The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe is a book that might make some people uncomfortable, and to that I say, read it anyway. The story revolves around Bunny and Michael. Bunny is over six foot tall, and may have been since she was in sixth grade. Michael is gay, and comes from a destructive family where he feels like an outlier. Over the years Bunny and Michael become friends, only after she finds him smoking in a corner of her backyard. Their bond seems tenuous at first, but then later it seems that they are important to each other, and maybe they can save one another.
Throughout the book I will admit that there are few characters to like. Bunny is an oblivious princess who is doted on by her alcoholic father. Micheal lives with his Aunt Deedee and his homophobic cousin, Jason. Bunny doesn't know where she should be and due to her size she feels like a monster, with nothing to recommend her to the opposite sex. Michael is so afraid of people finding out that he is gay that he meets men secretly, and only after he finds them on Craigslist and Grindr. These two don't seem like a likely couple to be friends, but it does end up working.
I was disappointed a little in this book because there were no characters that I felt I bonded with. Michael is the narrator of the story, but I didn't feel close to him, partly because he didn't let anyone feel close to him. After a tragedy occurs, I felt that the reader lost Bunny, as she was and could have been a more interesting type. I wanted to know more about the relationships and that information seemed to be lacking. We never really got to know Michael's sister Gabby, nor did we get to the crux of who Bunny's mother was. After the big tragedy in this book, we don't even get to know that family and the relationships there. I wanted more so that I could feel.
I will be honest, at the end of the book I feel more should have been done about Bunny and her well-being. I feel that Michael built this little, happy box for himself, but then he didn't care when Bunny showed back up. I would have liked a little more from him in the end, after he learned what he needed to learn.
This novel spanned several years, and I feel that maybe it could have been shortened. We didn't really need the exposition about how Michael did in college, and who he dated, since the story wasn't really about that. Yes, his sexuality was important, and how he got from the beginning to the end was important, but the story was about Bunny and Michael, not solely Michael.
In the end, I would say that I did enjoy this book, and for me it was a fast read. I would recommend it as a view into a world we don't often take a look into. It may be hard, and it may make some people uncomfortable, and I can't speak towards the realism of how a young gay person might act, as Michael doesn't only put himself in danger, but he sleeps with older men, who are technically abusers due to his age. However, I would probably read another book from the LGBTQIA+ community, I'd just choose something with fewer perverts.
Throughout the book I will admit that there are few characters to like. Bunny is an oblivious princess who is doted on by her alcoholic father. Micheal lives with his Aunt Deedee and his homophobic cousin, Jason. Bunny doesn't know where she should be and due to her size she feels like a monster, with nothing to recommend her to the opposite sex. Michael is so afraid of people finding out that he is gay that he meets men secretly, and only after he finds them on Craigslist and Grindr. These two don't seem like a likely couple to be friends, but it does end up working.
I was disappointed a little in this book because there were no characters that I felt I bonded with. Michael is the narrator of the story, but I didn't feel close to him, partly because he didn't let anyone feel close to him. After a tragedy occurs, I felt that the reader lost Bunny, as she was and could have been a more interesting type. I wanted to know more about the relationships and that information seemed to be lacking. We never really got to know Michael's sister Gabby, nor did we get to the crux of who Bunny's mother was. After the big tragedy in this book, we don't even get to know that family and the relationships there. I wanted more so that I could feel.
I will be honest, at the end of the book I feel more should have been done about Bunny and her well-being. I feel that Michael built this little, happy box for himself, but then he didn't care when Bunny showed back up. I would have liked a little more from him in the end, after he learned what he needed to learn.
This novel spanned several years, and I feel that maybe it could have been shortened. We didn't really need the exposition about how Michael did in college, and who he dated, since the story wasn't really about that. Yes, his sexuality was important, and how he got from the beginning to the end was important, but the story was about Bunny and Michael, not solely Michael.
In the end, I would say that I did enjoy this book, and for me it was a fast read. I would recommend it as a view into a world we don't often take a look into. It may be hard, and it may make some people uncomfortable, and I can't speak towards the realism of how a young gay person might act, as Michael doesn't only put himself in danger, but he sleeps with older men, who are technically abusers due to his age. However, I would probably read another book from the LGBTQIA+ community, I'd just choose something with fewer perverts.
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