This book made me wonder hard about whether or not our society does any good if we only focus on the punishment for the wrongs committed and not on the redemption of the person who committed them. In the end, each character has got to be true to him/herself. While reading Punching the Air, I was reminded of The Hate U Give in that in both books the protagonist has to decide to take a path that may lead to hardship, while at the same time indecision holds its own torture. Salaam's own backstory as one of the Exonerated Five who spent years in prison for a crime they didn't commit gives this book an immediacy and verisimilitude. The poetry format the author's chose to right Amal's story moves the plot along at a brisk pace.
Amal knows that his belligerent attitude doesn't help his cause but, like most teens, he can't catch himself until it's too late. Calm and self-aware one moment and all fiery fists the next. Zoboi and Salaam do a terrific job of capturing Amal's thoughts. Amal swears that he didn't do it, yet his hot temper incriminates him and the only one who can clear his name is unconscious. It's seems pretty clear cut, except no one knows for sure who actually threw that final blow.
Who belongs and who are the intruders? After the last punch is thrown, one person is in a coma and another is facing time in juvenile detention. A fight has taken place among a group of young men about turf rights.
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