Summer book club is back! This summer we’re reading Miriam Toews’ 2021 novel, Fight Night.

Fight Night follows nine‑year‑old Swiv as she writes a letter to her absentee dad while her pregnant mom and eccentric grandma, Elvira, look after her in Toronto. After getting kicked out of school for fighting, Swiv ends up being homeschooled by her Grandma. The trio’s bond grows deeper when Grandma, despite frail health, whisks Swiv off to California to visit family. Full of humor, grief, and fierce love, the story is a celebration of survival: women teaching a little girl how to fight for joy and family through life’s chaos.

Book club will meet twice more over the summer (August 5 and August 26). This meeting we’ll be discussing Part 2 of the book (approximately 125 pages). If you missed the first meeting, don’t worry about it! We’d love to have you join whenever you can.

Fight Club is widely available for purchase online and in stores, for borrowing from the local library (North Vancouver libraries have lots of copies available), and as an audio book read by the author and her daughter.