Why I Fight

At 12 ½, Wyatt Reaves goes away with his horrible, grotesque uncle and becomes a bare-knuckle fighter, essentially a human fighting dog. For six years, Wyatt lives an itinerant life of horrific brutality while the demonic Uncle Spade profits off him. Oaks’ novel is not for the faint-hearted, and many of the characters could hold their own with the worst rogues in Dickens. The tough, jabbing prose keeps the reader going, and the story never becomes pat or falsely comforting. Strong stuff.

Why I Fight begins like a punch to the gut as Wyatt Reaves explains why his hand hurts and has dried blood on it. He reveals that he has just had a fight with his dad over a business enterprise they had together. The first person narrative begins in the present but shifts to events in the past when Wyatt was 12 years old and he and his parents became suddenly homeless. He does not disclose why but that his Uncle Spade, his father’s brother, takes custody of him. Spade is a dissolute, drifter-type who makes money as he travels around the country stopping in places where he has girlfriends and contacts for his possibly shady business deals. Since Wyatt is big for his age, six feet tall as a 12-year-old, Spade sees the chance to make show more some money off of him. He begins training Wyatt for bare-fisted fighting that takes place in questionable venues. Wyatt wins more than he loses and in the process earns Spade a lot of money. As the story progresses the reader learns that his parents were teenagers when they had him and subsequently neglected him. As a result, Wyatt has little sense of his own identity and self worth. With short sentences and chapters and a likeable main character, this novel is sure to please reluctant readers. show less

This is a story of how you hope a child never grows up. All the same, the author pulls it off without his characters seeming helpless or pathetic. 12 year old Wyatt runs away with his Uncle Spade after his house burns down. After years of drifting about, staying with Uncle Spade's various "Lady Friends," Spade decides that Wyatt is old enough and tough enough to begin fighting. Wyatt himself goes though many different emotional phases as he ages, first content with the attention his uncle gives him, then restless because of all the moving, then finally a sense of control as he grows into his role of a man.
Written in in the voice of Wyatt, including his poor grammar (he never did finish school), it is at times both fascinating and sad, show more but it is hard to feel sorry for him as he fight's his way through his life, both literally and figuratively. show less

Oak's first novel is heartbreaking and realistic. The protagonist Wyatt is unforgettable and his story of "why he fights" will cause readers to hate Wyatt's uncle Slade as they hear the authentic voice of a boy who, although he claims to hate the word love, searches for it and tries to find himself. Teen boys will relate to the voice and character of Wyatt.

Poor, Wyatt. This book left me depressed and wondering what this kid with just awful adults in his life and no parenting to speak of would do with his life on his own. Wyatt is the narrator who has a distinct voice and is a likeable kid, but the future is bleak for this young man abandoned by his parents and used by his uncle.

Wyatt never knew much, but his uncle saw how he could hit someone. Leaving home with his uncle he travels around fighting in underground bare knuckle boxing matches to make money. A very good book, would recomend.

This is a sad book to read and is about how this kid Wyatt grows up with no parents, having to drift around most of his life. And is the prime example of why kids need parenting. The only person that came even close to being a father the Wyatt was his uncle Spade. Uncle spade decided that Wyatt was old enough to start fighting.