The back of this book promises feminism, funny, boxing, and Saxons, but unfortunately you'll only find two of those things here.

Girls Can't Hit follows 16 year old Fleur, who whilst studying during her first year of A-Levels happens upon a poster advertising boxing at a local gym. With the boxing classes being segregated by gender, Fleur and her friend go to the gym in protest. From then, Fleur ends up signing up in order to prove a point and discovers that she actually really enjoys boxing.

There is a good story here, somewhere, but it's hidden under some elements that I personally felt could have been improved upon. Interspersed throughout are Saxon and Norman battle reenactments which don't quite land amongst the boxing practices and the main storyline. It was quite confusing as to why a bunch of teenagers were so invested and it made it hard for me to get into.

The romances featured in this book also all fell flat for me. The main relationship between Fleur and her 19 year old boyfriend came across as somewhat problematic. This is a man who is training for the navy and has already finished with school and college. It is also revealed that they got together whilst Fleur was in high school and the age difference did not sit right with me. The difference in their maturity levels and their interactions initially made me think that Fleur was a lot younger than 16 and so I was not invested in their relationship at all. For a long term relationship, we never really saw them express any love for each other and so their date nights and interactions took away from other bits of the book that were good.

For the first 50 or so pages the tone of the book seemed off to me and I initially thought it was a middle grade book, but this improved somewhat and felt more like a teen was the MC as the narrative was further established.

There are a lot of misogynistic jokes in this book as well that aren't adequately called out by the so called feminists in this book. Honestly it just made me roll my eyes but I'm aware that there are people like this out in the world so this did feel somewhat realistic.

A girl exploring what she likes and trying to prove herself in a male dominated space actually worked for me, but at times it felt so surface level that I just wish we had more. I came away from the book not entirely knowing who Fleur was, just that she liked to box.

Overall I think the plot of the book needed tightening a bit more and the MC having a little more depth for this to fully work for me, but I would be interested to see what current works by this author are like.

Saw in the description that the fact this was written by a male author while being a feminist novel would be a good talking point, I think it was probably its biggest downfall.

Seeing through my shelf on Netgalley I find titles that were downloaded on a disc on my computer that "died" so there is no way I can give you feedback for this title. I am sorry.

Fun, Feminist, Friends and boxing. Very encouraging for getting fit and being independent.

Even now, weeks after reading the book when I workout I'm saying to the final beep.

I didn't think I'd finish this book so quickly, but it was hard not to with the amazingly humourous dialogue! That, and the fact that it's kind of a short novel. :D To be honest, even though I had read this author's previous works, like Boys Don't Knit (in Public) and An English Boy in New York, both of which I found hilarious, I was kind of worried to see what he'd do with Girls Can't Hit. But then I saw another reader's review on Girls Can't Hit and I knew I had to read it! So when I saw it up on NetGalley, I requested it and they granted me access to the title! Thanks again, people at NetGalley! :)

As I've said before, what I love about this book was its humour. It could get me laughing out of nowhere, as well as weird looks on the subway for laughing out of nowhere... And while I enjoyed some of the books I've read recently, none of them made me laugh like this one. It just reminded me what a brilliant author T.S. Easton is. But it was not only the humour that enticed me; it was the amazing amount of feminism within the novel. This book brings in different viewpoints about certain problems in society, like women competing with each other. For instance, I love the arguments Fleur and Bonita (her rival) got into. They both had some really good points, where Fleur thinks that women shouldn't be so competitive with each other, since we're all on the same side. Meanwhile, Bonita doesn't buy into this, saying that competition is healthy and we need to show that women can be just as good as men in anything and how would that come about if nobody is being pushed to their full potential via competition. Anyways, I thought this book was great at balancing humourous moments with serious ones, and really something we need more of, now more than ever.

Plus, it had amazing characters that you couldn't help but love! Other than Fleur and Blossom, there was an array of character that I just couldn't get enough of, like Pip (their other best friend), Coach Ricky and Joe, the other guys in the boxing club and even Fleur's parents, who were really present in this novel. The only characters I didn't care much about would probably be Tarik and George, mainly because they didn't really do much to help Fleur's character development, and even derailed it at some points. But I'll stop myself before I say anything more on that topic...

Overall, T.S. Easton did not leave me disappointed with his latest work! In fact, Girls Can't Hit reinstated that he's a pretty great writer, to me at least! ;)

Girls Can't Hit is a wonderfully fun, feminist story for teens. (Okay, I'm older than the target audience, but as someone who does Krav Maga I couldn't resist a story about a female boxer.)

