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my family, and it was the best medicine. I returned renewed
and determined to write this tiny nugget of a story that had
tried so hard to come out over the past year.
I wrote furiously. My creativity returned in full force. My
depression eased away. The Knockout was born! It was the end
of 2017. 2018 began with a new literary agent, my brother’s
amazing big, fat, Indian wedding (move over Priyanka Chopra
and Nick Jonas), and ended with a publishing offer. Through
everything The Knockout had gone through, no one called it
a niche book, or too brown, or too Indian, or too different.
It was just a story about a girl. Her name is Kareena Thakkar.
She’s imperfect and has self-esteem and body issues, feels
disconnected from her culture, suffers from the mental blows
that gossip brings, and swims through teenage drama. But she’s
also an amazing Muay Thai fighter, has the best friends and
family one could ask for, and is ready to take you along on an
adventure through all the ups and downs of her last semester
of high school.

I sincerely hope you enjoy!

Many thanks and so much love,
Sajni Patel