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.
Buy Now: Headshot on Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com