Puss Reboots: Blog: August 2021: Punching the Air

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Cat About Town by Cate Conte and Amy Melissa Bentley (Narrator)
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Common Bonds edited by Claudie Arseneault
A Deadly Edition by Victoria Gilbert
Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz
The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly
Gideon Falls, Volume 5: Wicked Worlds by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (Illustrator)
How to Lie with Maps by Mark Monmonier
I Am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani (Illustrator)
Lips Unsealed by Belinda Carlisle
Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Murder 101 by Lynn Cahoon
A Pairing to Die for by Kate Lansing
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi
Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Signspotting III: Lost and Loster in Translation by Doug Lansky
Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly
Smash It! by Francina Simone
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany
The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill
This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling
Toured to Death by Hy Conrad
Turtle in Paradise: The Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm and Savanna Ganucheau
Two Wicked Desserts by Lynn Cahoon
The Walled Flower by Lorraine Bartlett
Well Met by Jen DeLuca
Well Played by Jen DeLuca
The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad

Miscellaneous
July 2021 Sources

July 2021 Summary

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Punching the Air: 08/31/21

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi is a novel in verse inspired by Yusef Salaam's prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit. His story is included in the afterword. Also, some of the poetry is actually Yusef's but the book doesn't label which pieces are his and which are Ibi Zoboi's.

Amal Shahid is sent to a juvenile detention center after he's in a fight with some white boys who were looking for trouble. He uses poetry and art to keep his sanity in a situation that is out of his control and set up to make sure he fails.

It's a relatively quick but emotional read. Amal tries his best to keep his dignity and his patience but it's difficult when the adults in his life — outside of his immediate family — are constantly baiting him. His story highlights the endless micro-aggressions Black people face.

Five stars