The Knockout

uy... i think i need to put some space between myself and YA for a little bit

this started off so great. to have a main character who excelled at a non-traditional sport for women was incredibly exciting, and i also really enjoyed the fact that she had trouble asking for help or advertising if she needed help. i think that's something a lot of kids of immigrants/kids of color can relate to, and i know that i definitely saw a lot of myself in kareena's surprise when people did start turning up for her.

however, the fact that muay thai and her father's illness fall to the wayside for a boy was really not it for me. while i do love a good romance, especially one where it's two people who really challenge each other, it took too much of the spotlight, and got a little savior-y at the end there. it didn't sit well with me that this novel was trying to paint kareena as a badass who could take a punch and get sh*t done, only for a boy to solve her problems. it also got a little too girlboss-y at some points, especially towards the end when i was just getting exasperated.

culture also falls to the wayside after that one event, which was disappointing. i feel like once the author had established that kareena was indian, ameet was indian, lily was filipino, etc. none of that really mattered except to cause drama (e.g. mentions of arranged marriages). just wasn't a fan of how representation was handled

but uhhh i won an ARC in a giveaway so i had to give it a chance so hah... the more you know