Punching the Air

Sixteen-year-old Amal Shahid is an artist and a poet with a future he believes he controls. However, after an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood, he is convicted of a crime he maintains he did not commit and is sent to a juvenile detention center. Within a system designed to strip him of his identity and hope, Amal grapples with the injustice of his situation and the racial bias that shaped his conviction.

Told in powerful verse, this story explores Amal's struggle to hold onto his humanity. He finds an outlet for his rage, despair, and resilience through his art and poetry, transforming his confinement into a canvas for self-expression and a fight for the truth. Inspired by co-author Yusef Salaam's own experiences, this novel offers an intimate look at systemic injustice and the enduring power of the human spirit to seek freedom and meaning even when everything seems lost.