USEREVIEW 073 (Capsule): The Good Fight
Ted Staunton (Writer), Josh Rosen (Illustrator)
The Good Fight (Scholastic Canada, 2021)
ISBN 978-1-44316-383-5 | 224 pp | $16.95 CAD — BUY Here
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I’m glad this book exists. Staunton and Rosen do a good job of shedding light on a shameful chapter of Toronto’s history, when pro-Hitler fascists openly roamed the city’s streets. In 1933, hundreds of members of The Balmy Beach Swastika Club painted Nazi symbols on their clothing, carried placards with anti-Semitic slogans, flashed Nazi salutes and shouted ‘Heil Hitler.’ Gift shops on Queen Street sold Nazi souvenirs and claimed they were good luck symbols — which the swastika was, until Hitler appropriated it for his own evil ends. This anti-Semitic pressure cooker culminated in a six-hour riot at Christie Pits Park: this book’s titular ‘good fight.’
Staunton does a good job of making it clear that the ‘good fight’ is also the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism and fascism in all its forms. In such a highly charged environment, though, the quieter story of the main character, a boy named Sid, gets basically overshadowed. Sid finds himself being pulled between working for a gang and the police, forcing him into a moral quandary.
Nazis, gangs, cops — this should be fast-paced and gripping but the story unfolds at a leisurely pace that blunts some of the impact. The artwork as well is a little stiff. At times I found it hard to distinguish between the characters, especially some of the adults. I gave this book to my 10-year-old but she got bored and never finished it. As I said, I am glad this book exists: this is a period of history that must be remembered so it can never be repeated.
Recommended excerpt:
The climax of the book is the baseball game on August 16, 1933, which led to the infamous anti-Semitic Christie Pits Riot. Staunton and Rosen really shine here. The whole book is a pressure cooker and here the lid blows off.
