Takedown

by Ali Bryan

“Sports fans and reluctant readers alike will enjoy the detailed, fast-paced wrestling matches and blow-by-blow MMA fight scenes. … Visceral and violent yet ultimately hopeful.” ― Kirkus Reviews

Sixteen-year-old star wrestler Rowan Harper’s biggest fan is her father.

But he has ALS, and his symptoms are getting worse. Saving his life will cost more money than the family has, but Rowan finds a solution. Will she risk her chances at a scholarship by competing in a lucrative, but illegal, underground MMA fight?

Takedown is a high-intensity coming-of-age story about family illness and competitive combat, with lots of heart, hope, and headlocks.

Genres: Fiction, Canada

312 pages, Paperback

Published May 11, 2024

Reviews

[Ren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Something about this didn't hit for me; a lot of Rowan's decisions felt weird and there wasn't really any motivation for her conflict with Ozzy other than a weird amount of jealousy about him having hobbies other than being her boyfriend. Not one I enjoyed.

[Books_cats&Tea♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The one thing I most enjoyed about this book was learning about wrestling and ALS, but overall, this wasn't one of my favourite reads. The characters felt one-dimensional, the plot took half the book to pick up, and the ending felt very confused and rushed. Also, what was it with the love triangle? Rowan kept having fights with Ozzy about the same subject, even though she shouldn't really have been, and her relationship with Caspian ended on a very open note.
I give this book 2/5 stars.

[RuK6ya · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a dnf for me. The writing was really choppy and there was barely any descriptions that I had to go back and re read a lot of lines. I’m disappointed cuz I had high hopes for it.

[mun˚ʚ♡ɞ˚]

wasnt feeling it

[Natasha Di Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. It was a simple but beautiful coming of age story, with a chorus of characters that were unique, and impactful, and strong, and sometimes, even a bit unlikable, making it honest, and realistic, and relatable. I especially loved the dynamic between the protagonist, Rowan, and her family, with her navigating each member differently in order to maintain her own equilibrium during this difficult time for them. Even though I didn’t always like her or the decisions she made, I was rooting for her, and wanted the best for her.

The ending was so sad, and even though it was expected, it was the battle that Rowan was fighting the hardest, and knew she was never going to win, but it gave her what she needed to wade through the decisions she was going to need to make moving forward. I kind of want more of her story---maybe the story of Rowan as the newest and most badass female MMA fighter??? I would read that!

[Emilia Trickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very confused on the ending with her kissing Ozzy goodbye when he left but then she's kissing and holding hands with Caspian? I just wanted to know who she ends up with? And saying she goes to Ozzy's for dinner once a month, if you were together you would probably go more but if your not then why would you go to your ex-boyfriends house? I just feel like it was never really decided that she was with Ozzy in the end or not. And what happened to the whole Juliet thing I mean she was so jealous and then she is just gone? And I felt her fights with Ozzy were really stupid because it was about the same subject every time. I did injoy learning about ALS and what it's like fighting as a girl and how she kept going and she's so strong and people recognize it. So in the end I rate it 3/5

[Alberta Views Magazine]

At the start of Ali Bryan’s new YA novel, Leo—“65 kilos of farm chores and male siblings and meat and potatoes”—pins Grade 11 student Rowan on a wrestling mat. She can’t get up, she narrates, and her dad, who has ALS and is there watching the match, “can’t get out of his wheelchair.” Told with empathy, humour and Bryan’s sharp ear for dialogue, Takedown is an intense yet heartwarming story of a championship-level teenage wrestler who, as outside attention focuses on her athletic prowess, is also fighting for her family. The action scenes are accurate and visceral, but the novel’s heart is in relationships—friends, family, mentors—and Rowan’s struggle with grief.

More reviews at https://albertaviews.ca/briefly-noted...

[Addison Trott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book all the way through, but the end felt really rushed like she got back from NY, and then her dad died, then the end of book!?! What that is it?!? It just felt rushed. I feel like the book needed an epilog to help wrap it up. Also, the back of the book feels misleading because it seems like the main plot is the underground fights, but she does one over halfway through the book. Still loved the book and cried when the dad died.

[amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

sososososo good!! shows how difficult it can be to deal with so much pressure at once and feeling like if you don’t do something, everyone will be disappointed. Rowan is such a strong fighter and such a strong person and she didn’t deserve half of the shit she had to go through.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cried. I was and wasn’t expecting the ending, I figured he would die but them doing it with only 4 pages left shocked me. It felt a bit rushed and i’m confused about the ending, other than that good book. 3.5 ⭐️

[Rebecca M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I learned a lot about ALS reading this!! Super emotional read

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending had me sobbing even though I feel like nothing happened. This book was interesting because it felt like a snapshot in the character’s life.