Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

 SPOILER ALERT!!

Fighting Words 

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Dial Books/Penguin BFYR, 2020, 272 pages

Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse and Attempted Suicide

Life has not been easy for Della, 10, and her sister Suki, 17. They are both in foster care now that their mother is in prison for blowing up a hotel room cooking meth. Six years ago, they had been taken in by their mother's former boyfriend, Clifton, but he has now been arrested and is about to go on trial for child sexual abuse. Suki caught him attempting to sexually abuse Della and filmed what was going on while calling the police. Now, Della is expected to testify at Clifton's trial, but Suki insists that it must be filmed and not done in person. Their new foster mother, Francine, is an old hand at fostering kids and really seems to be on Suki and Della's side. Living with her is the closest to a normal life that they have ever experienced. There is enough food to eat and no one abuses them. They go to school regularly, although Della struggles with the work, but also makes friends with a girl named Nevaeh (heaven spelled backwards) and stands up to a boy in the class named Trevor who is always harassing the girls for wearing or not wearing a bra. 

And so it is in just such an atmosphere that Della begins to narrate their story, seemingly searching for something that she may have missed. Francine, who know exactly what has happened to the girls, keeps asking them if they want to talk to a counselor, but their case worker never follows through with that. Then, Suki attempts suicide, suffering from PTSD and unable to continue to be strong for herself and Della. As the pieces to what happened to Suki while living with Clifton begin to make sense to Della, she decides that she would rather testify in the courtroom at his trial instead of on a recording. She also finds the strength to report what Trevor has been doing to the girls in her class, right under the teacher's nose.  

Fighting Words ends well, but I think it needed a positive ending for it to be considered a middle grade novel. There is a lot of heavy stuff going on in Suki and Della's story, but Brubaker Bradley has included enough humor that it doesn't diminish the experiences of the sisters, but it sure is needed for some relief. I found Della to be a wonderful unreliable narrator (after all, she's only 10). And I was glad this didn't turned into an ugly foster care story. It's always encouraging to read about a positive foster care situation, and while Francine is a little rough around the edges, she is a real softy with her heart in the right place. 

I loved the irony of Della using the word "snow" whenever she was using "colorful language" and she did that a lot. I used to teach in the Bronx and Della's "snowy" language and defensive attitude reminded me of some of the kids I had in my classes, making her such an authentic character for me. I think Brubaker Bradley did a stellar job presenting Della and Suki's story, getting what happened across without being terrible graphic except for the one incident involving Della. But, in the end, I think this book needs trigger warnings - it is definitely not for every middle school reader. 

This book is recommended for readers age 10+