Extremely powerful, heartbreaking, important and ultimately hopeful story about the effects of sexual abuse on two sisters. Also explores issues of foster care, incarceration, drug addiction, healing and family.

10 year old Della and her 17 year old sister Suki are placed into foster care after being rescued from their mothers ex-boyfriend, This novel deals with sexual abuse and bullying in a deft manner. Della and Suki’s story is filled with heartbreak and equal amounts of resilience. This is a story that needs to be read, shared and discussed. Grades 5 and up.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Bradley puts the "real" in realistic fiction. Real with a capital R. I have read other stories about children in foster care (One of the Murphy, The Great Gilly Hopkins) but none of them were as rang as true or was so painfully honest. I think of all of the "Dellas" who were in my classes. I was not ever able to give them a book that reflected their experiences. Now there is one. I hope someone gives it to them. I am grateful that Kimberly Brubaker Bradley made it possible.

It’s Della’s voice you'll never forget. To spare the reader, she assures you, she’s going to start the story with the parts that aren’t so bad - but they are. Dad has never been in the picture and Mom is incarcerated after a meth-explosion in a motel bathroom when Della and older sister Suki are in the adjacent bedroom. Being left alone with Mom’s truck driver boyfriend Clifton is even worse, because he sexually abuses Suki for years. Suki is afraid to tell until she finds Clifton shifting his attention to Della. Now in foster care, Suki is willing to testify about what she has photo evidence of - Clifton’s one time attack on Della - but is terrified to tell what happened to her over many years.

Foster mom Francine shines among many thoughtfully constructed supporting characters, along with a troubled classmate who harassed he and a kindly basketball coach. It’s hard to imagine that any author could pull off a book narrated by such a young sexual abuse survivor but Della’s story, so skillfully told, is necessary for all libraries. E-ARC provided by NetGalley.

Absolutely beautiful. The author deals with a difficult topic with gentleness and skill. Della is such a wonderful character and roll model.

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley has written a book full of hard things that need to be talked about. Fighting Words is the story of Della and her older sister Suki who have been through more hard things than any children should ever have to endure and yet, statistics from the Center for Disease Control tell us that far too many of the children in our lives have experienced these hard things, too.

Brilliantly written with care to present these difficult topics in a way that they can be discussed without the harsh details, Fighting Words is the story of two sisters whose mother is incarcerated with terminated parental rights. Della and her sixteen year old sister, Suki are now in foster care. Della, a self proclaimed big mouth, has quickly learned that there are few adults in her life that truly listen and do what adults are supposed to do. From the very beginning of the story it is clear that Suki has always cared for Della in every way, making sacrifices beyond her years. As the narrator Della tells us she starts on "the easy part of the story" and as day to day events unfold the harder parts are revealed.

Della is a character that has grabbed my heart and hopefully opened my eyes and heart to the children around me. She has reminded me of the important role I have as an adult to listen to the children in my life and think and notice what the words around them have to say. And to assure that my words can be the right ones.

Fighting Words is a story about the power of what goes unsaid. Suki has protected Della at all costs. When the monster is gone, a new one takes its place. This books elegantly and eloquently handles the issue of child trauma and abuse while focusing on its legacy rather than the trauma itself, making it an appropriate read for middle school students. The characters are three dimensional, not saintly, and it teaches the power of standing up for one's self and even more so, the power of standing together.

This book was very moving, and I think an incredibly important read for everyone. I'll definitely be recommending it to parents and children alike!

I was excited to check out this new offering from the author of "The War That Saved My Life" and it did not disappoint. "Fighting Words" is a fantastic book exploring some hard truths about the prevalence of child sexual abuse. For the two protagonist sisters, foster care becomes a refuge from a life shaped largely by their mother's drug addiction and subsequent events. Recommended for students 10 and up.

Della (born as Delicious, but don't call her that) has a twisted life. Her mom is incarcerated for drugs and burning down a hotel, and her dad was never a thing. She has her older sister Suki, who is just like a mom to her. But once her mom went to prison, it couldn't be just her and Suki. Their mom's boyfriend took them in. Yes, he provided them food and shelter, but things got bad. So bad that they had to run, and run fast. Della has always been protected my Suki, but no one has ever asked who has protected Suki? They end up living with two crazy foster families and end up with Francine. They realize Francine isn't the worst they've had. She buys them clothes, food, and let's them do their own thing too. But as Suki soaks in what they just escaped from she becomes distant from Della. So distant that Suki tries to kill herself. Della has no understanding as to why she would do this. It doesn't sink in until she takes a step back and looks at the whole picture of their runaway.

This novel tackles several extremely tough topics for middle grade readers: child sexual abuse, suicide/depression, incarceration/separation from parental figures, and being constantly uprooted. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley makes these topics accessible to this range of students in an appropriate manner and I think will make a huge and powerful impact for them and teachers too.

