Rufi Thorpe

"Full of verve... Revelatory." --Los Angeles Times A dazzling and darkly comic novel of love, violence, and friendship in the California suburbs Bunny Lampert is the princess of North Shore⁠--beautiful, tall, blond, with a rich real-estate-developer father and a swimming pool in her backyard. Michael⁠⁠--with a ponytail down his back and a septum piercing⁠--lives with his aunt in the cramped stucco cottage next door. When Bunny catches Michael smoking in her yard, he discovers that her life is not as perfect as it seems. At six foot three, Bunny towers over their classmates. Even as she dreams of standing out and competing in the Olympics, she is desperate to fit in, to seem normal, and to get a boyfriend, all while hiding her father's escalating alcoholism. Michael has secrets of his own. At home and at school Michael pretends to be straight, but at night he tries to understand himself by meeting men online for anonymous encounters that both thrill and scare him. When Michael falls in love for the first time, a vicious strain of gossip circulates and a terrible, brutal act becomes the defining feature of both his and Bunny's futures⁠⁠--and of their friendship. With storytelling as intoxicating as it is intelligent, Rufi Thorpe has created a tragic and unflinching portrait of identity, a fascinating examination of our struggles to exist in our bodies, and an excruciatingly beautiful story of two humans aching for connection.

The Knockout Queen

FINALIST FOR THE 2021 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD "Full of verve... Revelatory." —Los Angeles Times A dazzling and darkly comic novel of love, violence, and friendship in the California suburbs Bunny Lampert is the princess of North Shore⁠—beautiful, tall, blond, with a rich real-estate-developer father and a swimming pool in her backyard. Michael⁠⁠—with a ponytail down his back and a septum piercing⁠—lives with his aunt in the cramped stucco cottage next door. When Bunny catches Michael smoking in her yard, he discovers that her life is not as perfect as it seems. At six foot three, Bunny towers over their classmates. Even as she dreams of standing out and competing in the Olympics, she is desperate to fit in, to seem normal, and to get a boyfriend, all while hiding her father's escalating alcoholism. Michael has secrets of his own. At home and at school Michael pretends to be straight, but at night he tries to understand himself by meeting men online for anonymous encounters that both thrill and scare him. When Michael falls in love for the first time, a vicious strain of gossip circulates and a terrible, brutal act becomes the defining feature of both his and Bunny's futures⁠⁠—and of their friendship. With storytelling as intoxicating as it is intelligent, Rufi Thorpe has created a tragic and unflinching portrait of identity, a fascinating examination of our struggles to exist in our bodies, and an excruciatingly beautiful story of two humans aching for connection.

A novel

Rebecca Hurd

I liked it...I guess, I mean it was hard to tell who’s story the book was really telling!! It was about Michael but then it wasnt?? Overall it was a decent book!!

Heather Margaret

“What else were you supposed to do with pain but polish it until it became something pointy and pretty?”
  
All of the characters in this book are so boldly human. Making mistakes, both huge and small, and hurting each other, yet there is still this underlining hope they are trying to do good. These are authentic characters who you have to watch live with the consequences of their actions. Life is just ... well being life. Plus throw in some dark humor (I found myself throwing some loud 'HAH!'s out throughout the story) sprinkled with the struggles of an LGBTQ teenager and you got The Knockout Queen.

Gabriella LePage

A reeling, near dizzying tale of two high school students who exist just outside the good old “popular” bubble. Bunny is the all-star volleyball player and Michael, her neighbor, leads a life studded with disappointment and unfit guardians.

They form a unique bond despite their differences; their similarity strikingly similar — the need to be seen. And boy oh boy, are they sure seen after a violent act simultaneously merges their stories together indefinitely, and pulls them apart at the seams.

This is not a feel-good, high school comedy drama. Be prepared to feel uncomfortable, sad, and weary. Yet, also hopeful.

Leah | @LeahsLittlePleasures

I really loved The Knockout Queen. From the start, I found the writing witty and sarcastically charming. Michael is hilarious and I need him to be my friend in real life! This was a complex, insightful, and dynamic story about love, friendship, right & wrong, and the grayish areas of justice and society. ⁣
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There were sooo many interesting societal prejudices interwoven throughout the story (that really makes you stop and think) including first and foremost race and sexuality. As well as, men being superior to women. Young being superior to old. And white being superior generally & period. The story also touches on our patriarchal society and the biases of our justice system because of said societal prejudices.⁣
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Potential Triggers — All of the above plus bullying & gossiping, violence, domestic violence, imprisonment, mental health stigmas.⁣
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Ultimately, I feel so sad about Bunny’s character and how her life ended up. Like heartbroken. It only seemed to be a shell of a life and it made me so sad. ⁣
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And I always want more with endings, but I’m glad Bunny and Michael ended up back together as maybe friends. Friends who still loved each other despite and because of everything they’d both gone through together and separately. It was really such a beautiful story and you should 100% read it!⁣

Alexis Aumagamanaia

~Full review on my blog at littlelionlibrary.wordpress.com~

“Being true to yourself, even if it makes everyone hate you, even if it makes people want to kill you, is the most radical form of liberty, and when you make contact with something as electric and terrifying as the unadorned truth of yourself, it burns away so many other smaller forms of bondage that you weren’t even aware of, so you find yourself irradiated and unencumbered.”

I give this book it’s well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars. Points are docked due to the fact that I genuinely found it hard to focus at times but I loved this book. It is real, it is emotional, it is raw, and ugly, and beautiful, all at the same time. The book, at it’s core, is about how fear changes you. Thorpe is an absolute genius writer and the way the characters feel so real and tangible is a talent all on it’s own. This book is one that will stick with me long after I’ve moved on to other books, other stories, other worlds, and I will hold Michael and Bunny in my heart until my dying day.

Tatyana

It was okay but I couldn't get really into it like I thought I would. This book just wasn't for me.

Devin Mainville

I chose this book as my BOTM pick based completely on the cover. Despite the old adage, I’ve found its pretty decent way to judge a book. Don’t believe me? Anecdotal evidence #1, The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe. I absolutely adored this book. The story follows the friendship between two high school outsiders and the specificity in their friendship felt so real and tangible it was hard not to feel like they were your friends too.

But this isn’t some sweet, coming of age tale. This book gets dark. The casual way Thorpe dropped bombshells blindsided me and several times I had to reread a sentence several times to fully accept the weight of the moment. This book wrecked me, but in the best possible way.

The Knockout Queen

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