Knockout Games by G. Neri was more than I even could have expected from the summary and what I knew about it. I was sucked into the world and just didn’t want to stop reading. I highly recommend it!

I enjoyed Knockout Games, though I found it a very difficult book to read. The violence and some of the character decisions were a lot to absorb as an adult who is not living in a similar environment. That being said, I appreciate that G. Neri wrote this story. Though it's fiction, the sentiments about violence in urban areas, how that violence connects to or orbits issues of racism, and how all above issues impact the community and its people are essential conversations. The teen perspective will make the concepts in this book accessible to my H.S. student audience, and will allow them to relate to or understand those concepts as they move into adulthood.