When Fleur Waters and her friends visit a boxing club to protest, Fleur doesn't think she'd be enticed by the sport. But she is, and soon enough she's giving up her Saturdays for boxing, against the advice of her mother, friends and boyfriend. (After all, why can't she just do Pilates instead?) Fleur is determined to prove them wrong, and soon finds that she really enjoys it. Especially with a rather handsome fellow club member who she begins to get to know.

This is a funny, heartwarming story about a kick-ass teen that focuses on feminism. I highly recommend this book.

Girls Can’t Hit is a funny, thoroughly entertaining children’s book blending boxing and feminism and the idea of what every girl is capable of.

I read this book in one day. I literally couldn’t put it down. Tom Easton has a great author’s voice that embodies that of his characters is incredible. At times, it was easy to forget that this was written by an adult male and not a girl in her first year of A Levels. He manages to keep everything light and breezy, even when speaking about some serious and emotional subjects that arise across the piece. He never loses the fun side in his story.

I really enjoyed this book. It thought it was fun to read, entertaining and hilarious at moments. Fleur is an inspirational woman, working incredibly hard to become as good as she is and being rewarded for that dedication. Finishing this book made me want to look for boxing clubs and to sweat to success.

I absolutely loved Fleur. From the beginning, she just leaps right off the page and I think T.S. Easton has done a really good job at capturing a funny and smart character without making it feel cheesy or overdone. I also loved her determination and strength – not of the physical kind, although that was exciting to see too. I was really impressed and inspired by her sticking with the club even though she was the only girl to begin with and much more unfit than the other guys, something which I don’t think I would have been able to do, and her resilience in her training. I also loved how she stuck by her guns outside of the club as well, repeating to everyone who challenged her and told her that maybe boxing wasn’t a good idea that she loved it and would keep training.

I liked how all of the other plot lines weaved into the overall story of Fleur’s growth. Her friends and boyfriend compete for her time, and she has to learn how to balance boxing with her relationships, and that maybe sometimes the two are just incompatible. I loved her friends, especially Blossom, whose feminist rants I wanted to applaud, and Pip, whose clumsiness was so funny I laughed out loud a couple of times. I also loved how we saw boxing eventually help her to strengthen her relationships, as her friends and family started to appreciate who she was and the things that she enjoyed doing, and even helped her to make great new friendships in her club with people she might not have ever met otherwise.

I’m sometimes apprehensive about teen novels being describes as “Feminist” stories, because I usually find them to be trying too hard, but this novel definitely deserves the title. Apart from seeing Fleur train in the boxing ring, and stand by her new hobby outside of it, I loved the storyline about her helping to attract more women to the boxing club, which was struggling to make enough money. It was good to see not only a storyline about girls in sport but also a message that your activism can be anything, maybe it can be protesting with placards like Blossom, or helping out with local cause that you care about.

Overall, Girls Can’t Hit was super fun to read and I definitely recommend it to other lovers of YA. I loved all of the characters and especially Fleur’s personal journey as well as the growth in her relationships, and Easton’s writing made it so easy to step into her head and enjoy the story. This is a great girl power story, and also a great book about sports – hell, even I was googling local boxing clubs!

This is the sort of book that even if you have no prior interest in boxing will make you want to start. T. S Easton is great at humour and feminism. I enjoyed Boys Don't Knit immensely, so I knew I would feel the same about Girls Can't hit, but I feel that sometimes his characters are a bit dumb. I know it's meant to be funny when someone confuses Celine Dion with Joan of Arc, and I'm sure that people exist who do, but for me it just makes me feel secondhand embarrassment. I much preferred her mixing up the dates.

Other than that, Fleur was a great character. She and her friends felt really real and easy to relate to. Her journey to discover boxing and how to stand up for what she wants rather than just go with the flow was a great one and I think every young girl should read it.

I also wish I could be a fit as she came to be. Easton's description of the way her body and health was refined by the exercise was truly inspiring. As I said, it'll make anyone want to pick up the boxing gloves and get as fit and healthy as she did.

Review: Girls Can't Hit by T.S. Easton
I'm all for feminist fiction. Feminism is a topic I constantly educate myself in by reading the feminist genre as often as I can. To be given what is branded as a feminist novel about a teenage boxer, I was more than happy to review it.

First of all, I absolutely adored Fleur Waters. I thought she was the stubborn and determined teenage girl in a novel that everyone needs to read. Considering I have no interest in sports or the sporting world in any way whatsoever, reading the journey of a female boxer, I found it very enjoyable and interesting, truly don't disregard a book by first thoughts. Although the writing style was sometimes unlike anything I've read.

