Book Review

Why I Fight

by J. Adams Oaks

Rating: ☆☆☆

What would you do if your family lost its home, you found yourself in a homeless shelter, both your parents wanted to kill you, and your crazy uncle whisked you away in the middle of the night? This is the scenario fourteen year-old Wyatt must ponder in J. Adams Oaks's new novel, Why I Fight.

Wyatt's head is definitely spinning as the novel opens. With both his parents furious at him, he has no problem skipping town with Uncle Spade. Unfortunately, Spade's life is anything but stable. He has no home either, and he often dumps Wyatt off at a random girlfriend's house and skips town for days at a time as he attempts to sell various items, including t-shirts to clueless college kids. Fortunately, Wyatt bonds with his uncle's ladies, especially Lanesha, so his basic needs--food, clothing, shelter--are met. Spade doesn't allow Wyatt to get too comfortable in any location, though, and the two rarely stay in one place beyond a few days, choosing instead to hit the next city in Spade's Chevy. Their bond seems to grow stronger after Wyatt's hidden talent is exposed--he can fight. Spade wastes no time thrusting Wyatt into the dark world of underground street fighting in order for the two to turn a profit and have more cash on hand. Despite his successes, Wyatt begins to question whether or not Spade has his best interests in mind.

Readers expecting non-stop action are likely to be disappointed. There is much more here about the vagrant lifestyle of Wyatt and Uncle Spade. While there are plenty of fights, most begin and end rather quickly. There are really no drawn-out, Rocky-style slugfests to be seen. I think this really points to the theme or "so what?" Oaks is trying to get across to readers. He is more interested in the vagabond existence of his characters than he is commenting on violence. There are people who live like this in America--without a home or steady income. Oaks is conveying the harsh truth: this type of existence is lonely, dangerous, and grim, especially when seen through the eyes of a fourteen year-old boy. This story is told in the first person point of view, from Wyatt's perspective. The diction sticks out like a sore-thumb, with Wyatt relying heavily on slang, which in turn reflects his--and basically all of the characters'-- lack of education: "I didn't got no shoes, and my feet were real cold and real dirty" (2). On the one hand, this makes Wyatt seem more real and gives the story a conversational feel; however, I can also see some readers getting distracted, as some did with Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go.

I had one major problem with the way Oaks laid out his story. The reason Wyatt perturbs his parents so early in the novel isn't revealed until the end of the book, which is fine. However, the synopsis on the back spoils what happened. Without this revelation, I really feel I would have been surprised or even shocked when I discovered what Wyatt did. With the novel's only real sense of mystery taken away, I felt let down. I'm wondering if Oaks is angry with his publishers about this. Also, the ending was a bit of a downer for me. There really aren't any explicit resolutions to most of the conflicts presented.

Overall, Oaks has put together a solid YA novel in Why I Fight, even if the book wasn't what I expected. He did a superb job getting to the heart of the vagrant, trashy lifestyle of his characters--in fact, I think the look at this dark element of American culture was downright provocative. At the end of the day, I wish he had tied up a few more loose ends, as well as allow his readers a bit of surprise in learning what Wyatt did to alienate his parents so. Fans of Todd Strasser would be wise to give this one a try.

-Mr. Lang