This memoir is perfectly titled. A "burn it all down" book by a fantastic and engaging writer. Koul may actually be the voice of a generation and I'm so glad I read this. Cultural identity, divorce, aging parents and the internet are all wrapped into on perfect burrito.

It has taken me a long time after reading to submit feedback for this book. I prefer not to publish negative reviews so I am keeping my feedback here and not sharing to GoodReads or StoryGraph. But I did not enjoy this book. I was surprised, because I’ve enjoyed so much of Scaachi Koul’s previous work. Reading it all the way to the end, hoping it would get better, was a slog. It was repetitive and not engaging.

I read Koul's first book and really enjoyed it. I've followed her online ever since. I knew she got divorced but I didn't go into this book knowing it was primarily about her divorce. Even though I am not divorced, I did enjoy this book! I liked the way Koul wove in different cultural ties and related them to what she was going through. Koul found a way to take a pretty sad scenario and add in grit and humor to make it enjoyable to read.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Review is scheduled to post on March 4, 2025 at www.angryangelbooks.com

Title: Sucker Punch
Author: Scaachi Koul
Source: DRC via Netgalley (St. Martin's Press) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: March 4, 2025
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

Other books by this author:
One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of this Will Matter

Why did I choose to read this book?

I am pretty sure I would thank Scaachi for sucker punching me. What an absolute queen. I would read anything she writes. Reading her work is cleansing, it makes me hopeful, it makes me want to be a better, more sharp-tongued woman. It gives me strength and feeds my soul. It makes me feel like I'm not alone in my anger, my frustration, and my sadness.

What is this book about?

You can read the synopsis of the book at the Goodreads link above. For me, this book is about how we overcome societal expectations that influence our personal goals and expectations for yourself. Who do we owe ourselves to? When we make decisions, are we making them because they are the best ones for ourselves or because we feel like others expect us to do certain things? And how do we come to terms with decisions we've made that have consequences that we have to move on from? How do we come back from things we perceive as failure? From trauma? From disappointment of ourselves or others? This book is about A LOT.

What is notable about this story?

Scaachi Koul holds nothing back. She is truthful and mean and kind and everything - she wears her heart on her sleeve and you just have to accept and deal with that yourself because she isn't about to change to accommodate you and that's a good thing. She is inspiring to all of us that might have been told we are too big, too loud, too brusque - there's hope out there!

Was anything not so great?

This collection is amazing and I have no notes. Breathtaking. If you're an angry angel like me you'll love this.

What's the verdict?

5 stars on Goodreads and I feel very comfortable saying that reading Scaachi's work should be a requirement if you want to have what it takes to survive the world/society we currently live in. Everyone will have something they will take away from this, something they will relate to or recognize, and some will read things they need to hear so maybe they can be better people. Please read BOTH Scaachi's collections so that you can have the entire journey she's been on and so you can fall in love with her like I have.

I started reading this because, having not done my due diligence, I thought it was about sports (the title checks out!). In the first chapter, the author even talks about her family's volatility and willingness to argue - I thought she was laying the foundation for how she became some wild UFC fighter. In chapter 2 I finally looked up the author and realized she was simply a Canadian writer. Nothing more. I stopped reading the book after the third chapter because in general I don't like essays. But I will say she is a captivating writer, so if humorous essays about race, love, friendship, immigrant parents, etc. is your thing, check it out!

I got this book when Netgalley offered up a free copy - I usually enjoy essay collections like this, especially when they are funny and examine social issues. I hadn't read her first book, so I don't know if it was as hilarious as the synopsis for Sucker Punch promised, but I didn't think that humor was a characteristic of this one. In fact, during the first chapter, I was groaning because the author was NOT someone who I would have wanted to be around in any capacity. The way she described her tendency toward fighting with everyone just sounded exhausting.

However, I kept reading and really warmed to her because she did such an excellent job examining her argumentative nature and her life and describing what she learned she wanted for herself. Another thing that I liked was the circular nature of the book. Usually essay collections are a fairly linear deal, but the author kept interrogating the same ideas from different angles throughout the essays, and brought things back around to her opening essay at the end. It made the book more of a planned-out package rather than a pile of separate pieces bound together.

I wondered before starting this one if I should read her first book first, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if you haven't - she spends a lot of time in Sucker Punch analyzing things she wrote in her first book and giving her new perspective on them now that she's older and more sure of who she is.

A personal collection of essays in which Canadian writer Scacchi Koul shares her experiences with divorce, rape, body image, disordered eating, life during the pandemic and more. This was good on audio narrated by the author herself but I'm not sure I liked it quite as much as her first book. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

"i have been losing the fight with my own body for a deceptively simple reason: i treat it as a fight in the first place. but i don't need to hide from myself, or hide myself from other people. besides, i cannot hide because no one will let me. even if i try to slink away to an invisible place, someone will come and get me. it's nice in the light if you can stand in it long enough to feel the warmth. looking at my body with my own gaze is a light unto itself. i try to stay there as much as i possibly can."

when i tell you i highlighted 70 different passages of this book, i am not exaggerating. and i'm not someone who typically annotates books. but this collection of essays is just so raw and real and relatable. i found myself in tears at 10 am on a sunday morning and laughing at 2 pm on a thursday (when i should have been working!). i found myself not wanting to stop reading to do anything else. i wanted so badly to follow Scaachi on her journey.

i can't say enough good things about sucker punch. within two chapters i knew it would be a five star read for me. it's not a book i will stop thinking about any time soon. to be seen is to be understood is to be loved. and this collection of essays is exactly that. i felt seen and understood and loved because Scaachi, at times and at last, was able to see and understand and love the parts of her story she had minimized, avoided, or felt shame around for so long. and isn't that the goal for all of us? to see our faults, to understand how we got here, to learn to love the journey towards healing and who we become through that?

i cannot recommend sucker punch enough. i hope you take the time to read it, whether you relate to Scaachi's struggles or not. it's an important essay collection and it's one that i know will change your outlook on life for the better.

