The Knockout

Written by Sajni Patel

Narrated by Soneela Nankani

If seventeen-year-old Kareena Thakkar is going to alienate herself from the entire Indian community, she might as well do it gloriously.

She’s landed the chance of a lifetime, an invitation to the US Muay Thai Open, which could lead to a spot on the first-ever Olympic team. If only her sport weren’t seen as something too rough for girls, something she’s afraid to share
with anyone outside of her family. Despite pleasing her parents, excelling at school, and making plans to get her family out of debt, Kareena’s never felt quite Indian enough, and her training is only making it worse.

Which is inconvenient, since she’s starting to fall for Amit Patel, who just might be the world’s most perfect Indian. Admitting her feelings for Amit will cost Kareena more than just her pride—she’ll have to face his parents’ disapproval,
battle her own insecurities, and remain focused for the big fight. Kareena’s bid for the Olympics could very well make history—if she has the courage to go for it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705031797

Sajni Patel

Sajni Patel was born in vibrant India and raised in the heart of Texas, surrounded by a lot of delicious food and plenty of diversity. She draws on personal experiences, cultural expectations, and southern flair to create worlds that center around strong Indian women. Once in MMA, she’s now all about puppies and rainbows and tortured love stories.

Reviews for The Knockout

[maggie.chavarria · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[oldandnewbooksmell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[catherinehsu · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

*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.

[ansate · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

oh! it made me cry. It hit so many buttons about not belonging as a teenager, and also straight up tragedy like her father's illness. It was almost too many sad things at times, but then she got on with being a believable teenager - sleeping in class, losing her temper. You are rooting for her the entire way. The Indian culture stuff was great - hopefully it was not too explainy for those already in the know, but it felt like a good level of giving me a peek into the culture without explaining every little thing. Same with the Muay Thai - a little info but mostly just shows it in place in the story. I immediately gave this book to a teenager with the comment "It made me cry a lot"

[hawaiianmermaid701 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I haven't connected to a book like this one in ages! I loved Kareena's story, and I want to be her friend so badly. I loved her support network in this book, and the real MVP of the story was Lily, can she have her own story please? I loved everything about this book, and I learned so much about Muay Thai! I would recommed this to everyone, but especially those who have read and enjoyed Gloria Chao's American Panda

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast paced and kick ass - The Knockout is about an Indian American teen training to compete in the US Muay Thai Open while dealing with a father in failing health, friend issues, and boy troubles. Kareena Thakkar has a lot on her plate and the only thing keeping her level headed is Muay Thai. She revels in the training and clear mindedness she gets when she is in the ring. She's thrilled to have been invited to the US Open but at the same time, so stressed because her family is slowly drowning in medical debt and she doesn't want to burden her parents anymore. Kareena is a tough girl, but sometimes the toughest thing to do is know when to ask for help. She's got her best friend, Lily and Amit, the boy she's been tutoring - but how much can they really help? And is she even Indian enough for Amit? Kareena has a tough relationship with her local Indian community as they haven't been accepting of her mother or the tough sport she plays. A great read for teens that touches on a myriad of issues!