This book is so raw and vulnerable. It is a story of heartbreak and pain, but also resilience And love. Each painful situation encountered is handled with care, but is told in a matter of fact way that makes an impact.

Talk about ACEs -- Adverse Childhood Experiences. Our middle grade readers are living them; Della, is living them in this important middle grade book: incarcerated parent, sexual abuse, sister's attempted suicide
While the situations are harrowing and terrible, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley infuses hope, strength in sisterhood, and brings the characters into your heart. Middle school readers need these stories. To read and share with their adults.

A gut-wrenching must read about real-life written for middle grade. The writing is a little simplistic, but the narrator is a 10 year old girl so it's expected. This story made me smile, happy cry, sad cry, and overall just a heartwarming story about found families and resiliency.

Delicious, known as Della, starts the story telling us about her big mouth and how it gets her into trouble but also helps bring attention to what needs to be handled in her world. Della goes on to tell us that she's going to tell her story and that she does. By Della being the narrator, we are able to see the world from her perspective, which Kimberly Brubaker Bradley does a stellar job of relaying the story in a believable way from a child's perspective. Della is wise beyond her years due to her life experiences, but as the story unfolds she realizes that what she thought she knew wasn't always the truth. The story is difficult to read, but as the author states in the author's note at the end, so many kids are dealing with these situations in their lives that we don't know about. An eye-opening reading experience for all to gain a better understanding of the horrors in the world for some children.

Two things in tension with this book for me. 1) This book is engaging and funny and has you turning the pages to find out what's next in a good way and 2) this book depicts two sisters recovering from a traumatic childhood and sexual abuse, also addressing an addicted, incarcerated parent and a suicide attempt.

Sexual abuse is something almost never addressed with children, even messages about consent and not touching at school are not widely expressed. For such a heavy subject, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley does a good job at being sensitive and explaining to kids that if this has happened to you, you are not alone.

Will this be a widely read book? I don't know. It's a lot of trauma is a short amount of time which sadly is true life. Della is odd as a main character as she's technically 10, but with the content, readers would probably be older.

As an adult reader, I loved Della. I loved her "snow" themed cursing and her no-nonsense attitude. I really appreciated the nuanced character of Francine, who is no saint but not your typical foster mom of literature.

Would I recommend it to a kid? I don't know. Not like The War that Saved My Life. This is the kind of book that would be a great partner read with a trusted adult. It's too important of a book to be flung at students unless they were able to process it with someone and ask questions if needed.

Bradley writes characters that feel so real, it’s like you know them and it makes their struggles more intense. Important subject matter here. Can’t wait to recommend it to kids at the library.

This book is important and brave. This middle grade novel tackles a subject that has not been covered often for this age level. Della and Suki are strong sisters who have stuck together because that is all they have had. As the story unravels to the bad parts, so does Suki's strength of carrying years of abuse. This book may save lives. Highly recommended.

“Sometimes it seemed like everyone knew the rules, but me.” This MG novel is my new favorite. The author deals with sexual harassment and abuse with the utmost discretion. Della learns that even though her sister and foster mom have always stood up for her, sometimes she needs to be strong like a wolf and stand up for herself and become a pack leader. I enjoyed watching Della grow in her own confidence and understandings. “ If you ignore bad behavior, is that in fact giving that person permission to harass and abuse you? “The person you are is strong and resilient and loving and kind.” Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. It’s going to be on my mind for awhile.

Another wonderful book by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley! Her "The War That Saved My Life" is one of my favorite books and probably one I have recommended more than any other to readers from middle grade through adult. Everyone I have handed it to loves it, and the sequel, "The War I Finally Won," is fabulous also. This book is more contemporary, the story of Della and her older sister and the repercussions for them of their mother's incarceration for cooking meth in a hotel room and the sexual abuse suffered while living with the mother's boyfriend. In addition to making the narrator/main character and her sister totally sympathetic, despite their flaws, the author really excels at creating well developed and nuanced secondary characters who add great depth and heart to the story. A minor criticism is that the use of language to show the girls' rough upbringing, like saying "lemme" instead of let me, "ain't," "I don't never need," "Suki and me gave up," "wasn't no way I was going to.." etc. is wildly inconsistent. The strange thing is that all of these examples are in the first person narration part of the book, not in the dialog. The use of street talk is very sporadic, with much of it occurring at the beginning of the book and then most of the rest of the book, including most of the dialog, is written in perfectly correct English, lapsing only occasionally to the imperfect at random points. Maybe it's meant to set the scene that these kids have had a hard life, but the inconsistency was a bit jarring. That aside, it's a beautiful and important book and I highly recommend it. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-ARC of this book.

This is a book that should be in every school library. Although the topic is one that makes everyone feel uncomfortable, it is handled in an age appropriate manner and additional information is included at the end of the book.

A powerful story, courageously told. Memorable characters inspire the reader’s loyalty and compassion, and the end is a celebration of hope and resilience.