Reviews

This book was received as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a difficult one for me, because I may not have the cultural background to understand what's going on, but I can definitely say that it was a weird read. It was alright, short and to the point, but... There was a lot going on. Too much, in my opinion, for one book to handle. Something feels shallow about it, despite content matter, like it wants to be more than it is but just can't make it happen. The writing style is a bit of a jumble, and hard to follow at times, too, making it difficult to keep track of all the things that are happening.

The characters also aren't altogether believable to me, a mishmash of traits rather than actual characters; though this could be unreliable narrator syndrome. They seem boring at best, and absolute monsters for no real reason at worst. The only real climax of the book seems hollow, through a fever dream, and doesn't even really feel like anything in the end.

I'm trying to finish this out with something I enjoy, because ragging on books isn't my style, but this one just wasn't for me. It may be that I don't fit the demographic the author is trying to reach, and that's fine, but I couldn't follow it.

victoriarius's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

sophiahumber's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

4.0

mermaird's review against another edition

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3.0

I had thought that I have no expectations on this book when I started it–not because I think it would be bad, I just had no idea what to expect from it. But after finishing Fight Like a Girl, I guess I probably expected something out of it, because way after the end, somehow I felt that it was not quite... what I should be expecting?

Confusing, huh? That's probably the best explanation for my feelings that I can muster after reading Fight Like a Girl.

Plot-wise, I considered it like a slice-of-life genre, just a portion of Trisha's life being written down. Apart from the mystery behind her irresponsible father's death and the patterns repeating when her mother finds a new man, everything else seems to not leave me with any impression. The ending just left me with a "Is that it? That's all?".

But I do appreciate that the author did not focus too much on the romance between Trisha and the boy from the gym, but focuses more on her relationship with her mother. The words "But what she's saying, what he was, is that you're mine" refer to Trisha's thoughts on her mother, and it may sound nice without the right context, but I assure that in the book itself, it definitely did not portray something good. Her mother seems to be the type that is very loving, but disguised inside the love is a threatening possessiveness. When things don't go her way, all hell will break loose, never mind that her loved one is getting hurt through it. Which is terrifying, because this kind of person do exist in real world.

I have not much thoughts on the rest, it's a relatively good read, but sadly it didn't leave any lasting impression to me. I was probably expecting a much fiercer story.

Many thanks to Pansing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

smalltownbookmom's review

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4.0

Really enjoyed this dark YA coming of age/domestic drama that sees Trisha, a Trinidadian Canadian teen girl accidentally run over her physically abusive, largely absent father. Lots of Toronto references, a great kickboxing plot (I loved the female sports focus!) plus a bit of romance thrown in too. Great on audio read by the author and perfect for fans of the early 2000 movie, Girl Fight that starred Michelle Rodriguez in her breakout role!

CW: domestic abuse, accidental death of a parent

xahra__'s review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I couldn't put it down, started it in the afternoon, finished it in the evening, idk it just really caught me, the style of writing just completely got me hooked, it was flowing so smoothly and everything was happening and just being inside of Trish's head the entire time especially towards the end was just so interesting. it genuinely felt like it was a person's thoughts, which in a way it was, I loved most of everything that happened, but it's still bugging me that we didn't get anymore backstory on what the mom was actually planning and like what actually happened, i get that

she hired Ravi to kill Trish's dad but I wish there was more backstory, or explanation yk? like how did she get back into contact w Ravi? or why did Ravi stay? or why did Ravi keep getting sicker, was the mom poisoning him or smtg? also theres no complete closure.. like yk a good wrap up? I didn't get that feeling. like it feels like somtg else needs to happen after the ending.

anyways, other than the closure bit, I genuinely loved this book a lot, Trish is such a good character and

although I wish she had kept fighting I understand why she stopped

I love the realisticness in a way? like yk real life doesn't have reasoning for what's gonna happen next, the

slow deterioration of Trish's like the way you could see her getting worse both mentally and physically? it just was rlly cool

ANYWAYS no more ranting, read the book, it's good 👍🏼👍🏼

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