Knockout Games

For Kalvin Barnes, the only thing that comes close to the rush of playing the knockout game is watching videos of the knockout game. Kalvin's crew always takes videos of their KOs, but Kalvin wants more--something better. He thinks if someone could really see the game for what it was, could appreciate it, could capture the essence of it--that would be a video for all time. The world would have to notice. That's where Erica comes in. She's new in town. Awkward. Shy. White. But she's got a good camera and a filmmaker's eye. She could learn. Kalvin could open her eyes to the power he sees in the knockout game; he could make her see things his way. But first she'll have to close her eyes to everything else. For a while, Kalvin's knockouts are strangers. For a while, Erica can ignore their suffering in the rush of creativity and Kalvin's attention. Then comes the KO that forces her eyes open, that makes her see what's really happening. No one wins the knockout game. Coretta Scott King Award honoree G. Neri captures the notorious and terrifying knockout game and its players in an unflinching novel that's hard to read and impossible to put down.

About the Author :
G. Neri is the Coretta Scott King honor-winning author of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty and the recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award for his free verse novella, Chess Rumble. His novels include Surf Mules and the Horace Mann Upstander Award-winning Ghetto Cowboy. His latest books include the YA novel Knockout Games, and the picture book biography Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. His work has been honored by the Museum of Tolerance and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Antioch University, the International Reading Association, the American Library Association, the Junior Library Guild, and the National Council for Teachers of English. Neri has been a filmmaker, animator, teacher, and digital media producer. He currently writes full-time and lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife and daughter.

Review :
A 15-year-old gets mixed up in dangerous activities in this gritty urban drama, partially inspired by real events. After Erica's parents split up and her mother takes her to live in St. Louis, Erica feels like a fish out of water, part of a small white minority in her new school. Her only refuge is the video camera her father gave her. Then Erica meets Kalvin, the so-called Knockout King, is swept up by his dangerous charm, and starts filming the activities of his 'TKO' club, a gang of middle-schoolers who assault random passersby with the intention of knocking them out: 'One hit or quit.' As events spiral out of control, with people getting hurt and the authorities cracking down, Erica has to choose between her new relationship and friends, and doing the right thing. Neri (Ghetto Cowboy) skillfully portrays the moral and emotional turmoil of a teen desperate for acceptance, and the repercussions of making hard decisions. Racial and social undercurrents further give this story an intense, thought-provoking edge. --Publishers Weekly -- "Journal" Fifteen-year-old Erica Asher describes her new video camera as 'a virgin waiting for something to happen.' Her father gave it to her before her parents split up and she and her mother moved to St. Louis. Now Erica's the new girl at school, the big, red-headed white girl at a mostly black school feeling like 'the freak show coming to town.' But then her videos catch the eye of Kalvin Barnes, the Knockout King, who recruits her to film his TKO Club (in which a member is selected to approach a stranger and knock him or her out with a single punch to the head). Erica's videos record the violent attacks, and all of a sudden she's in with the TKO Club, friends with the tall, green-eyed Kalvin, and getting tons of friend requests on her new Facebook page. But when she begins to feel uneasy about her involvement and tries to pull back, life turns harrowing. Neri deftly handles various themes: being an outsider; the relationship between boredom and violence; doing what is right (and being labeled a snitch) versus keeping quiet and hanging onto her newfound friends. Particularly effective is the Gatsby-esque reference to eyes (or 'eyez') and watchers: disembodied eyes on neighborhood walls and t-shirts; the Watchers protecting neighborhoods; and Erica's own all-seeing camera. Are they observing, or are they judging? Characters are well drawn and believable, and the story is well plotted and suspenseful, except for a jarring switch to a third-person point of view in one late chapter. Still, this is Neri's (Yummy, rev. 11/10) most powerful novel to date. --The Horn Book Magazine -- "Journal" Moving to a new city can be tough, especially if you are a big red-headed white girl at a mostly black school. Fitting in has never been easy for Erica. However, she turns to using the video camera her father gave her before she moved to St. Louis. A new friend, Destiny, introduces Erica to Kalvin Barnes, the Knockout King, leader of a game that involves knocking out unsuspecting citizens. The conflict arises when the participants accidentally kill one of their teachers, and Erica goes to the police. This story stemmed from a school visit when the librarian told Neri about the game that had become quite a problem in their community. The writing style is as tough as the story. The truth is never glossed over, and Erica's journey is not without pain and some hard lessons. This well-written book will have a place in high school collections, especially urban schools. It will also play well with struggling readers. [Editor's Note: Available in e-book format.] Recommended.―Library Media Connection -- "Journal" New girl Erica falls in with the wrong crowd in an exploration of racial tension in St. Louis. In the wake of her parents' separation, Erica finds herself in a new city and new school. After showing off her skills with the camera her estranged father gave as a parting gift, Erica wins the attention of a boxing club called the TKOs and the affection of their leader, Kalvin. The TKOs play the horrific 'Knockout Game, ' in which kids assault total strangers with a single punch for no reason other than the adrenaline rush. Erica is enamored by the TKOs and their worldview, but as things get real, Erica makes moves to get out. The results are thrilling. At every fork in the road, Erica makes the wrong decision, but surprisingly, this only makes her more endearing. The book's second half, detailing Erica's struggles to escape the TKOs and Kalvin's tightening grip, is even stronger than the beginning; it's where the author's meaty ideas and exciting action sequences blend together perfectly. Kalvin may seem like every parent's worst nightmare for their daughter, but the author draws him with a complexity that helps illustrate the larger themes being explored. Neri's main concern is the 'post-racial' urban landscape, raising many talking points while letting readers come to their own conclusions. Harsh and relentless, a tough but worthy read. --starred, Kirkus Reviews -- "Journal" 4Q 4P J S Erica's life has changed drastically within the last few months: her parents have split up, she has moved from Little Rock to St. Louis, and she has started school in a not-so-great area of town. Erica knows she does not fit in with most of the students at her new school, and attempts to find consolation in the one thing that she is good at--making films. Someone notices Erica's talent, and takes a keen interest in her. Kalvin, the resident knockout king, holds court over a group of teens and tweens who terrorize individuals on the streets of St. Louis. Their 'knockout game' has been filmed over and over again, but Kalvin sees that Erica has a true artist's eye. Maybe her camera can bring the kind of authenticity to the game for which they have been searching? Neri's novel is not for the faint of heart. He deals with some extremely tough subjects including teen/gang violence, abuse, and teenage pregnancy. Sadly, these 'knockout games' occur in real life and in the St. Louis area, making the novel even more significant and powerful. It is a harsh reality that Neri has painted. His characters, while strong and well developed, are believable. Erica's voice as narrator comes across as genuine and conflicted. This is a novel that needs to be read and discussed by both teens and adults. Get this one out there and start the discussion. --VOYA -- "Journal"