by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
Dead to the world
but somewhere in our souls
we are both scratching at the walls
yelling to the sky
punching the air
to let everyone and everything know
that we are in here
still alive
Amal is sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. Not that anyone is listening to him. He’s black and the victim is white. And in a coma. No one else can clear his name. Now he is in prison and angry.
On a scale of one to ten
how angry are you?
Eleven, I say
Amal is a reader, an artist, and a poet. He wants to join a poetry class but is too broken to care. The white prisoners are making his life a hell. He doesn’t want to join a black gang. It is only when his crush sends him a letter out of the blue that he grabs onto a tiny bit of hope and of life.
Zoboi make us feel Amal, inside and out. Past, present, and future. Her writing is phenomenal. Give this book to everyone.
