Running through his early life, his time in the boxing ring and on the rugby pitch, his tendencies towards violence and use of cocaine, his prison sentence and how he steadily turned his life around and built a successful business. Reminded me of Jason Reynolds and how he also used real time to be reflective of past events in Long Way Down.

The Boxer – Nikesh Shukla – Heath Books The Boxer – Nikesh Shukla – Heath Books

Despite being the strongest animal on the farm, Boxer cannot lead a rebellion of his own against the pigs. I got used to it eventually – I definitely noticed less clunkiness as the book went on – but that early feeling of not really liking the writing stuck with me. We go through the fight in real time, round by round, but interspersed between rounds is the story of Sunny and what has brought to this moment in time-all very meta! Along the way he meets new friends and makes new enemies as racial tensions in Bristol, where the novel is set, are primed to explode. It's great as nearly all the books with LGBT main characters are about just that, whereas this particular book makes it no big deal.Sunny already had to cope with a toxic relationship with his terminally ill father and social isolation after a move to Bristol (and how refreshing to have a gritty urban story set other than in London) when he becomes a victim of an unprovoked attack which threatens to demolish any sense of self-worth. This book delivered insight into a world and perspective I would not have known previously, from the obvious to the author’s seemingly straightforward experience of acquiring his first mortgage. We will only use your information in accordance with our privacy policy, which can be viewed here - www. Has he found a soul mate there as well or will rising racial tensions and far right radicalisation scupper that too?

THE BOXER by Nikesh Shukla: YA That Tackles - BOOK RIOT THE BOXER by Nikesh Shukla: YA That Tackles - BOOK RIOT

He has one friend to begin with, which is fine, but Madhu barley makes an appearance at the end of the book. The main character Sunny gets great character development and the boxing scenes are super well written. He finds the community he’s been desperately seeking at the club, and a mentor in trainer Shobu, who helps him find his place in the world. To be fair, at least one of those was because he was doing a stupid thing, even if it was for someone he thought could still be a friend. His debut novel, Coconut Unlimited, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and his debut YA novel, Run, Riot, was shortlisted for the Specsavers National Book Award.Also, the fact he is gay plays absolutely no part in the book, which is both a good and a bad thing. I guess the reason for this is because the book is fairly short, but I don't think it would do any harm to have it a little longer in detail. Shukla shows Sunny’s stunned reaction to experiencing racism in a completely relatable way, eloquently depicting the hurt and confusion while also slyly highlighting how ridiculous the racism is (e.

The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla | Waterstones

Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. Ultimately, Shukla’s message seems to be that if you live with racists then you will become a racist, which seems overly simplistic. This book allows the reader to observe the everyday struggles of British teens from different backgrounds and based on differing perspectives. I could've read this entire book without knowing that he was gay and it would have made no difference to the story line.

To see him toiling up the slope inch by inch, his breath coming fast, the tips of his hoofs clawing at the ground, and his great sides matted with sweat, filled everyone with admiration. A seventeen year old feeling isolated and disconnected in the city he’s just moved to, Sunny joins a boxing club to learn to protect himself after a racist attack. Sunny's struggles in the aftermath of a racist attack are raw and sometimes painful to read, but full of honesty.