Fight for Justice

Fight for Justice
by Lori Saigeon
Published by Coteau Books
Review by Ryan Melnyk
$7.95 ISBN: 978-1-55050-405-7

School for a child can be one of the most terrifying places he or she might go. In the case of Justice, the main character of Fight for Justice, every corner is one worth worrying about. We all know that school is full of bullies and it is said that if you just mind your own business, no one will bother you. However, the modern bully in an elementary school these days has changed; it is now rare that one will do anything wrong without a group of people to help conceal his or her actions and torment the victim. They also do not resort to physical conflict without reason because they know more trouble will come if the victim had been physically hurt. Even the appearance of bullies today is different; you might think that the biggest kid on the playground is the one who picks on everyone. Bullying today is often mental abuse and even spiritual abuse. Bullies are good at finding kids’ weak points.

Fighting for Justice deals with every kind of bullying children might face in the early years and I recommend it to younger readers for many reasons. The first is that it deals with how to stand up to a bully who is one of those guys or girls no one in their right mind would dare to cross. It also shows young readers why other kids their age act the way they do, and it isn’t hard to realize why that affects their behavior.

The softer side to this story is played through Justice and his family’s Aboriginal background. Justice is very fond of his Mushum and Kokum (grandparents), even more so the reserve in Ontario where they live. Justice acts like a dog who wants to go outside when his mother tells him that his family is going to visit the reserve to see his grandparents. This is like a vacation to Disneyland for Justice and his sister Charity. Justice and Charity are both very outgoing, which makes this book a fast and interesting read that will make young readers (even reluctant ones) want to read more.

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