The writing style within the novel is also interesting in itself, it is quite clunky, but the thing that I originally didn't like, I thought actually added to the premise of the novel, being about a teenage girl trying to find her way in the world. I also think the character development is intriguing, the characters consistently remain likeable and you want to read about them, which I liked.

Moreover, I could also relate a lot to Pip, him attempting the boxing class, was very funny and he is an extremely likeable and relatable character.

Whilst there was a romantic element within the novel, it was almost a secondary story as oppose to being forced upon on the reader and definitely didn't interfere with other themes, which I enjoyed very much.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would recommend it!

*I received this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - this didn't affect my opinion as I remain transparent with my thoughts.

Laugh-out-loud funny, not just for boxing fans, a warm and witty YA novel

I'm not a boxing fan, but I adored this from first page to last. It helped pass a few hours of a hospital confinement (with newborn night feeds), and thoroughly entertained.

This is the story of a rather typical British teen, not particularly sporty, does well enough in school, no particular aspirations. Fleur follows her best friend on feminist crusades, supporting her as she battles to get women allowed to boxing classes. Taking part in one herself, though unfit and exhausted, Fleur finds enough motivation from it to return. Again and again.

She changes her diet, starts exercising, finds a real interest and passion for boxing. Despite her mum's fears about the dangers, and her boyfriend's dislike of her new physique, she finds a talent and joy in her new hobby.

This was just wonderful. It's not exactly a female Rocky, but of course, this and other famous boxing films get mentioned quite a lot. Fleur is an everygirl, tho she and her two best friends (who, living near Hastings, like to take part in Battle reenactments at weekends) are a hilarious threesome and very close-knit and a pleasure to read about. Fleur's mum has her own reasons for her overprotective nature, and she and Dad's arguments had me spluttering drinks.

Easton writes humour well into the book. It feels natural as well, Fleur is enjoyably amusing. When attending the boxing club to protest its anti-feminist policies, they are offered a snack...
'"You take their biscuits and then they've got you.'
'It's not some gateway drug to the patriarchy,' I said. 'It's a custard cream.'"

The feminist angle isn't done to death, but female equality is featured in the story significantly - Fleur changes as her interest in boxing grows, which affects her own body confidence (and shape), and how other people see her. It's fascinating to see the various opinions - from other teenagers on the street treating her differently, to her boyfriend's disapproval, and unusual conversations with other young women that she wouldn't otherwise have had.

Blossom, the best friend, could star in her own novel. I loved their film nights, Fleur selecting a rom-com, Blossom selecting a three hour Japanese film about soy fields. She's brilliantly funny herself:
"Wait... you're telling me a man is asking you to put on weight? Without impregnating you first?"

Great story, loved the training sessions and watching Fleur become enamoured of the sport, and the eventual Rocky-like showdown with her own personal demon (aka a school enemy).

A great read to empower young women. Very funny, with some wonderful characters - would love a sequel or further adventures of the characters.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy.

Well-written and hugely enjoyable, Girls Can't Hit was one of the best surprises of this year's spring UKYA for me. Straightforward, energetic and light-hearted prose makes for a fast read which is by turns warm and serious, entertaining and absorbing. In a plot which takes her from a reluctant new recruit to the first one out slapping posters on the walls when the local boxing club needs her help, badass ordinary teenager Fleur's story is a tale of friendship, boxing, skipping, food, bad driving, vintage costumes, more food, Friday movie nights (including Rocky marathons, natch), a collection of gangly ginger limbs, dodgy restaurants, battle re-enactments, defying expectations, and of course, finding your passion.

Stubborn, hard-working and always ready with a quip, Fleur is an irresistible heroine. She’s determined, committed, and undergoes the kind of character development which is based on finding out more about oneself, rather than losing who you are. I loved seeing her ambition, her lively characterisation, her active pursuit of her goals. She does things, wants things, makes mistakes and cares for those around her. Fabulous, passionate and flawed best friend Blossom is wonderfully drawn while the gangly, awkward, kind-hearted Pip even gets an arc of his own (somehow involving Normans, Saxons, steampunk, time travel and sword-waving). Unpretentious, and at their best, well-drawn supporting characters may only be described in a few throwaway lines, but most are sketched just enough for it to work.

And it's surprisingly feminist! Toeing the thin line between trenchant support and affectionately mocking ("It's not a gateway drug to the patriarchy, it's a custard cream"), the book’s feminism ranges from ardent (Blossom) to promising (Fleur) to thematic (portrayals of casual or institutional sexism met with noticeable examination and admitted realism). There’s awareness of feminist issues, recognition of how important it is to have talented, conscientious female role models and tremendous appreciation of the feeling of belonging a girl-positive feminism brings to characters like Blossom and Fleur, and indeed to real-life teenage girls.

