Cover Image: Fight Like a Girl

Fight Like a Girl

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Member Reviews

I really enjoyed this book. It has a way of drawing you in even though it dragged for me a little bit. Or I am impatient. Strong plot idea and resonant voice will have me reading other books by this author. Definitely check it out though. The writing is solid. Happy reading!

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Trisha is trying to cope with the death of her father, who was killed while she was practicing driving with her family. This includes diving headfirst into her passion of Muay Thai boxing in her Canadian town. Through this time while also navigating her senior year of high school, Trisha starts to realize more things about herself and her family, including some dark secrets that threaten to bubble to the surface.

This story was definitely intense, and I liked it for that reason. You get some real slice of life when it comes to the training that a boxer goes through and some of the pressures, including meeting weight as well as the vigorous training that is done daily. Even as the story is in Trisha's point of view, a lot of the moments become raw and aggressive under her lens. That being said, there were a lot of moments where I felt she could be a slightly unreliable narrator with it being mentioned she might have several concussions, which is extremely concerning, especially at the end of the novel.

There was also a mystery element that I actually really liked and felt pretty well-paced. The author gives you enough space between each clue to ponder on it while more stuff in Trisha's life occurs, which is really nice and gives a breath of fresh air. I will say I didn't really expect who the culprit was in the end, but it still was interesting to read about at the end.

In terms of plot and execution, there were a lot of things that were confusing to me. First, there was some kind of paranormal element to this that felt kind of unnecessary, such as the inclusion of a "soucouyant," which is like a Caribbean old woman equivalent of a vampire, and weird hallucinations/dreams. I know the purpose of it was to include elements of Trisha's culture into the story, but it felt very surface level and more could have been done to include it more cohesively into the narrative. There were also some terms and slang that were thrown around that I wasn't too comfortable with, including the term "Lunchtime Desi," but as a white person I cannot speak to the full extension of this term. I also cannot fully speak to the Trinidad representation as a white person, and highly recommend looking for a reviewer from such representation to get a full grasp.

I do wish that some of the characters from the gym were featured a lot more, especially the girls that Trisha fights with, Amanda and Noor. They had potential but were mainly thrown to the side a lot more than I would have liked. I also wasn't a huge fan of the romance subplot, especially since there wasn't much done with the love interest in the first place.

I will add that there is a LOT of physical and emotional abuse in the story, some of which I think had potential to be more impactful, but I don't think it was the best that I've seen in terms of representing it. Trisha basically acknowledges it, but doesn't seem really fully impacted by it the way I would expect her to. Like "yeah her mom almost broke her arm, whatever," kind of mindset, which is a bit unnerving.

Fight Like a Girl is a fast-paced read full of action and mystery, but sadly falls short on execution.

I received a copy of this story as an e-ARC from both NetGalley and Penguin Teen. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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DNF @ 70%. This got a bit too weird for me towards the end and I decided to drop it as it made me a bit too uncomfortable to return to it.

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This was an intense, raw, heart-wrenching read. I enjoyed Sheena Kamal's writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

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TW: physical & emotional abuse

This is the first I've read by Sheena Kamal, so I went into this with no preconceived notions. I was sucked in from the first page and read it in a day. Some pretty heavy subject matter for YA, but I thought the author approached it in an authentic and impactful way. I found Trisha to be a fascinating character, and enjoyed learning more about her world and experience. I was rooting for her and emotionally invested in her, and the mystery as it unfolded. I wasn't expecting the more mystical elements, but reading about them made me want to read more about them. (No spoilers, so I will leave it at that.)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for this honest review.

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I went into this book with no expectations. It was a quick read, but almost too quick. The characters weren’t quite as developed as I needed them to be and I felt as though their stories were only told halfway. I didn’t find myself invested in any of the characters and still had a lot of questions when I finished.

Trisha is a passionate kickboxer that trains hard. It has become her outlet as she tries to figure out who she is, who her family is and all the things that are entwined with that. Her relationship with her father is near non existent and her relationship with her mother is not an easy one. Seems as though everyone is keeping secrets and Trisha isn’t sure how to deal with it.

I was just left hanging in many ways with this book…I almost thought it was going to take a vampire like turn for a bit, but then it didn’t really. Trisha meets a major goal, but it didn’t feel like an achievement. Her family seemed better, but were they really? It just didn’t leave me with very many answers.

Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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tw // abuse

Fight Like A Girl was a very intense read centered on love and violence. The writing style wasn't a favorite, and it was pretty challenging to read the book. This book was shorter than most novels, so I read it in one sitting. The mystery and suspense were fascinating, and they left me at the edge of my seat. Since the book was short, there were places where the story felt rushed, which left some plot holes. The book's pacing wasn't a favorite of mine; the pace changed from slow to fast quite often, which made me lose focus on the plot of the book. I loved the character development and the important topics discussed in the book, and I felt like Shenna Kamal did a good job bringing awareness to these topics. Such as domestic violence, fear, and death.
Another thing I loved about this book talks about one's culture, identity, and family struggles. The thing I despised the most was the Indo-Trinidad cultural stereotypes. I don't think the author did a good job portraying the culture here and adequately was too much slang towards the stereotypes. In the end, I liked the idea of the story, but I thought it was not as well-executed as it could've been.

