
The Knockout Queen
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Michael Crouch
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By:
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Rufi Thorpe
About this listen
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 AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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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)
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- A Novel
- By: Claire Lombardo
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things. She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next.
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Long winded
- By Brooke on 09-17-24
By: Claire Lombardo
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The Snowbirds
- A Novel
- By: Christina Clancy
- Narrated by: Graham Halstead, Karissa Vacker
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.
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Pool reading
- By Maryanne T. on 04-09-25
By: Christina Clancy
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Sorrow and Bliss
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mason
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she creates internet content. She used to live in a pied-à-terre in Paris. Now she lives in a gated community in Oxford, the only person she knows without a PhD, a baby or both, in a house she hates but cannot bear to leave. But she must leave, now that her husband Patrick—the kind who cooks, throws her birthday parties, who loves her and has only ever wanted her to be happy—has just moved out.
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Very Disappointed -- 2.75 Stars
- By Sharlotte on 06-07-21
By: Meg Mason
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Such a Fun Age
- By: Kiley Reid
- Narrated by: Nicole Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young Black woman out late with a White child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.
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This is embarrassing!
- By Anonymous User on 01-31-20
By: Kiley Reid
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Pictures of You
- A Novel
- By: Emma Grey
- Narrated by: Kristy Best, Nic English
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of the global breakout bestseller The Last Love Note comes the story of a young woman struggling to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragic accident, and the man who gives up everything to help her. When Evie Hudson wakes in an unfamiliar hospital room, she thinks she’s fresh out of a teenage party with her best friend, Bree. Except, Bree isn’t around anymore and high school was years ago. Evie had just survived the crash that killed her husband, Oliver—whom she can't remember either.
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Intricate, thought provoking but still a fun ride.
- By cnrkrc on 12-01-24
By: Emma Grey
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The Villain Edit
- A Novel
- By: Laurie Devore
- Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Emily Henry meets Fleabag...and The Bachelor! An irresistibly sharp and sexy dramedy about a cynical romance novelist who goes on a Bachelor-like reality show to revive her flagging career, only to discover that while she may have just met the love of her life, the producers have turned her into the show’s villain.
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Bingeworthy
- By Amy G. on 07-07-24
By: Laurie Devore
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Blue Sisters
- A Novel
- By: Coco Mellors
- Narrated by: Kit Griffiths
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left the family reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.
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Love Coco Mellors, HATED the narration
- By Sally Fortson on 09-10-24
By: Coco Mellors
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Three Women
- By: Lisa Taddeo
- Narrated by: Tara Lynne Barr, Marin Ireland, Mena Suvari, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In suburban Indiana we meet Lina, the homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks and, after reconnecting with an old flame through social media, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota we meet Maggie, the 17-year-old high school student who allegedly has a clandestine physical relationship with her handsome, married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial will turn their quiet community upside down.
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Moving, literary nonfiction
- By Homer on 07-25-19
By: Lisa Taddeo
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The Rachel Incident
- A Novel
- By: Caroline O'Donoghue
- Narrated by: Tara Flynn
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.
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Best narration
- By LG on 01-12-24
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The Most Fun We Ever Had
- A Novel
- By: Claire Lombardo
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 20 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.
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Wonderful book
- By Kaysi12 on 07-08-19
By: Claire Lombardo
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Isola
- A Novel
- By: Allegra Goodman
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Allegra Goodman
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. That journey takes a unexpected turn when Marguerite, accused of betrayal, is brutally punished and abandoned on a small island.
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Keep going
- By Mary on 04-26-25
By: Allegra Goodman
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This Is How It Always Is
- A Novel
- By: Laurie Frankel
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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When Rosie and Penn and their four boys welcome the newest member of their family, no one is surprised it's another baby boy. At least their large, loving, chaotic family knows what to expect. But Claude is not like his brothers. One day he puts on a dress and refuses to take it off. He wants to bring a purse to kindergarten. He wants hair long enough to sit on. When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.
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Story mirrors our life -- to a point -- spoilers
- By 1mom3kids on 11-14-17
By: Laurie Frankel
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The Safekeep
- By: Yael van der Wouden
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen, Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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An exhilarating, twisted tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961—a powerful exploration of the legacy of WWII and the darker parts of our collective past.
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This One Should Win
- By K. Bella Bestia on 10-13-24
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The Dream Hotel
- A Novel
- By: Laila Lalami
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo, Barton Caplan
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days. The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes.
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The next parable of the sower
- By Jess on 03-18-25
By: Laila Lalami
What listeners say about The Knockout Queen
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- Brent & Marie
- 06-30-20
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.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Zane
- 06-08-24
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.
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- Quinn
- 01-29-22
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.
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- mamacarmen
- 10-18-24
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.
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- LRS
- 11-08-20
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!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Sarah D. Cushman
- 08-26-24
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.
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- M. Vanderlin
- 05-24-20
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.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Joli
- 01-11-23
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.
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- Sarai
- 12-20-20
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.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Jillian
- 09-28-21
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.
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1 person found this helpful