Kareena Thakkar is a badass Indian-American Muay Thai fighter? Go off. Also, I learned that the author, Sajni Patel, was also a martial artist? Here for it.

Seeing this kind of representation, of a strong young woman and an athlete struggling with so much made so happy. Kareena's relationship with her parents, who supported her unconditionally was so beautiful. Most representations (and realities) of Indian families and households involve a lot of disdain for and/or fear of unconventional things. Even supportive parents cling to some fear about social perception, the stability or reliability of a career in or dedication to things that are not conventionally seen as successful. It's also heartening to see their support come through despite their financial troubles and the stress of dealing with a family member who is chronically ill. All this, plus the struggles Kareena has with being caught between being Indian and being American, with grappling with old notions of femininity, are all aspects I appreciated seeing, even alongside more traditional Indian values and views.

I also adored Lily and Kareena's friendship - they were always so close and Lily was wonderfully supportive of Kareena through her stress, her insecurities, and shared in her hopes and fears and sorrows and dreams. Aside from their relationship, I also really enjoyed seeing Kareena find community and a sense of sisterhood at school with fellow athletes.

The romance was quite adorable, though I had something of a love-hate relationship with Amit's characterization. For the most part, the banter/flirting between Amit and Kareena was really adorable, but a lot of their relationship conflict seemed really unrealistic to me in both the incidence of conflict and the resolution. I get that he's a genius and he's doing his job, but in a way, I'm not sure how patient confidentiality and HIPAA protections weren't really a concern...? :/

Overall, it was an entertaining read, with a cute romance.

This was a great meaningful read! It’s about breaking the glass ceilings with, race, religion and expectations! I loved it. It was well written and a YA I would want my teen daughter and nieces to read and take away the lessons within this story. I loved it this book is meaningful and beautifully done about family dynamics, meaningful friendships and exceeding assumptions. This is the second book I’ve read from this author and she does an amazing job putting realistic struggles and problems and resolving them within reason of the real world.

3.5/5

Overall I think this was a sweet, heartwarming story. I loved that it was more than a typical boy meets girl romance, but instead focuses on all of the different things Kareena is dealing with – trying to be a top athlete, trying to figure out what it means to be a good Indian, trying to figure out how to support her struggling family. I love how rounded Kareena is as a character and getting invested into these different parts of her story, with romance just being a small part.

One of my favorite things is cultural element of this book. I think Kareena's struggle of trying to figure out what it means to be a good Indian-American girl and what embracing her culture looks like for her is so very real and relatable. Kareena represents those who have often felt "too brown" to fully fit in mainstream White society, but for whatever reason may be rejected as "not enough" for their own community. I loved this focus. I will say, at times I felt Kareena was being a bit over-judgmental about how she expected people to react, and I wish the book would have shown more specific examples of interactions that helped foster that belief. Sometimes it seemed like most characters showed her they were pretty accepting so it was hard to see why at a certain point she was holding so much back. But I think she did have a great growth arc and watching her become more confident and self-accepting throughout the story was great. I also loved the elements of body positivity in the book as well!

Also, I feel like the best friend characters in books are just killing it these days. I loved Kareena's best friend Lily. I loved her sass, her humor, her heart. I wanted her to be my best friend too! I loved the dynamics of Kareena's different relationships. Her relationship with her best friend. Her relationship with her parents (who are also awesome), her relationship with other female athletes, her relationship with the Indian community in her area, and some ex-best friend drama as well. I think as a whole the book does a good job of exploring all of these different relationships and how they have and are shaping Kareena. And of course, her relationship with her sport. I'm not super interested in reading about details of sports and sports matches etc., but Muay Thai is one I know next to nothing about, so it's always cool to learn about something new.

So, overall there's a lot I really liked about this book. If I'm being honest, the romance was the part that interested me the least. There are some nice and sweet moments, but I think all of the drama related to the romance part fell a bit flat. Amit seemed weirdly cagey at times and was secretive for things that to me didn't really seem like a big deal. I don't know, it wasn't bad but sometimes I just wanted to skim past some of their scenes 'cause it wasn't that exciting. Others might even enjoy Amit as a character, I just really didn't connect with him, so that lowered my overall rating a bit. But if you are looking for a good #ownvoices story filled with heart and positivity and encouragement, I think this is a good read.

this book was not my forte, but the story was amazing! the story was very engaging but i just did not like the book overall. The characters were awesome and the book was good.

I really enjoyed The Knockout. It went in a different way than I was expecting, I thought there would be more fighting scenes but it was nice to see the life surrounding the characters love for the sport. The characters were likeable and I did want to keep coming back to it. I would happily read more from this author.

