Ten year old Della’s superpower is that she “don’t take snow from anybody.” With an incarcerated mom who’s “no better than a hamster,” it’s her sister Suki who has always taken care of the pair of them. Never mind that the girls were allowed to stay with their mom’s ex-boyfriend Clifton; they were always better off when he was away.
Now, Suki and Della have fled from Clifton’s house, and Della’s going to do what she can to make sure he goes to prison for a long, long time. The problem is that Suki, who’s superpower has always been to make herself invisible, is hiding something too big to handle. Della must figure out how to get through to her sister, and to lend Suki some of her strength and “snowing” attitude.
The author does a great job with her presentation of sexual abuse in the story—she addresses it in small doses, separated by the trials and tribulations of the indomitable Della, who finds “the courage to tell.” This is a story of family at its most intense—raw, tragic, and deeply rewarding. The novel is, too.
FIGHTING WORDS is especially interesting when read in tandem with a recent Book of the Month, Chirp. Please don’t miss it!
--Lynn
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