Book Review: "The Knockout Queen" by Rufi Thorpe

Rufi Thorpe's newest novel, The Knockout Queen, is an unflinching, sometimes painfully honest look at two teenage misfits trying to find their way in the world.

Michael is a gay teenager who has been hooking up with men since he was 13. He thinks his septum piercing and his long hair somehow make him more invisible. Since his mother went to prison, he lives with his aunt in an old house amidst mansions in a California suburb.

Although he’s been spying on their house for a while, one day he meets his next-door neighbor, Bunny, who is his age. Even though it looks from the mansion she lives in with her real estate agent father that she has it all, Bunny has more than her share of problems. At 6’3”, she is taller and bigger than anyone in her class, which is good for her dreams of becoming an Olympic volleyball player, but not for being accepted by her peers, and her father is a bit of a hustler with a serious alcohol problem.

The two connect with each other, fellow outcasts trying to handle difficult family situations and maybe even find their ticket out. When Michael embarks on his first real relationship and it is discovered, nasty gossip ensues, which leads to a shocking act of violence that changes everything in both of their lives.

"...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 you weren't even aware of, so you find yourself irradiated and unencumbered. That there is something holy in that kind of stubbornness."

The Knockout Queen can be brutal but it is tremendously astute in how it captures the feelings of those who want nothing more than to be accepted, be loved, yet can’t seem to succeed, especially among family and friends. Rufi Thorpe doesn’t pretend her characters don’t have flaws; she makes them real and complex and not always sympathetic.

The book hit a little too close to home for me at times, so while this wasn’t an enjoyable book per se, it was affecting and thought-provoking. I did feel like things got a little rushed toward the end, and I didn't quite get the closure I had hoped for.

One thing I know for sure: this was definitely not the look back at high school and early adulthood I was expecting!