Fleur’s discovery of her flair for boxing - and other sports which improve her stamina and fitness - makes her a force to be reckoned with not just physically but mentally, as she finds a level of self-belief, resolve and courage she never knew she had. The descriptions of her boxing are almost enough to make you want to take up the sport, but at the very least will see you noticing the book's encouraging approach: Fleur has to work at her sport to get better, putting in real hard graft, and improvement is seen as an achievement in itself.. There are a few missteps in unclear background characterisation and scene choices, but otherwise I raced through Girls Can't Hit.

Scattered with pop culture references and entirely suitable description, fans of Sarra Manning, Holly Bourne, Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison will each find something to like here. And not to sound like Tom Jones off The Voice, but I loved the tone. Pitched somewhere between teen fiction and YA, it oozes skill. What’s more, it’s deliciously, brilliantly funny. Filled with moments of sharp wit and wry observation, Fleur’s sense of humour and touches of sarcasm permeate her voice and shine when multiple characters get together.

A full version of this review will appear on my blog closer to publication.

3.5 stars -- this is my Goodreads review, and I'll probably post a better one to my blog in April.


This book was a little bit odd, in that my favourite thing about it was also one of my least favourite things about it -- the writing style. In many ways, the phrasing seemed clumsy and unpolished and it felt like it needed editing. At the same time, it cracked me up. Seriously, there were so many parts of this book that I found hilarious, which was a little bit unexpected. I found myself highlighting all sorts of things just because they amused me.

Maybe this is because I have a soft spot for Saxon jokes and there are a few of those because the characters live near Battle -- never let it be said that my sense of humour isn't fairly niche. But whatever the reason, this made me laugh, which in turn made me forgive any other weaknesses of the style.

I did, however, think the characters were a bit too disparaging about the gift shop at Battle Abbey. Unless it's gone downhill since I was there (which was a few years ago), it's rather a good one, with a range of actual swords and a substantial mead collection. I once got in a really long conversation with the guy working there: it started about being about the differences between Viking and Celtic mead, and ended up going via his dissertation on 14th century torture devices to discussing Game of Thrones, which I'd just been reading. Plus there were definitely swords. So I don't understand why they disliked it quite so much. But anyway.

Also, this book was bizarrely relatable considering the subject matter. I have no interest in boxing -- the closest I'd get would be my love of hitting people with swords. The idea of working out and bulking up on protein and all of the sports-related things that the protagonist goes through is alien to me, and you would think as a result I wouldn't be able to relate to her. However, her motivations are just so ... me. Half of what she does in the book is because somebody told her she couldn't, and when she actually dislikes something, there's no way she'll admit that to the people who didn't want her to do it in the first place. It's sheer stubbornness that drives her decisions, and I can relate to that SO HARD.

I could also relate a lot to Pip, who I'm pretty sure is dyspraxic and has hypermobility -- his joints are described as seeming to have been put together back to front and he's clumsy and incompetent and exercise makes him want to die. I mean, same. The descriptions of him attempting a boxing class were both relatable and funny.

In some places the book's not exactly subtle with its feminist message, and Fleur's best friend is quite the stereotypical teenage feminist who is far too up in arms about everything, to the point where it's sometimes difficult to tell if the author is supporting or mocking her. However, on the whole it's a funny, surprisingly relatable story about stubbornness and girl power.

Also, while there's a romantic element, it mostly keeps to the background, and doesn't interfere with the other themes, which I appreciated it.

"I'd trained hard too. Bonita may have thought I was some useless piece of dental floss, who'd never worked hard for anything, but she was wrong. I'd run, I'd cycled, I'd lifted weights over and over until I hated the sight of the damn things."

* * * *
4 / 5

Girls Can't Hit is a lovely, emotional, and heart warming story about boxing, friendship, family relationships, and knowing when to fight. It's about Fleur changing as a person, growing into someone she never thought that she could be and finding she loves it. Only problem is her mother hates her hobby, her boyfriend thinks she's getting too masculine, and her friends think she's becoming too distant. Awkward.

I must admit that I wasn't overly fond of the title - I get that's it is supposed to be satirical and ironic, but I rather fear that girls will be put off reading it. I was also caught off-guard by the opening scenes; the language and writing style seemed like it was aimed at a younger audience than I was expecting (possibly my fault for not examining the back cover closely enough), but that was no big deal. Despite the younger target audience, I found Girls Can't Hit an absolute page-turner, finishing it in under a day! The real draw here is Fleur and her narrative arc.

