The Knockout

Plot Summary: Kareena Thakkar is a Muay Thai fighter. She's so good that she has been invited to participate in the USMTO (United States Muay Thai Open) competition. Kareena is concerned, not about her skills, but about attending at all. Since her dad got sick money has been hard to come by. Although her parents are supportive, being a girl fighter is not seen as appropriate in Indian culture. She has been hiding the fact that she's in Muay Thai for years. Then she starts tutoring Amit Patel in computer science and they fall hard for each other. Can Kareena find a way to go to the competition, be proud of who she is, and navigate her relationship with Amit?

Kareena Thakkar is an Indian American who does Muay Thai. She is cut off from many other members of the Indian community because they were not understanding towards her and her mother. She doesn't feel 'Indian enough' because of this. She becomes friends with Amit Patel, the soon to be school valedictorian, who she tutors in computer science even if she suspects he doesn't need it. Well, 'friends' is putting it mildly even if technically according to Indian traditions they can't date. 

Author Background: Sajni Patel was born in India and emigrated with her family to Texas, United States. She writes Young Adult and books with women main characters. She likes chocolate, playing sports (including Muay Thai in college), and baby animals (Patel, n.d.).

Critical Evaluation: This was a good book! The characters were realistic, the mix of American and Indian traditions and culture was well balanced and I cared about Kareena's struggles. Although there were some low reviews, they seemed to be mostly positive. The most common thing noted, and I totally agree, was in relation to how amazing it was to have a BIPOC girl main character who defied gender roles. The main characters, at least, were well rounded as well (Good Reads, n.d.).

Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer: Kareena Thakkar has been invited to compete in a Muay Thai Open. She's also tutoring her Amit Patel, a certified genius and valedictorian. All while feeling not good enough for those around her. Will Kareena be able to deal with the pressure and prove to herself, let alone others that she deserves acceptance and love?

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Traditional gender roles are thrown out the window, or out of the ring, in this story. Kareena is a Muay Thai fighter and is working on being open about it. Women and girls may not have traditional interests that fit neatly into what society thinks they should be doing. The same goes for men and boys. However, all people regardless of sex or gender should be encouraged to pursue their own interests. 

Reason for Inclusion: The desire society has for people to stick to their assigned roles is strong. However, not everyone fits in to them. I picked this book so that teens could be shown that they don't have to fit into a specific mold.

References

Good Reads. (n.d.). The Knockout. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44771324-the-knockout?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=eDWMaJzmvR&rank=3.

Janice Hung. (2019, March 3). Self defense moves every woman should know. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Jn0eP-ZVg.

Khan Academy Computing. (2014, March 13). Readable code / computer programming / Khan Academy. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u-fqfr86Ro.

Patel, S. (n.d.). About Sajni Patel. https://www.sajnipatel.com/about. 

Sherrybyw. (2022, February 8). My muay thai journey + why you should do it too. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ei1g_88nss.