The Beauty of the Moment meets Exit, Pursued by a Bear. Award-winning thriller writer Sheena Kamal delivers a kick-ass debut YA novel that will have fans crying out for more.

Love and violence. In some families they're bound up together, dysfunctional and poisonous, passed from generation to generation like eye color or a quirk of smile. Trisha's trying to break the chain, channeling her violent impulses into Muay Thai kickboxing, an unlikely sport for a slightly built girl of Trinidadian descent. Her father comes and goes as he pleases, his presence adding a layer of tension to the Toronto east-end townhouse that Trisha and her mom call home, every punch he lands on her mother carving itself indelibly into Trisha's mind. Until the night he wanders out drunk in front of the car Trisha is driving, practicing on her learner's permit, her mother in the passenger seat. Her father is killed, and her mother seems strangely at peace. Lighter, somehow. Trisha doesn't know exactly what happened that night, but she's afraid it's going to happen again. Her mom has a new man in her life and the patterns, they are repeating.

Sheena Kamal holds an HBA in political science from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a TD Canada Trust scholarship for community leadership and activism around the issue of homelessness. Kamal has also worked as a crime and investigative journalism researcher for the film and television industry—academic knowledge and experience that inspired this debut novel. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Sheena Kamal's profile page

• Nominated, White Pine Award
• Short-listed, Arthur Ellis Award - Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book

One of NOW’s must read books for spring
One of Quill & Quire's Best Books of 2020
One of CCBC’s Best Books for Kids and Teens Fall 2020
One of CBC Books' Best Middle-Grade and Young Adult Books of 2020
One of Canadian Children's Book News’ Best Books of 2020
PRAISE FOR Fight Like a Girl:

"Fascinating and complicated." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

“With a propulsive, assured voice, Trisha’s tale spools out in a compelling, musical rush.” —Toronto Star
“If this is the future of YA, long may it prosper.” —Globe and Mail
“The prose is hard-hitting and characters perfectly nuanced as Kamal reminds teen girls to step into their power both outside and inside the ring.” —49th Shelf