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 the Noughts & Crosses series and The Hate U Give. 
One fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood escalates into tragedy. ‘Boys just being boys’ turns out to be true only when those boys are white.\nSuddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal Shahid’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?\nWith 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.

Punching the Air

Politics & Social Sciences

Zoboi, Ibi

Salaam, Yusef

Sociology

HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks

New York Times&nbsp;and&nbsp;USA Today&nbsp;bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year *&nbsp;Time&nbsp;Magazine Best Book of the Year *&nbsp;Publishers Weekly&nbsp;Best Book of the Year *&nbsp;Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year&nbsp;*&nbsp;School Library Journal&nbsp;Best Book of the Year *&nbsp;Kirkus&nbsp;Best Book of the Year&nbsp;*&nbsp;New York Public Library Best Book of the Year 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. A must-read 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&nbsp; Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated. 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.&nbsp; The story that I think will be my life&nbsp; starts today Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal 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?&nbsp; 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.

Teen & Young Adult

Literature & Fiction

Balzer + Bray

New York Times&nbsp;and&nbsp;USA Today&nbsp;bestseller *&nbsp;Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year *&nbsp;Time&nbsp;Magazine Best Book of the Year *&nbsp;Publishers Weekly&nbsp;Best Book of the Year *&nbsp;Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year &nbsp;*&nbsp;School Library Journal&nbsp;Best Book of the Year *&nbsp;Kirkus&nbsp;Best Book of the Year&nbsp;*&nbsp;New York Public Library Best Book of the Year 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. One of the most acclaimed YA novels of the year, this&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;and&nbsp;USA Today&nbsp;bestseller is a must-read for fans of Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Elizabeth Acevedo and is&nbsp;now available in paperback!&nbsp; The story that I thought was my life didn't start on the day I was born&nbsp; Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, because of a biased system he's seen as disruptive and unmotivated. 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.&nbsp; The story that I think will be my life&nbsp; starts today Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal 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?&nbsp; 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.

Punching The Air

Zoboi, Ibi Aanu

Pasha, Omar T.

Balzer + Bray, An Imprint Of Harpercollins Publishers

Punching The Air (Thorndike Press Large Print Striving Reader Collection)

Ibi Zoboi

Thorndike Striving Reader

The Devil and Elijah Muhammad

Genre Fiction

Xlibris

Named a Best Book of 2021 by&nbsp;NPR 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. They didn't know who they had. So begins Yusef Salaam, telling his whole story for the first time: of resilience in the face of one of the gravest miscarriages of justice. Despite having confronted the racist heart of America, Yusef channeled his energy and pain into self-determination and positivity. During his seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, Yusef gained a spiritual perspective on life, realizing that we are all "born on purpose, with a purpose." Better, Not Bitter is the inspirational story of a young man growing up in central Harlem in the '80s, the failure of America's criminal justice system, of being vilified by a nation. But during his years of incarceration, Yusef discovered the power of art and faith, and of holding on to the person you know you are, which gave him the strength to survive, and helped him through reentry and exoneration. Yusef's journey inspires us to accept our own path, to discover our own sense of purpose. His intimate insights help unpack the racist design of systems built for profit and oppression of Black and Brown people. This motivational memoir urges us to channel fury into action, and to turn anger and trauma into a constructive force to enact change in one's own life and for a better future.

Better, Not Bitter: The Power of Hope and Living on Purpose

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Grand Central Publishing

<div>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. They didn't know who they had. So begins Yusef Salaam telling his story. No one's life is the sum of the worst things that happened to them, and during Yusef Salaam's seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, he grew from child to man, and gained a spiritual perspective on life. Yusef learned that we're all "born on purpose, with a purpose." Despite having confronted the racist heart of America while being "run over by the spiked wheels of injustice," Yusef channeled his energy and pain into something positive, not just for himself but for other marginalized people and communities. Better Not Bitter is the first time that one of the now Exonerated Five is telling his individual story, in his own words. Yusef writes his narrative: growing up Black in central Harlem in the '80s, being raised by a strong, fierce mother and grandmother, his years of incarceration, his reentry, and exoneration. Yusef connects these stories to lessons and principles he learned that gave him the power to survive through the worst of life's experiences. He inspires readers to accept their own path, to understand their own sense of purpose. With his intimate personal insights, Yusef unpacks the systems built and designed for profit and the oppression of Black and Brown people. He inspires readers to channel their fury into action, and through the spiritual, to turn that anger and trauma into a constructive force that lives alongside accountability and mobilizes change. This memoir is an inspiring story that grew out of one of the gravest miscarriages of justice, one that not only speaks to a moment in time or the rage-filled present, but reflects a 400-year history of a nation's inability to be held accountable for its sins. Yusef Salaam's message is vital for our times, a motivating resource for enacting change. Better, Not Bitter has the power to soothe, inspire and transform. It is a galvanizing call to action.</div>

Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice

Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice; Library Edition

Self-Help

Motivational

Blackstone Pub

Punching the Air Lib/E

Harpercollins

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Salaam, Yusef. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Salaam, Yusef