The Boxer

Product Information

It’s not just religion or the colour of your skin that can make you a target in the UK. According to The Guardian,“Homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, including stalking, harassment and violent assault, have more than doubled in England and Wales over five years, a Guardian analysis has shown.” However, this book does redeem itself in the fact I personally really enjoyed it towards the end. I know next to nothing about boxing, nor have any interest in it but I still found it entertaining. Sunny's character arc is fairly good. I would suggest this as a book to read when you have no others you desperately want to. it's okay, but not *that* okay. Nikesh Shukla’s contemporary YA novel is an interesting look at racism and how boxing can give a person discipline, confidence and self-respect but while it’s interesting to have a book look at white extremist radicalisation, Keir’s character and motivation is underdeveloped, as is his friendship with Sunny and I never bought into why Sunny wanted to save him, which is a shame because there’s a lot that’s good about this book and it’s worth a look. And in this, his second Young Adult novel (his first, Run Riot won CrimeFest’s Young Adult Crime Novel award earlier this year), he is reaching an ever expanding readership. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla | Hachette UK

In The Boxer Shukla lays bare the reality of racism in what is a significant addition to his ongoing chronicle of 21st Century Britain. Whether it’s identity, race, politics, our digital addictions, historical trauma, gentrification, family, the precarious future for young people – the Bristol-based writer is establishing a library of work that is essential reading if we are to understand why we are where we are now. In March of 2019 It was reported by The Independent that “Racially and religiously aggravated offences recorded by police in England and Wales reached a record high of more than 57,600 in the 12 months to September, after jumping by 7 per cent in a year.”The Boxer is a penetrating look at the dangers of the rise in racism in post-Brexit Britain, where right-wing extremists feel validated in their fear and dislike of anyone they see as different to themselves...Shukla has an enviable ability to get under the skins of his characters, showing life through Sunny's eyes in a way that doesn't pull any punches...The Boxer is a book that may well challenge your perceptions about the sport, if - like me - it's something you've never favoured. But seeing the world, and boxing, through Sunny's eyes did make me rethink the appeal of the sport, particularly for youngsters such as Sunny. And if it's able to help teenagers and young men like him to be more comfortable and confident in their own skins, and help them to cope better with the unhealthy tide of racist abuse that seems to be sweeping through this country, then I'm happy to have my own prejudice against the sport challenged. But racial tensions are rising in the city, and when a Far Right march through Bristol turns violent, Sunny is faced with losing his new best friend to radicalisation. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Nikesh Shukla writes nuanced books with realistic characters, and always provides heartstopping moments. - Sarah Shaffi Ultimately there’s a lot that’s good in this book and I think that it’s worth a few hours of your time but the central theme of racism and white extremism didn’t come together for me and that is a disappointment.

The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla (9781444940695/Paperback

I’m not claiming to have any answers to these problems. What I am saying is that education on these topics makes a difference. Talking about these issues makes a difference. You can read reports and talk at people all day long but reading a book like The Boxer can, for a short time, put you in the head of someone who is experiencing these things at full throttle and it can change your way of thinking.But at the same time, The Boxer is also an optimistic work. Sunny finds a supportive community which feels like a new family, and Shukla’s masterstroke is showing these extremes side by side – the hideous racism and Sunny’s new extended family – the latter enabling Sunny to “feel like myself” and be “no longer afraid”. Religious hate crimes are also rising. The Home Office reported that religious hate crimesrose by 40%, from 5,949 in 2016-17 to 8,336 in 2017-18.

The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla | Waterstones

Nikesh Shukla’s latest novel, The Boxer , is out now. For more information, visit https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/titles/nikesh-shukla-3/the-boxer/9781444940695/ The narrative device of telling the story through the course of the ten rounds of a fight is clever and works well for the most part and the way Shukla chooses to end it works for Sunny and his character, even though I wanted a bit more of a resolution with Keir. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. I got this from my library as part of a 'Blind Date with a Book' challenge and I did not expect to like it as much as i did! Sometimes your rating for a book depends more on how much you’re in the mood for a particular book than the book itself, and I definitely feel like that’s partly what happened here. For some reason, I was just not in the right frame of mind to read this one and that probably did have a bit of an impact on how much I enjoyed it. But don’t get me wrong – I did still like this book. I could have liked it more, is what I’m saying.Also testament to the character development is that I felt genuinely nervous for Sunny at certain points in the book. (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.) Which meant, at times, I was reluctant to read it almost, because I didn’t want to have my heart broken like that. You’ve got the raw talent. Or you’re the underdog. But do you have the heart? Do you have what it takes? Let’s see what you’re made of. The real fight starts now! Latest Chapters Now Keir and Sunny are facing each other in the ring over 10 rounds, each with a score to settle. The next ten rounds will see Sunny confront what brought him and Keir to this point and who he really wants to be …