Punching the Air
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Narrated by:
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Ethan Herisse
About this listen
From 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. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo.
The story that I thought
was my life
didn't start on the day
I was born
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. 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.
The story that I think
will be my life
starts today
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal's bright future is upended: he 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?
With 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.
©2020 Ibi Zoboi (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
A Conversation with Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam, and Ethan Herisse On Bringing Amal's Story to Life
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- Narrated by: Scott Keiji Takeda, Dan Woren, Ryan Potter, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco. Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted. Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps. In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart.
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There are few words
- By Riceball0413 on 09-28-20
By: Traci Chee
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Point B
- A Teleportation Love Story
- By: Drew Magary
- Narrated by: Rebecca Soler
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When the corporate monolith PortSys brought porting to the masses, CEO Emilia Kirsch and her son, Jason, accomplished what every other start-up company had failed to deliver. They really did change the world. They reversed climate change. They created a multitrillion-dollar industry out of thin air, curing economic woes across the globe. They made it so that anyone could be anywhere simply by touching a screen...including the man who murdered Sarah Huff. Now, Sarah’s 17-year-old sister, Anna, is determined to hunt the bastard down. But there are a few problems.
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Sherry Potter’s only got one spell: portkey
- By aaron gilbert on 11-02-20
By: Drew Magary
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The Rebel of Raleigh High
- Raleigh Rebels Series, Book 1
- By: Callie Hart
- Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Charlotte North
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Hit me. Kick me. Hurt me. Hate me. There’s nothing that the students of Raleigh High can do to Silver Parisi anymore. Over the past year, she’s had to endure more pain and suffering than most people are asked to bear in their lifetimes. She’s a pariah, an outcast, a ghost. She’s also never been one to take shit lying down, though...despite what half the football team might say. With only 168 days left of the school year, it won’t be long until graduation, and Silver’s planning on skipping town and leaving Raleigh firmly in her rearview mirror. Until he comes along....
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Not a YA only! Do NOT blow this off!
- By Amazon Customer on 02-29-20
By: Callie Hart
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Locomotion
- By: Jacqueline Woodson
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When Lonnie Collins Motion was seven years old, his life changed forever. Now Lonnie is eleven and his life is about to change again. His teacher, Ms. Marcus, is showing him ways to put his jumbled feelings on paper. And suddenly, Lonnie has a whole new way to tell the world about his life, his friends, his little sister, Lili, and even his foster mom, Miss Edna, who started out crabby but isn’t so bad after all. Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical voice captures Lonnie’s thoughtful perspectives of the world and his determination to one day put a family together again.
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The whole story
- By A Shaffer on 05-26-20
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American Street
- By: Ibi Zoboi
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie - a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by US immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins - Chantal, Donna, and Princess - the grittiness of Detroit's West Side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.
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A lot to unpack
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-18-17
By: Ibi Zoboi
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Feathers
- By: Jacqueline Woodson
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Frannie doesn't know what to make of the poem she's reading in school. She hasn't thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy". And there is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy.
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National Treasure
- By Austin Jayhawk on 03-19-17
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We Were Here
- By: Matt de la Pena
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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When it happened Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge only gave him a year in a group home - said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he'd actually done Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened Miguel’s mom can't even look him in the eye. Any home besides his would be a better place to live. But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting across the border to where he could start over....
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Loved it!!!
- By Emmanuel Mangata on 03-17-18
By: Matt de la Pena
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This Is Gonna Hurt
- Music, Photography, and Life Through the Distorted Lens of Nikki Sixx
- By: Nikki Sixx
- Narrated by: Nikki Sixx
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx, is all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling photography and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work.
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MUST HAVE!!
- By Yvonne on 05-28-11
By: Nikki Sixx
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Turtles All the Way Down
- By: John Green
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
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I hate to call it a trigger warning, but-
- By Lynnzee on 10-23-17
By: John Green
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The Residue Years
- By: Mitchell S. Jackson
- Narrated by: Corey Allen
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Mitchell S. Jackson grew up black in a neglected neighborhood in America’s whitest city, Portland, Oregon. In the ’90s, those streets and beyond had fallen under the shadow of crack cocaine and its familiar mayhem. In his commanding autobiographical novel, Mitchell writes what it was to come of age in that time and place, with a break-out voice that’s nothing less than extraordinary. The Residue Years switches between the perspectives of a young man, Champ, and his mother, Grace.
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Dense in cultural details
- By Angel on 12-04-15
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Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about.
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Every girl from the hood needs to listen to this
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On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie - a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by US immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins - Chantal, Donna, and Princess - the grittiness of Detroit's West Side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.
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A lot to unpack
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Better, Not Bitter
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This inspirational memoir serves as a call to action from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam, of the Exonerated Five, that will inspire us all to turn our stories into tools for change in the pursuit of racial justice.
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Mesmerizing Memoir
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Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi and featuring some of the most acclaimed best-selling black authors writing for teens today - Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.
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Good book
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In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and Afro-Latinidad—the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance. Perfect for fans of Mahogany L. Browne’s Black Girl Magic or Jason Reynolds’s For Everyone, this poem is the ideal gift, treasure, or inspiration for listeners of any age.
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Viva la Herencia
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Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about.
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Every girl from the hood needs to listen to this
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On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie - a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by US immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins - Chantal, Donna, and Princess - the grittiness of Detroit's West Side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.
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Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi and featuring some of the most acclaimed best-selling black authors writing for teens today - Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.
