Punch Like A Girl is a story about a girl named Tori who confuses people when she starts to lash out and becomes more moody. She ends up punching a girl at a store and having to do community service. At the community for domestic abuse victims, she bonds with a little girl who ends up getting abducted. In this book Tori goes through many trials and has dealt with things that no child should have to.

This story was one that hits the heart. It was a great and easy read. It was one of those that would be good for students who are maybe struggling with things at home or with difficult things in their lives. It wouldn't be an appropriate one for a full class, but one that I would keep on hand. ( )

(I got this book free from Librarything's Early Reviewer's program in exchange for a review.)

This is a pretty good young adult novel covering several issues, mainly the ins and outs of adolescent friendships, sexual assault, and domestic violence. The fact that the protagonist, Tori, was sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend is pretty obvious, although it isn't directly stated until almost the end of the book because she is afraid to tell anyone. In the meantime, her bizarre and aggressive behavior -- acting out from the trauma -- fracture her relationships with her two best friends, Aleah and the gender-nonconforming Jamarlo, and alarm her parents, who, to punish what they perceive as misbehavior, make her to do "community service" volunteering at a shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Volunteering turns out to be therapeutic for Tori, and she finds the strength to come to terms with what has happened and finally share it with her friends and family.

I can't really say anything bad about the book, other than the fact that if the author wanted the whole sex assault thing to be a surprise, it definitely wasn't one. As a fellow rape survivor, I thought Tori's emotional and behavioral problems were portrayed very well, and her friends and the people at the shelter seemed like real people, not just plot devices. A good book; I would particularly recommend it for teen girls who are recovering from sexual assault. ( )

Tori is a badass with some secrets as to why she's as rebellious as she is, why she decided to shave her head and why she's suddenly more violent then she's ever been before.

This story touches on quite a few important topics for teens and young adults such as rape; abduction; abuse, etc. I found this book compelling and hard to put down but at the same time it was super predictable in the plot. I do think that teens will really enjoy this book as I did as an adult.

I would definitely recommend picking it up ESP. If you like hard hitting or ya books with some tough topics. Thank you to library thing early reviewers and orca publishing for the free copy! ( )

Something happened with Matt at Carmen’s party, but Tori won’t tell anyone about it. Her best friend Alena keeps trying to get her excited about going to the 11th grade anti-prom, but all Tori can think about is what happened the last time she went to a party. Unable to face up to her inner turmoil, and unable to speak about what happened, Tori shaves off her long hair and starts getting into arguments and fights. After an encounter that almost gets her arrested, her parents force her to perform community service.

Read the rest of the review on my blog: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/punch-like-a-girl-karen-kros... ( )

Definitely a positive young adult novel that helps show the way through trauma. There is some some content that is very hard to swallow but it is not graphic or vulgar. Karen Krossing has taken the very serious topic of abuse and delivered it in a way that causes the reader to sit back and think about it once the book is over. The characters are relatable. The plot is not unique, as it is a story about abuse that we have all probably read before, but it is the characters that take this book to the next level. Words cannot describe how positive this book was in the way it revealed dealing with abuse at a young age. I thoroughly enjoyed this from star to finish! ( )