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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4*
Pros: Gorgeous and fierce Indian lead. Fun and witty dialogues and scenes. Wholesome, belly-warming romance. Fantastic and incredibly interesting focus on Muay Thai, being a professional martial arts athlete and the world of competitive sports. Talks about family expectations, cultural and religious obligations and living with this pressure. Deals with serious health issues and financial struggles. Features beautiful friendships, kickass feminist role models, and powerful moments.
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Cons: Secondary characters are overlooked and used as props to complement the MC's struggles. Cliche romantic interest descriptions and actions.

A fantastic read! The characters are incredibly relatable, after all who hasn't felt insecure about fitting in at some point in their life, or the pressure to succeed. Patel does an amazing job with character development and the emotions conveyed by the female lead as she struggles to achieve her dreams add something special to a book that had the potential to be highly trope-y. 100% would recommend, could not put it down.

The Knockout by Sajni Patel a teen romance that follows Kareena as she navigates the drama of high school friendships, maintaining perfect attendance in class, taking care of her ailing father, and of course, trying and failing to not be distracted by a cute boy. Oh yeah, and being a Muay Thai rockstar!

The book explores the angst and difficulties not just of being a teenage girl, but an Indian teenage girl in Texas who is torn between her two cultures. Can she be herself, play her sport, and have authentic relationships in a community that gossips, slanders, judges, and has unrealistic expectations? Written by an American Indian, Sajni Patel tells us, yes! We get a wonderful peek into the cultural dynamics as well as showing how Kareena in her insecurities often assumed the worst unfairly, that while a close community between parents can include gossip it can also foster mutual support and accountability.

Kareena is so unlike I was in high school. She's ambitious, motivated, focused, and nearly successfully avoids drama through her entire high school experience. I would think it was impossible for high schoolers to possess her good judgment and ability to articulate except I've met a few since my own high school days. But I also found her very relatable: private, awkward, insecure, analytical, introspective, doesn't want to ask for help.

The story is written in 1st person POV which isn't my favorite. It too easily feels cheesy. There were parts of the story that lagged due to being stuck in Kareena's head for too long.

But I'm genuinely interested in these characters. I'm pretty sure this is a standalone, but I would definitely love an Olympic adventure and a "big, fat" Indian wedding! *hint hint* *nudge nudge*

This is a great book for high school girls. Kareena and her friends are great role models that show how staying out of trouble doesn't mean you don't have fun. Kareena worked hard to succeed in class to be done early, to save money for college, to follow her dreams. She is a role model for students fighting temptations in school to skip the drama and it will pay off. I would have benefitted from a friend like her.

Thank you NetGalley and Flux for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

“To all the Upper-Cuts, Roundhouse Kicks, and Flying Knees...Kareena Thakkar was coming for y’all.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Flux Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Knockout by Sajni Patel is, for lack of a better word, adorable. I loved the main character, Kareena, with all my heart. Her passion and emotion were infectious, and I was constantly desperate to know the next part of her story.

Sports romance is my favorite sub-genre of literature, so when I received this ARC, I was ecstatic. The love story between Kareena and Amit is so, so, so cute! The Boy Genius being paired with the Girl On Fire was such a good decision of Sajni Patel’s part. Kareena and Amit had me screaming into my pillow for the majority of the book because I just couldn’t take how adorable they were.

Up until about halfway through the book, I was sure it was only going to be a 3-4 star read, however the end of the book blew me away. I was so entranced with the story, the shocking twists, and the passionate love for sport that I ended up staying up until almost 5 in the morning to finish it. The writing leans toward middle-grade writing that is comparable to the whimsical style of Percy Jackson and The Olympians, and would be the perfect read for kids aged 11-14. Heck, I’m 20 years old and I enjoyed it! I absolutely recommend The Knockout to anyone looking for a fun, fast sports fiction book with the perfect amount of romance.

“I was the girl on fire. And what was fire if not unpredictable?”


The star of The Knockout is Kareena Thakkar who is making her way through her senior year of high school while struggling with financial issues brought about by her father’s serious illness. Kareena’s outlet through all of this has been Muay Thai, a form of martial arts that she loves an excels at. Thanks to Muay Thai, Kareena is offered the chance of a lifetime, but unsure if her financial situation will allow her to take advantage of it. And of course, all of this is happening while she’s being asked to help tutor Amit — who has belonged in their Indian community in ways that Kareena has felt forced out of. Isn’t high school fun?


Unfortunately, The Knockout fell flat for me. While I loved the idea, the story seemed to drag a bit and I just couldn’t find myself drawn toward the characters. I did enjoy the information on Muay Thai, about which I knew very little going into it. This book isn’t bad by any means, it’s just also one I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend. 3 stars from me! Also, can we talk about how much I love this cover?? 🤩

Author has done a Brilliant job with this story...

