I often review books that are not brand new and/or that have not gotten the recognition they deserve. But even though  “Fighting Words,” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, earned a Newbery Honor (ie so not a hidden gem!), I still want to tell you about it. 

“Fighting Words” has a great “sisters stick together” theme. which I appreciated (being a sister myself). The main character, Della (short for “Delicious,” a name she hates), has an older sister, Suki, who has been her caretaker even before their mom got addicted to meth and went to prison. After their mom went to prison, they continued to live with her scary and sketchy boyfriend, Clifton, a long-distance truck driver, who is typically gone from home Monday through Friday.

Clifton comes home one Friday and assaults Della when Suki isn’t there. Suki shows up just in time to both rescue Della and document with photographs  Clifton’s behavior. Clifton is arrested and the girls end up in the foster system.

“Fighting Words” refers to the fact that Della cusses a lot and gets in trouble for it. Her sister tries to get her to use words like snow and snowy instead of curses, when she tells her story, with some amusing results.

For all her struggles, Della seems to have a good radar for finding people she likes and trusts. For example, she finds a friend in her newest school, in the class where her teacher takes an instant dislike to Della. She makes friends with the lady behind the deli counter at the grocery store where her older sister works nights, as well as the manager of that store, who also is the basketball coach at the YMCA where Della goes after school.

I loved watching Della find and befriend these positive people who stick up for her.

Della is good at making friends, but she is no softy. She is fierce, like the wolf she so admires, and is willing to stand up and take the heat when the class bully, Trevor — who pinches the girls hard between their shoulder blades to make fun of them for not wearing a bra — pinches Della. She accuses Trevor in front of the whole class and when the teacher tries to brush it off, several other girls stand up and bear witness. 

The author does an outstanding job of showing how hard that is for them, though ultimately the teacher does believe them and, thanks to the principal and Della’s foster mom (Francine), the rules of the school are enforced. 

The whole passage, with Della stating loudly and clearly to Trevor that he does not have permission to touch her is a great model for young people in their own lives. I deeply appreciated how the author addresses and resolves this subplot. 

Della is able to take a stand and use her words because of Dr. Fremont, the therapist she has been seeing. Dr. Fremont helps Della identify and manage her emotions in more productive ways than swearing and swinging her fists. She gives Della some language (like, “you do not have permission to touch me”), which also helps.

Francine, the foster mom, is one of my favorite characters. She is not warm and fuzzy, but Francine takes her fostering responsibilities seriously and protects and supports Della consistently. 

“Fighting Words” reminds me of two other middle grade novels with strong and resilient characters in the foster system: “The Great Gilly Hopkins,” by Katherine Patterson and “One for the Murphys,” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. 

I have no personal experience with the foster system and I know it isn’t perfect, but until I’d read these three novels I had mostly only known about the bad side of the system. In “Fighting Words,” Della and Suki get the help and support they need from their foster mom, therapists, school principal and others. It sends an important message to young readers that there is help out there if you have the courage to speak up.

But the book also acknowledges just how hard that can be. Victims of assault often feel like it is their fault, or they try to speak up and are accused of lying.

As Della says, “It’s hard to talk about hard things. Especially to people that don’t listen.” 

I hope that this book will provide a guiding light and a refuge for young readers who might be struggling. And, for those of us who have not experienced these kinds of struggles, it reminds us of the adage, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”