003c\/em\u003e Magazine Best Book of the Year * \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * \u003cem\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/em\u003e Best Book of the Year * \u003cem\u003eKirkus \u003c\/em\u003eBest Book of the Year * New York Public Library Best Book of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom 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. A must-read for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe story that I thought\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ewas my life\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edidn't start on the day\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI was born \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated. Then, one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. \"Boys just being boys\" turns out to be true only when those boys are white. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe story that I think\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ewill be my life \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003estarts today\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal 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? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eZoboi, Ibi:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIbi Zoboi \u003c\/strong\u003eholds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her novel \u003cem\u003eAmerican Street \u003c\/em\u003ewas a National Book Award finalist and a \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e Notable Book. She is also the author of \u003cem\u003ePride \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich\u003c\/em\u003e, a \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestseller. She is the editor of the anthology \u003cem\u003eBlack Enough\u003c\/em\u003e. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three children. You can find her online at www.ibizoboi.net.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSalaam, Yusef:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDr. Yusef Salaam\u003c\/strong\u003e was just fifteen years old when his life was upended after being wrongly convicted with four other boys in the \"Central Park jogger\" case. In 2002, after the young men spent years of their lives behind bars, their sentences were overturned. Now known as the Exonerated Five, their story has been documented in the award-winning film \u003cem\u003eThe Central Park Five \u003c\/em\u003eby Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon and in Ava DuVernay's highly acclaimed series \u003cem\u003eWhen \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eThey See Us\u003c\/em\u003e. Yusef is now a poet, activist, and inspirational speaker. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama, among other honors. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Sanovia, and their children. You can find him online at www.yusefspeaks.com.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Balzer \u0026 Bray\/Harperteen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50641751343378,"sku":"9780062996480","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6691b207-6f19-40d8-8fcf-6d188c0c6cfe.jpg?v=1737261863","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/punching-the-air-9780062996480","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}