This is a story about an indian teenage girl Kareena and her life through school sick father,friendship and love....
One might like to read her high school and boy problems,
She was a Muay Thai champion and was trying to find sponsor to be the part of world championship as she was very good...
It is a very nice story but a slow one ...
I stopped reading it after 50% as it was too slow and familiar for me I am a Bollywood fan

#netgalley #sapatel

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.

I’m not in the right mood or mind set at this moment so I’m setting aside for now. The author is a great storyteller so if you’re thinking of picking this up, try a sample to see if it will suit your mood at the time.
Despite not being in the right mindset for it right now, I was enjoying learning about Indian culture, so I look forward to picking this back up when I’m ready for it.

I’m giving this 3 stars on NetGalley because I feel like the author really has something good going here despite me not being able to finish it right now and I don’t have the option to not rate it

An Indian girl who's into Muay Thai and is also simultaneously battling with the judgements of the people of the Indian community who seem to think she's deviating from the norms? I was immediately intrigued. As a Pakistani girl, I could relate to the whole conservative views of most desi people, that girls taking part in rough contact sports is something to be disgusted at. However, I really loved how strong Kareena was in her conviction, and didn't care a lot about what people thought as long as she could do what she loved. She struggled with doubts now and then because she didn't think she could belong to the Indian community if she deviated from their norms. Here's what I liked about this book:
1) accurate Indian rep, with good representation of conservative folks of the community. Sure, the narrow minded values upheld by the community were problematic but unfortunately it still reigns true in real life.
2)Kareena's parents and how they struggled and did everything to support Kareena. It must have been very difficult to break the toxic stereotypes of the Indian community and in a way be cut off from them. Her father had health problems and the financial strain was beating down on them yet Kareena's parents didn't back down from supporting her. Kareena herself felt very guilty and tried to shoulder some of the burden despite her parents' protestations. I love the whole family. It was so wonderful to see the love they shared with each other.
3) The positive body message; that girls shouldn't be expected to have a certain body and everyone's bodies are beautiful the way they are, especially athlete girls who have muscles and abs aren't any less girls because of their body! I loved how the author slammed down all misogynistic ideas!
4) girls supporting girls is my weakness and I loved how this book had this element.
I really liked Kareena's internal conflict about hiding her passion from her classmates because she felt judged. She was so pleasantly surprised when her classmates did everything they could to support her dream. This taught us that we aren't as alone as we think we are and that kind people are around us everywhere.

Now, what I didn't like :
1) The writing style was a bit forceful and inconsistent. The first chapter started out wonderfully, but in the next I felt like there was a sort of insta love between Kareena and Amit which was a bit confusing because they didn't seem to be strangers but were portrayed as such.
2) I didn't like how skeptical Kareena was of every nice thing Amit did for her. I get it she has been judged by every Indian she has met but even after Amit more than proved himself that he wasn't the judgemental sort, she still refused to give him the benefit of the doubt and continued to doubt him. I'd have felt really annoyed if I was Amit.

The Knockout by Sajni Patel // 5⭐️
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Thank you @fluxbooks for the eARC through @netgalley! ✨
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Is it too clichéd to say that Sajni Patel’s upcoming novel The Knockout was an absolute knockout? 🥊 Patel’s story of a desi teen preparing for the U.S. Muay Thai Open explores topics of women in sports, young love, caring for an ailing parent, growing up with financial hardships, moving on from friendships, and struggling to fit into a cultural community. I knew nothing about Muay Thai before reading The Knockout, but it sent me down a middle-of-the-night Wikipedia/YouTube spiral into the sport. Muay Thai was such an interesting and unique backdrop to address the larger themes of the novel, and weaving throughout the story was the concept of belonging and identity. Her journey towards coming to terms with her identity as an Indian-American and embracing her passions, regardless of what others thought, was one that I just adored reading. Not only was Kareena an inspiring and lovable heroine, but her friends were the most supporting and equally badass characters as well. I loved the normalization and praise of female athletes in this book! And of course we can’t forget about Kareena’s love interest, Amit, a genius-level coder with a heart of gold. Yet, none were as supportive as Kareena’s parents, her biggest fans despite the pushback they received from their community for encouraging Kareena to excel at a rather violent sport. In the end, I can’t recommend this book enough. Although the release date has been unfortunately pushed to January 26, 2021, it will definitely be one of 2021’s most talked about young adult novels and something I am highly looking forward to actually owning in the new year.

You can also see this review on my instagram, @dclawtina.

Thought-invoking and adrenaline-inducing are the first words that come to mind when I see this book. While it does deal with serious topics, it also remains cute without taking away the power of said serious topics.

