The Knockout Queen

A Novel

By: Rufi Thorpe

Narrated by: Michael Crouch

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.

©2020 Rufi Thorpe (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

An Entertainment Weekly, Parade, and LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2020

"[An] electric portrait of adolescence." (Time)

"The Knockout Queen [is] full of verve and sketched in colors as vibrant as a Tilt-A-Whirl David Hockney landscape.... Thorpe inverts the more common tale of an impoverished sufferer who is momentarily saved or mourned by a richer, more stable friend. The result is revelatory." (Hillary Kelly, Los Angeles Times)

"Rufi Thorpe unfurls a coming of-age tale that feels both fresh and familiar: a shrewd exploration of all the ways people find to pass on the hurt and anger they’ve been given and a tender, furious ode to the connections that somehow still endure, despite everything. A-" (Entertainment Weekly)

true friendship stands the test of time.

the narrator is so good at altering his voice for all the characters. the story is beautiful and bittersweet.

Wow. What a great book

This is one of the most original and moving books I’ve read in a long time. You’ve never met characters like these. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

Good but with some setbacks

I loved a lot of things about this book. It dealt with a lot of themes and topics I often read about: it explored the weight of being different in high school. It was funny at times and sad at others.

Unfortunately I felt like the plot was pretty listless at times. It just kind of wandered around a lot.

But overall an okay coming of age story.

So personal so real so original.

I am so glad I stumbled upon this story this book. It makes you think about your own feelings the way the characters describe so well what is happening to themselves inside and out. It’s an amazing story but good.

Knockout queen won't knock your socks off

There were moments in this book where I felt really drawn in but when all is said and done, the characters weren't really well flushed out. Which is odd to say done there were really only 2 main ones. But I felt as if both characters did things that didn't reflect who we had come to know. Disappointing.

So different.

I’ve never read anything like this so I haven’t entirely processed yet. I love it when the author is able to put into words some of the feelings I’ve experienced but can’t name. I hope Michael is on a path to a fulfilling, happy life.

Great listen!

One of the best books that I’ve read this year! Michael Crouch is an outstanding narrator! I’ll definitely read more by Rufi Thorpe!

5000 stars

I have absolutely no notes on this book. It was perfection from the first to the last page, and every single page in between. Beyond brilliantly narrated. I don’t have words.

Much better than the synopsis lets on

The way this book is being marketed does not feel fair to the beautiful, strange, twisted, absurd, and unfortunate story. Also, I really like the narrator.

Loved this book more than I thought I would

This story is heartbreaking, awkward, sweet, and curious all wrapped together. You can’t help but get pulled into the story and experience everything the main character feels. Truly a great read.