Headshot: 100 Must-Read Books of 2024

Rita Bullwinkel's bold debut novel, Headshot, takes readers inside a run-down boxing ring in Reno, Nev., where eight young women compete for the Daughters of America Cup. Each chapter focuses on an individual fight taking place across the sparsely attended two-day tournament, leading up to the championship match. Bullwinkel's follow-up to her 2016 short story collection, Belly Up, also spans space and time thanks to an omniscient narrator, who, along with ringside commentary, offers insight into the pasts and futures of these hard-scrabble teen fighters. What becomes clear is that there is nothing more agonizing than female adolescence—not even a well-timed left hook.

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