Somewhere between a 2.5 and 3 is how I would rate this book. I was really interested to read to this because of the desi representation and the plot itself seemed interesting with the Muy Thai part, but it really didn’t meet my expectations in the end. Not to say that it’s a bad book, and I encourage others to give it a try if they seem interested but some parts really fell flat for me. As an Indian American, I like to see that representation, as there is with Kareena and Amit. And the struggles she had with balancing her culture and her American life was very valid and understandable, and I could kind of relate but not completely. While I totally understand that everyone has their own insecurities and there are some Indian people who are very traditional and can be very strict and judgmental, I just couldn’t relate to her being insecure for being athletic. I’m sorry I couldn’t. Maybe I’m just projecting because I’m currently trying to get more in shape, but every time she felt embarrassed about being athletic and having abs, all I could think was I wish I had could have that honestly. And while I know some traditional Indian people in my family, I couldn’t relate to having people judge me for being athletic. My Indian parents would have been thrilled if I had more athletic tendencies. And I also felt like American culture is much more geared towards people being athletic, so I guess I couldn’t understand why she felt she’d be judged like that at school. Again, I completely understand that she is valid in having her anxieties and she does state in the book that “Insecurity isn’t logical.” And that’s very true, so I don’t want this review to be perceived as me bashing the characters anxiety. I just personally could not relate, and that’s fine.

Some things I did enjoy was the girl power that played a big role. We love to see women supporting women. Fellow female athletes banded together to help her reach her goals of performing in the Muy Thai competition, which in turn led to mass support from other students into the school and I enjoyed seeing that. The romantic interest Amit, was a very sweet guy, and while he wasn’t perfect, he always made sure Kareena knew he wasn’t judging her and remained supportive continuously, helping her with her family and and her personal goals. The romance was a bit rushed but still cute. There was some petty girl drama, but for the most part Kareena had some pretty awesome and supportive friends which was great, as well as parents who encouraged her constantly and sacrificed a lot for her. That’s one things that can be said for most desi parents, including my own. They do their best in making sure their children can be the best they can be. It can become overbearing at times, like it happened to Amit, whose parents just expected the best from him, but it can also be nice to have parents who always have your back. Kareena’s parents never wanted her to give up on her dreams.

If you think you would enjoy this book, please give it a shot, as I know others have enjoyed tremendously. It wasn’t my personal favorite but I don’t regret reading it. I received this ARC from NetGalley and all opinions stated here are my

There's a phrase in the Indian community that rules over everything else "what will people say?" Bomb the SATs? Don't get into an Ivy League? Drop out of school to pursue art? The stereotypical Indian family response isn't "what happened" or "how can we support you," it's "what will people say?!"

In the case of Kareena Takkar, her family struggles with financial woes, her father is ill, and the sport she kickass in is Muay Thai (all puns intended). She's consistently hears that question of "what will people say," but not from her own family, but from an insecure inner monologue.

I loved The Knockout because it told the story of another Indian American young woman who bucked the trend of what is expected in the community. I loved Kareena's character because she was so relatable to me - someone who picked an atypical career in the Indian community, and had to fight off so many insecurities in doing so, even though I also had my parents' support. Other amazing parts of this book were delving into how some friends will stay true while others change and friendships are outgrown.

There were a few parts of the novel I didn't really connect with: Amit wasn't that believable or relatable as a character. No parents I know let their children wander around at all hours of the night, "reason" or not. I also didn't feel like I got a basis in what it takes to be a Muay Thai competitor - other than lots of running and clean eating. Maybe a better understanding of the sport would have helped.

But, I did speed through the novel and really enjoyed seeing Kareena grow into a the character she became, rather than where she started.

This is a lovely, wonderful book of finding your own path! It's not easy and there will be sacrifices but it's so important to be who you are. The fact that Sajni Patel wrote this about a 17 year old Indian girl who wants to be an Olympic level fighter, can give hope to so many who are finding their way in this world. Highly recommended!

I'm absolutely in love with so many things about this book. The diversity (her best friend is Filipino!), the characters, the sweet romance, and the inspiring sports and STEM aspects.

I absolutely adored Kareena's character. Even though she is so young, her confidence and self=awareness and perseverance is so inspiring, yet still believable for someone her age. She still has a lot to learn, but I appreciated how NOT annoying it was to be in her head. She didn't always make perfect decisions, but it was refreshing to read about a teenager who understood her strength and intelligence, despite outside influences.

Amit is also not your typical hero. He's a little nerdy, super-smart, seemingly the perfect Indian boy who is dealing with his own teenage struggles. Kareena and Amit are an unlikely pair, but they work so well together.

I also adore Kareena's parents. They are such a strong support system and remind me so much of my own parents - willing to give up everything for her dreams.

This book is not only entertaining reading this as an adult, but I'm so excited to think about all the young people who will pick up this book and see things through Kareena's eyes. I hope she inspires them as she has inspired me.