Why I Fight (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Paperback))

Left alone for days on end, twelve-and-a-half-year-old Wyatt Reaves burns down the family house. His parents lose everything—including control—so Wyatt’s uncle, Spade, whisks him away to "safety." Spade may not feel tenderly toward his strapping nephew, but he does see potential in the boy: To earn money. In the bare-fist fighting racket. The two travel across America for the next six years, living off Wyatt’s earnings and the goodness of his uncle’s ladyfriends. As Wyatt develops a sense of who he isn’t, he must question who he is—and what he’s really worth.