Trigger warnings: violence, on-page death, racism, incarceration.
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Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Punching the Air,told in verse, is a novel about a Black teen artist, Amal Shahid, who is wrongfully incarcerated and is facing court and jail time. And his crime? He punched a white boy! That boy is lying unconscious in the hospital while the white court is building the case based on their perception of what happened.
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This story is mostly about racism but at the heart of it is hope and love for art. Amal expresses his emotions, pain and feelings through his art and poetry and most of the time people took it as too strong and not appropriate (like his art teacher). The story moves between the events leading up to Amal's incarceration and his current time in the jail. Both timelines has been handled amazingly. The story is based off experiences of the co-author, Yusef Salaam, who too was wrongfully imprisoned as a teen and served 10 years. and I think because of his own experiences, this story feels even more powerful and real.
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This is a compelling and explosive book, with incredible writing. There is so much emotion on every page and it adds so many layers to the story. There are hugely important discussions about racism and privilege. The book came at a time when in USA the protest against George Floyd's murder was at peak. People with similar experiences or from a certain race can surely relate to it. It gives light to the various discriminations people go through since childhood in such system.
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Highly recommended.