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Good book
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In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
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Aimed at listeners 12 and up and co-authored by award-winning children's book author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen listeners to help create a more just society. Antiracism is a journey—and now young adults will have a map to carve their own path. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speaks directly to the experiences and concerns of younger listeners, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world in doing so.
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Five stars always inspiring
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Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions - doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.
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Nima wishes she were someone else. She doesn’t feel understood by her mother, who grew up in a different land. She doesn’t feel accepted in her suburban town; yet somehow, she isn't different enough to belong elsewhere. Her best friend, Haitham, is the only person with whom she can truly be herself. Until she can't, and suddenly her only refuge is gone.
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Totally Worth a Listen and All the Awards!
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Nigeria Jones
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Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.
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Very Interesting Story
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A cannon. A strap. Or, you can call it a gun. That's what 15-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he?
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Real and Relevant!
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When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields? Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.
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or so she thought
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Moonrise
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'They think I hurt someone. But I didn't. You hear? Coz people are gonna be telling you all kinds of lies. I need you to know the truth.' Joe hasn't seen his brother for 10 years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row. But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think....
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The 57 Bus
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If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But, one afternoon, on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned.
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An Unusual True-Crime Event...Beautifully Written.
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Concrete Rose
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If there's one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it's that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad's in prison. Life's not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav's got everything under control. Until, that is, Maverick finds out he's a father. But it's not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child.
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Five Starr!
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All American Boys
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A bag of chips. That's all 16-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad's pleadings that he's stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad's resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad's every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered.
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Required Reading
- By J. E. Abel on 09-18-16
By: Jason Reynolds, and others
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The Running Dream
- By: Wendelin Van Draanen
- Narrated by: Laura Flanagan
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
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The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story that’s perfect for anyone who’s ever thought that something was impossible. Listeners will revel in the story of a girl who puts herself back together - and learns to dream bigger than ever before - after she’s told she’ll never run again. Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?
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9 year old rates this 15 stars
- By Erin on 11-06-15
What listeners say about Punching the Air
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- LuisDMeneses
- 03-23-23
Freedom can't be boxed
This novel takes the form of poetry to convey its message. That is why it hits, and hits hard.
Through the difficulties lived by the protagonist, the poetic voice finds a way for art, faith, hope and freedom.
What should we do when facing inequalities? what should we do when faced with a broken system?
For a reader coming from developping countries, these are not uncommon questions, but the answers are yet to be shared.
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- Connor Gill
- 07-23-22
Incredible. Get it.
Read it. The poetic nature of the words and the ability of the narrator will make you sob.
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- Kristen
- 10-18-23
Really engaging and fast moving.
This is one of those novels/conscious stream of thought where the protagonist is wrongfully accused and instead of allowing the injustice of the American judicial and criminal infrastructure weigh him down, he rises. I loved how the authors Ibi and Yusef (one of the exonerated five) use the concept and themes from art and literature to show hope and the possibility of self-redemption.
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- La Shanda Woods
- 01-14-21
Good book young teens!!
Narrator was great, but started off kind of slow to me. I had to start it over while on a long ride then I got into it. I also don't like how it ended, it did not complete the story what happened to him, did the boy ever tell what really happened.
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7 people found this helpful
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- NessQuick
- 11-05-21
a Story for the Soul
the poetry hits at your very core. the narrator is calming and impactful. no matter your race or circumstance, be angry at the injustices you see around you.
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- That Guy
- 01-17-21
To Be Heard and Seen
A riveting performance, both on the page and through my speakers.
I highly recommend *listening* to (or, reading aloud) Zoboi’s and Salaam’s gorgeous, lyrical beauty.
The story is, unfortunately, far too rote for anyone paying attention to the (in)justice (mis)educational systems in America, so as with almost all of my favorite pieces of art—written and recorded—it’s far less about the plot than it is about the way their words inhabit the page, on both a visually aesthetic level, but also on a mellifluous, rhythmic one.
The imagery, the images, the imagination of it all.
Heartbreaking. Heart-rending. Hard to not wince and wonder and well up with weariness (at yet another tale as old as American time) and cries for war (against these systems of oppression).
Read it. Listen to it. Learn it. Know it. Understand it.
Then, *do* something about it.
This, my friends, is #artasactivism
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20 people found this helpful
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- Gwendolyn Irby
- 10-01-22
The Turth
The system is not here to help anyone but to Tear down our black children.
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- Linda
- 12-04-20
Amazing story.
Amazing story, yet unfortunately, it was too short. I wanted the poetic prose to continue framing the conflict between ther protagonist vs society (the bias school to prison system and the industrial prison complex). But I do appreciate the cliffhanger at the end.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Kathleen Ann Foote
- 04-02-22
Spectacular
I’m so very glad i listened to this. I’m so sick of white privileged people that cannot understand how very unbalanced our society is, especially the prison system. My heart aches for all the Mama’s of these young people being snatched away by a system that is so very racist. Slavery was abolished, can our prison system and our police system please catch up. If black people are angry, it’s righteous anger and we, not them, need to figure out how to set it right.
Loved this young man’s passion and perspective. Great read!!!
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- Bridgett
- 11-04-21
Captivating
This book is nothing short of explosive. while listening to this masterfully read story, I became enraged, sad, hopeful, inspired, but awakened by how walls (obstacles, ignorance, rage, lack of resources, etc.)can & do cut off so much.
As I eyed my two blk boys, I became fearful not just of the what if's, but what is.
I love this book!
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