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tw // abuse

rep // Trinidadian MC

Fight Like a Girl is well-written and well-paced, at the exact pace that I would expect from a YA novel. The quick developments and character exposition reminded me of the books from high school english, which is not necessarily a bad thing since. Moreover, it has some elements of magical realism, combining Trinidadian folklore with main character Trisha's thoughts, which made for a fever dream of a book.

Why the low rating then? It's the last 35 pages that absolutely ruined the book for me. Trisha lives with her mom in Toronto while her dad comes in and out of their lives, living mainly with his first family. He's also very abusive to her mom, often leaving her with beatings and bruises. One time while he's visiting on a rainy day, Trisha is behind the wheel with her mom and some friends and they hit her dad, killing him on the spot. But she can't help but think there's more to the story when a new man suddenly moves in and all the women seem to have more money than usual.

Trisha uses kickboxing to bid her time and to funnel her anger into something. But she never wins a fight and some even say she likes the pain of losing. As things get weirder and weirder with her mom's new man at home, she starts having hallucinations of a demon as her mother to mask the pain of her mom's abuse. As more and more things come out about that night her father was hit by the car, it's clear her mom is up to something. But the ending falls flat for me, with her choosing to come in on the lies, quitting kickboxing and becoming a robot.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you so much, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada and Penguin Teen, for the chance to read and review this amazing book in exchange of an honest review.

Trisha is trying to channel her violent impulses into Muay Thai kickboxing and trying to deal with her violent father, who beats her mother and comes and goes as he pleases. Until one day, he wanders drunk in front of the car she's driving and he's killed in the accident. While dealing with his passing, her mother's new boyfriend, Trisha tries to come to terms with everything and to understand what's really happened that night.

This book is awfully intense and heartwrenching, dealing with violence, death and love in a strong mix and with a brilliant main character. Trisha is stubborn, complex and she has to deal with a lot in her life. Domestic violence, fear, death, while growing up and channelling her emotions in the sport, in this amazing book. I loved reading it, even though some scenes were hard to read and the story is really well written, able to capture me and make me feel everything.

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Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!

I read this book in one sitting and I regret nothing.

I was really excited for this book, because it seemed like the kind of thing that I wouldn’t normally pick up but would also enjoy. Surprisingly enough, my first impression of the book was actually correct.

I loved the power and sass behind this book. Trisha’s narrative and story were so intense and fast-paced, but it was done beautifully and somewhat comedically.

The plot of this book follows Trisha, a fierce girl who trains in Muay Thai, as she navigates the aftermath of her abusive father’s death - at her hand, after he walks out in front of her car while drunk. Her mother, however, seems somewhat lighter after his death. So when Trisha’s mother gets another boyfriend - one who seems similar - she’s worried about what might happen.

The writing and narration style made me snort so many times. Trisha’s wit is so quick and her opinions are so informal, aggressive and yet passionate and beautiful that I don’t really know how to explain it. This book is sassy.

Just like Trisha.

The curse of my life. Trinidadian women. One in particular.

Trisha was such a dynamic main character. I loved her perspective, her power and her emotional experiences. Being in her head was a ride. She was so vivid and full of anger and confusion and passion that I couldn’t get bored of reading through her eyes.

Aunty K was great, even though she was a little bit annoying to me.

Ma was incredibly complex, especially with her relationship to Trisha. Their characters were so confusing together in a really realistic, well-written way.

Noor was a role model even though she was pretty minor. She and Amanda were just really cool and I would absolutely be terrified of them if I knew them in real life.

Jason was confusing but cool and I guess I was okay with him? I didn’t care about him that much but he was very interesting and added a lot to Trisha’s character.

Kru was an interesting character, but he wasn’t explored as much. The hints about his backstory were very vague and I think it would have been interesting to see more of him.

Columbus was okay. He felt kind of pointless at times, but he’s exactly the kind of supportive best friend that every girl needs.

Imelda was honestly a bit of a bitch and I stopped liking her pretty quickly. But character-wise she was okay.

There were a few more characters, but those were the ones I remembered the most. I think because of the amount of characters, none of them got a ton of personal development, but they were all represented well and I think if this turns out not to be a standalone, then I would love to get more of the others.

We call each other gladiators because we go out and fight for reasons beyond us. Reasons that nobody else can understand if you're not part of it. We don't even understand it, not really. Nobody is from here, or from Thailand, even, the birthplace of our sport, Muay Thai. ... Our origin stories are irrelevant here, because we all want the same thing.

The best thing about this book was probably the cultural representation for me. I loved that each character, even the minor ones, had such complex backstories that even though they weren’t told, they were implied in a way that made the diversity just so much more believable.

The narrative on racism was incredibly powerful. This book confronted stereotypes and diversity issues in an almost out-of-the-way style that felt really good. I loved how natural it felt.

Rule number one of being a woman from Trinidad: be hella fierce.
I'm not kidding, people. This is the rule. Not only will people expect you to be educated, have a job and provide, you must also have it in you to be an all-round queen.