"I'm starving," I said. "I've been exercising a lot lately."
"Maybe you need to cut down a little on the exercise," George said. I blinked at him. Has anyone ever said that to anyone in the world before?

Fleur as a narrator is wonderful. She's funny, her struggles are genuine, and she's likeable. Her relationship with her parents is particularly well written; as she grows fitter she gets closer to her father, they go cycling together and to the bike shop, she takes up running and he is proud of her progress. On the other hand, her mother is infuriatingly protective - at first it seems like this is out of her feeling like boxing isn't a suitable sport for women, but then we get a little tear-jerker of a scene where we find out why she doesn't want Fleur to box. But I also really empathised with Fleur: she has a boyfriend George, prim and proper who thinks she's getting too muscular and eating too much, and a mother who won't support her new hobby. It's infuriating to read.

'"And part of me felt as though it was done now. I'd come along, I'd gone with it, and I'd even done okay. I didn't need to come back again. I could leave with my head held high."

Then there's her two best friends Blossom, hardcore radical feminist who is portrayed in an amusing but serious way ("Of course they'll notice you're girls." "We are going to be swishing swords," Blossom said. "Not twirling tampons."), and Pip, a slightly scatty, weedy boy that can't drive properly to save his life. They've got this really lovely trio friendship dynamic going on. Blossom is the one who introduces Fleur to the boxing club as part of making a point about how women can do real boxing, not just boxercise. It's here that the story really starts to take off and I started rooting for Fleur. There's nothing particularly surprising or innovative about the plot, but it's well-written, emotional and engaging.

"It's going too far, Fleur," she replied. "I see you eating whey protein and kissing your biceps. I see you out-cycling your father and clanking weights at all hours. I see you wearing boxing boots to a mess ball."

Being a female martial artist myself (I did taekwondo as a teenager and took up Jiu Jitsu at university where, very fortunately, our club has an excellent male:female ratio) I empathised a lot with Fleur and her entering a male-dominated sport. I think Easton perfectly captured the sort of experience that I have occasionally had: men don't tend to be rude to you or patronising (with a few exceptions), but instead you get enveloped in this kind of male "aura" where they think it is perfectly acceptable to make crass and sexist jokes around you. I, like Fleur, can take a joke, but it sometimes reaches that point where you are uncomfortable but don't want to rock the boat. There's also usually a fair amount of drinking culture, which Easton included and tackled well.

On the boxing aspect itself, I don't know anything in particular about boxing so I can't comment on the accuracy of the depiction. I do think Fleur puts on a lot of weight and muscle mass in an unrealistic amount of time and missed out on a couple of particular quirks that, in my experience and those I know at least, female martial artists tend to get. For example, a lot of forearm, hand, and leg bruises that tend to lead to concerned questions and offers of support from people (I'm very glad they do this, as now I know that if I am ever in a violent situation, people will and do offer their help). Fleur trains once or twice a week for an hour at a time - that's not a lot at all particularly regarding her spike in fitness and appetite, but obviously that's a very minor quibble.

"Girls don't need to be sporty any more than they need to be princesses. You don't get to decide what I should be."
"So what are you?" She asked. "What exactly are you?"

Bonita, the closest person Fleur had to an antagonist, needed more fleshing out at the start. She's a seriously competitive hockey player that seems to dislike Fleur because she can't be bothered in PE lessons. But then she and a couple of her friends join the boxing club - why? Seemingly out of spite. I didn't really get the motivation here. But particularly towards the end of the book, Bonita gets a lot more backstory and depth, her character really coming into its own. There's a couple of moments where Fleur makes assumptions about Bonita which get turned on her head. It's here where I really started to empathise with Bonita too - she's not typically attractive, she's competitive, and seems to love to fight. She becomes a nice contrast to Fleur, making her realise the advantages she's got in life.

A really lovely recurring theme is the Battle of Hastings 1066, Normans versus Saxons. Fleur, Blossom, and Pip work at a castle dressing up, giving tours, and reenacting in mock battles. They all always play Saxons and Easton uses this as a bizarre and charming metaphor throughout the book. I liked the way he wove these little references to British history with Fleur's story of developing as a boxer. He also makes reenacting battles sound really fun!

Overall, Girls Can't Hit is a great little novel that really inspired me to hike up my own training and healthy eating regimen! Even if you don't much like boxing, you might surprise yourself with this one.