I'd love to have a few drinks with her and just listen, because her voice is the kind that makes you feel you're sitting on the couch with a good friend, one who drops in aha-moments like a sage. For instance, after her divorce, she shopped for housewares but no longer even knew what she liked. BAM! Been there done that. Scaachi thoroughly addresses a number of subjects, so thoroughly at times that I had the feeling of, "Yes, we get it. Let's move on now." And while I appreciate her courage in admitting that she loves to fight, I wonder why she doesn't make a priority of addressing this issue, as it obviously does not serve her well. I'm certainly open to reading more of her writing and how she works through universal issues. Her perspective comes across as fresh, not at all a shopworn view of life. And amid the flood of memoirs and essays on the market, that's quite a feat.

Scaachi bares her heart & soul in Sucker Punch as she details her divorce and mother's illness. Her raw rendering of her deepest thoughts and feelings drew me in and had me laughing, cringing, and reconciling right along with her. Reading Scaachi's essays feels like being inside a friend's brain, normalizing your deepest insecurities and fears to make you feel braver and less alone.

I recieved this as a digital galley from NetGalley,

I didn't like this as much as Koul's prior collection but it seemed more honest and pointed. Which I think it is a plus. I wish Goodreads allowed for half stars because it was realy more like 3.5 than 3.

Tender, raw, and hilarious, this collection of essays focuses on the author’s life in the midst and aftermath of a divorce. Told in her distinctive voice, many of the essays are snarky and witty, while others are so insightful and moving that they hit like…well, a sucker punch.

I absolutely devoured this book, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys literary non-fiction, especially millennial women.

This was my first read from this author and I do really like her writing style and found some of the family stories in this book really lovely. Perhaps I didn’t go into it thinking it was going to be fully about her divorce, but it was. It’s sort of a one sided account of how bad her ex-husband was (and don’t get me wrong, he sounds awful!) and I’m assuming this was very therapeutic for her to write, but not that interesting to read unfortunately.

Interesting look at life, love, perspectives and all bathed in sarcastic humour.
I requested and received an uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
Avail Mar 04, 2025
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In her latest book, Scaachi Koul offers a raw and unflinching look at her life, focusing on her marriage and divorce. Unlike the lighter tone of her first book, this collection dives deep into the pain and complexity of relationships, balancing brutal honesty with humor and fairness. While much of the narrative centers on her marriage, it also touches on body image, culture, childhood, and her deeply moving relationship with her mom. The essays are both relatable and thought-provoking, showcasing her ability to make even the most personal struggles feel universal. It’s an intimate, candid follow-up.

These essays will take you on a journey - not just of divorce, but of how Koul wrestles with her own responsibility for what happened to her marriage. Was it because she was too abrasive, too big, too much of a fighter? Or was it because her ex-husband made choices too? It’s all intertwined with Koul’s upbringing, relationships with her parents, being a woman of color, and basically…the patriarchy.

These essays are vulnerable and self-reflective. I found myself wanting to beg her to chill out a tiny bit (and for the love of god, not get married in the first place), but also f*ck that guy. She is unafraid to tell the truth about him, but only after dragging herself through a lot of mud first.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Scaachi Koul digs deep with personal thoughts on her marriage, divorce, family, religion, body image and self-esteem struggles. She tells you whatever is on her mind without missing a beat.

The essays are vigorous and spirited with a strong emotional appeal. She flips through a bunch of life events and then wraps each one up like she’s said enough. One can only wonder what her ex-husband and a few others may be thinking.

Writing is a form of therapy with her complex feelings and she doesn’t seem to hold anything back. I have to wonder what she will say next.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 4, 2025.

Scaachi Koul’s Sucker Punch is a striking collection of essays that feels raw, honest, and unflinchingly human. Koul's writing is brave, unafraid to dive into difficult truths about identity, relationships, and the messy contradictions of life. She doesn’t shy away from her flaws, and in doing so, she challenges readers to confront their own.

As a college student, I found it hard to personally relate to some of her experiences, but that didn’t detract from my appreciation of her work. Her words are beautiful, imbued with a vulnerability that makes the book deeply compelling. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to see ourselves reflected in every story to understand its importance.

Reading Sucker Punch requires an understanding that Koul is human—complex, imperfect, and navigating life like the rest of us. Her candidness, even when it’s uncomfortable, is what makes this book so real.

really excellent, thought-provoking book of essays. I loved her first book and was eager to read this one - it did not disappoint. Scaachi Koul is such a good writer. there's a moment in the book where she says that she just wants people to enjoy spending time with her on the page, and I did.

Sucker Punch dives into different situations that have delivered a sucker punch in Koul’s life; from her divorce, her mother getting sick, and confronting / getting stuck in a complicated friendship.

Although the topics of this book could be heavy, Koul still uses humor throughout.

I have enjoyed her articles on Buzzfeed in the past, and I would love to go back and read her first memoir in the future.