The plot themes were very complex and harsh, balanced out with Trisha’s narration. This book went into abuse with Trisha’s parents. The whole concept of violence and fighting was written in so bluntly but in a way that just came out with so much strength.

The familial relationships in themselves were powerful. I loved how this book went into such confusing, harsh realities between people. Trisha’s parents and friends and family were written with so much truth and realism that it was honestly impressive. This book captured how weird families can be and how relationships can easily become or unbecome toxic.

It's the women that stay.
They're with you even when they're not around. They give you pieces of their souls, jagged pointy things, and you can never give them back, no matter how much you want to. No matter how much these pieces cut you and make you bleed for them, over and over.

Overall, this was a really strong book. The characters were intense, the plot was relevant and the themes were so beautifully done. I loved Trisha’s strength and vulnerability, I loved the messages that came across, and I loved how despite the straightforwardness of Trisha’s narration the book managed to be trippy and ominous where it needed to be.

I wasn’t absolutely blown away, but I really liked this book. The whole experience was just badass, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished.

I would absolutely recommend this book to people who like cultural narratives, contemporary books, and realistic but still badass teenage girls, because that is exactly what Trisha is. This book is hard-hitting (literally) but fun.

The Art of Eight Limbs, the Thai words that stutter off our tongues. They don't sound right, even to us, but none of that matters. Not really. As long as we pay our respects, we get a pass to train. To fight.

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Things are not going well for Trisha. Her dad was just killed in a car accident, her mom is violent with her, and she can't seem to bring the fierceness of her Muay Thai training into the ring with her. Muay Thai boxing attracts fighters of many national ancestry, including Trinidadian-Canadian Trisha and her multicultural friends and teammates. Her mom left the island when Trisha was in utero, and her dad split his time between the two countries.

This isn't a suck-you-in story. Even though it's about a very physically person, it's a cerebral read. Normally I can relate to distance (lolsob), but I wish I'd been more drawn to Trisha.

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This book is centered around love and violence. It’s a fast-paced novel. Sheena’s writing style is beautiful and I enjoyed this a lot.

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I am not a big fan of YA, but I am a big fan of Sheena Kamal so I was excited to get an advanced copy of her newest book. It tells the story of Trisha who is a fighter and dealing with a lot of family drama. It’s a good story that really drew me in. There were a few plot points that were confusing to me, especially as the narrator told us more about a certain evening in question. But I enjoyed reading this!

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This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

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▪️!!TW!!: Physical and Emotional abuse.▪️
A quick and fast paced read is a thrilling read full of action, mystery, and a sense of overcoming impossible situations. The story itself is a little wild, and touches on a range of topics, physical and mental abuse, facing and overcoming tragedy, and finding one’s place in the world. Trisha is a girl full of anger and emotions that she eventually finds an outlet for through kickboxing, and I liked that while there is a brief romantic interest, he is not the focus of her journey or her growth. In fact I found the love interest a little dull and one dimensional with very little personality and nothing interesting about him except the fact that he smells like cologne. Trisha is a very relatable character, and I really liked that while she knows that family does not equal perfect, she does eventually come to realize that blood does not equal family.
What I would say is one of my favorite things about this book, is that it is the perfect example for “don’t judge a book by its cover”. This is not a story about girl who learns how to physically fight, although you of course get to see Trisha’s boxing career effect on her personal life. Overall this is a story about the struggles and the fight of everyday life, about testing your limits, and facing life with fierceness and perseverance.
If you loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and The Family Upstairs, I have no doubt you will enjoy Fight Like a Girl.

♥️Thank you so much @penguinrandomca @penguinteen and @netgalley for my E-Copy!!! ♥️

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3/5
Fight like a girl is a quick read that definitely leaves an impression on you after you finish reading it. Even though the writing style wasn't my favorite and the plot did feel a bit rushed at times I still did enjoy reading. Overall I would recommend this to those who are looking for a fast quick read that has a bit of a mystery aspect towards it.

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I really wanted to love FIGHT LIKE A GIRL because I was under the impression that Trisha was going to be such a badass main character, being that she's into martial arts, but I ended up just being kind of annoyed by her. I found the writing to be a little confusing and even kind of choppy at times. I thought the little pieces of Trinidad culture were so fun and informational. I also wish it was a little bit longer because I feel like the length/fast pace was what made the writing confusing. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers and books about martial arts, but it just wasn't really for me.

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I don't really know how to describe my feelings towards this book other than, this read like a Wattpad book from 2016 and I'm an ao3 only user. The cover was super pretty though.

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a fairly enjoyable quick read with interesting themes and unique challenges tied to the main character; i wish it were a bit longer, but the pacing was done well enough to where it makes sense for it to be short and not linger.

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Trisha is a fighter. She lives for the gym and training. Living with her mom while her dad lives in Trinidad and visits infrequently. When he is in town, abuse and fighting ensues at her home. Trisha tries to avoid this be being away as long as possible. When Trisha’s dad dies unexpectedly, Trisha’s mom seems at peace with what happened. But it doesn’t all add up. Can Trisha figure out what’s going on and learn who she is in and out of the ring? Excellent story, page turning, and characters you are invested in by the end of the story.

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