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A review by gayathiri_rajendran
The Knockout by Sajni Patel
4.0
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Flux Books for providing me with a free advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Knockout by Sajni Patel follows the story of Kareena Thakkar,a Muay Thai fighter who gets an opportunity to compete in the US Muay Thai Open which in turn might open doors to getting on the Muay Thai Olympic team. I do not generally read books about sports and I think this has to be my first. This book falls under the YA category but it has some serious themes in it.
Kareena's sport is seen as "unconventional" for girls and with her father being ill and the medical debts rising,she struggles to raise money for the competition. One top of everything,a few relationships start to change her and what happens makes up for the rest of the story.
The main character is portrayed as strong. However, you could see the facade peeling off at times and it was relatable the way Kareena felt she wasn't "Indian" enough since she practiced Muay Thai. Amit is another character in the book and even tough he looks perfect on the outside, I loved the way the author portrayed his struggles, which were unexpected. One of the focuses in this book is friendship and the author shows us both healthy as well as toxic friendships. Bullying is also depicted in the book and in the beginning Kareena has only one friend but at the end of the story we see her coming out of her shell more often and mingling with a lot of her peers.
Cultural issues are also dealt with in this book and the author has done a commendable job. Indian representation was pretty much on point. However,I would like to add that not all Indians are as shown in the book. There were a few parts of the novel I didn't really connect with but a good read overall.
The Knockout by Sajni Patel follows the story of Kareena Thakkar,a Muay Thai fighter who gets an opportunity to compete in the US Muay Thai Open which in turn might open doors to getting on the Muay Thai Olympic team. I do not generally read books about sports and I think this has to be my first. This book falls under the YA category but it has some serious themes in it.
Kareena's sport is seen as "unconventional" for girls and with her father being ill and the medical debts rising,she struggles to raise money for the competition. One top of everything,a few relationships start to change her and what happens makes up for the rest of the story.
The main character is portrayed as strong. However, you could see the facade peeling off at times and it was relatable the way Kareena felt she wasn't "Indian" enough since she practiced Muay Thai. Amit is another character in the book and even tough he looks perfect on the outside, I loved the way the author portrayed his struggles, which were unexpected. One of the focuses in this book is friendship and the author shows us both healthy as well as toxic friendships. Bullying is also depicted in the book and in the beginning Kareena has only one friend but at the end of the story we see her coming out of her shell more often and mingling with a lot of her peers.
Cultural issues are also dealt with in this book and the author has done a commendable job. Indian representation was pretty much on point. However,I would like to add that not all Indians are as shown in the book. There were a few parts of the novel I didn't really connect with but a good read overall.