While I really liked the idea of this book, I was not fond of the execution. I did not finish. ( )

I was on the edge of my seat whenever Kareena donned her gloves or got up close and personal with Amit.

The Knockout by Sajni Patel is a new contemporary young adult tale featuring the unique and tantalizing combination of Muay Thai boxing, Indian culture, learning to trust, and first love. Kareena Thakkar is a talented competitor in her senior year of high school, a time traditionally filled with many memorable activities that could easily become distractions in her preparations to compete nationally. Complicating everything is her father’s illness, its impact on the family’s financial health and future, and the toxic vibes Kareena has been getting from the local Indian community over the preceding years. Not only was the story compelling and emotion-filled, but it challenged societal views of gender-appropriate sports.

Kareena is smart and sassy, a fun and engaging girl under normal circumstances, and a wonderfully supportive daughter to her overwhelmed parents. She does an amazing job keeping her life on track but constantly worries because her parents aren’t telling her everything about her father’s condition and their financial situation; they still see her as a child and want to preserve that innocence and protect her from the grim truth. However, this girl’s no dummy. She’s been participating in the highly physical martial art of Muay Thai boxing since she was eight, and backed by her parents’ belief and support and a never-give-up attitude; she has excelled and found success, acceptance, and respect in the ring. It is no wonder that when things get off-balance at home, she begins to rely more and more on the gym as a refuge, a place she can feel she has some control over things in her life.

There are other pressures, social ones, bearing down as well, any one of which would be enough in itself: a friendship that dissolved over a misunderstanding over a boy resulting in a former confidant spreading malicious rumors about her at school and the continued censure of the aunties and uncles isolating her from the Indian community when they learn of her boxing. Kareena maintains superhuman control over her emotions when taunted by her former friend, Saanvi.

Another storyline is her developing relationship with classmate Amit Patel, the projected class valedictorian and “perfect Indian son.” Amit is an enigma to Kareena. Not only does he have secrets of his own, but she also doesn’t quite trust his involvement in her life because she’s been burned before. But the chemistry between the two is palpable, and I was rooting for Amit to prove to be as good as he seemed and become the true friend (and perhaps the love of her life) that Kareena deserved.

The teenage characters ring true throughout the book, feeling genuine and authentic in their words and deeds. The fight scenes were descriptive enough to depict the emotional and adrenaline-charged atmosphere without too many bloody details. The scenes were riveting and tense, and I was on the edge of my seat every time Kareena donned her gloves.

With its unique premise and engaging characters, I recommend THE KNOCKOUT to readers who enjoy contemporary young adult tales, sports themes, family dramas, and stories steeped in modern Indian culture.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours. ( )

The Knockout is a young adult debut, of an Indian-American teenager being invited to participate in the US Muay Thai Open, possibly leading to a spot in an Olympic team. The blurb for this book sounded so good, and I think there were important messages throughout that can really resonate with younger adults - the fear of being judged, or the worry that comes from being a teenager. Some of the book was just slow, or the characters seemed to just be so terrible that it took away from the real story line. Overall I wanted more from this one. ( )

Kareena Thakkar already felt like an outsider from the entire Indian community, so when she received an invitation to the US Muay Thai Open, she might as well be a glorious, butt-kicking outsider. Though she's worked hard and has supportive parents, Kareena is afraid to share her sport with anyone outside her family. Despite the support, excelling at school, and making plans to get her family out of debt, she's never quite felt Indian enough - and participating in a sport deemed too tough for girls, it's only making it worse.

Which is going to be hard, because she's found herself falling fast for Amit Patel, a boy who just might be the world's most perfect Indian son. Being with him will cost Kareena more than just her pride... she'll have to face his parents' disapproval, her own insecurities, and still remain focused on her fights.

I would get annoyed with Kareena plenty of times throughout the book, mostly because she kept saying, "No one will like me because I fight." Once her Mom's background as to why she hasn't included Kareena in as many Indian community gatherings was told, it made a bit more sense, but it still didn't completely make it understandable. Even when her friends were telling her otherwise...

"You kind of assume people judge you. You don't want anyone making assumptions about you, but you're pre-judging everyone else... Think about it: You loathe the fact that you've been judged, so you assume that others will judge you the same way. You were hurt. But, imagine how I feel because you assumed I would be judgmental of you before you even knew me." - Amit

While Kareena was a strong female lead character, the others kind of fell flat and one dimensional... especially the other female athletes at her school. I wish I could have seen more of them and their connection to Kareena besides being breezed over via postings online.

I grabbed this book because before Covid-19, I was really into boxing at a Muay Thai gym. My boyfriend trained there as well in Muay Thai so I was constantly surrounded by it. I was mostly curious to see how the author wrote and described the action of the fights - not only what was happening physically but mentally as well. I felt like S.A. Patel did a decent job but I myself got a little lost during fights as to what's going on.

Overall, I think this was a wonderful book to showcase a sport that's not usually represented, especially with female athletes. ( )

*I received a free copy through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.*

I'm just heartbroken that I didn't love this as much as I thought I would; the blurb had completely sold me and I was hoping this novel would be something like Made in Korea, which totally stole my heart.

Unfortunately, there were several things in The Knockout that just missed the mark for me. I think the biggest one was that the book was so little Muay Thai and so much petty teenage drama. Saanvi was a character that seemed to exist just to be annoying and terrible and make Kareena's life difficult, but having all their history happen prior to the book's events just made all their interactions seem like out-of-the-blue plot devices, focusing on petty arguments that I didn't care much to read about.

I also didn't feel the romance at all. It was unclear whether or not they were close or if they were more like strangers or just acquaintances, and I honestly just fail to see when and why they started liking each other. It felt a little bit like insta-love.

The little side plots with Amit's coding projects and Kareena's father's condition were nice, but I also just wish they had felt more cohesive with the rest of the story. Especially when it came to Kareena's coding abilities, I felt like these little habits and side stories were compartmentalized and it was hard to reconcile them with the overarching plot.

The writing style just did not click with me at all. It was a little too energetic, and even the direction some of the plot points went made me feel like I was watching a kid's show where the answer was "the power of friendship". In addition, as much as I liked the internal conflict surrounding Asian-American identity and feeling "not Indian enough", it was brought up over and over again and phrased in the exact same way — it just got to be very repetitive, along with the subplot of Kareena assuming the worst of people constantly.

In the end, this just didn't click with me, at least not me as a 22-year-old. I feel like fifteen-year-old me would've enjoyed it more. ( )