The Young Adult version of Kim Kelly's book, Fight to Win! is just as rich and informative as the adult version. The book is broken into short biographies of famous labor leaders dating back to the turn of the 19th/20th century, and leading up to modern times. The stories can be read individually, or all at once. Each chapter discusses a different aspect of fair labor practices including discrimination against gender, race, and sexual identity, creating a diverse collection of important leaders who deserve to have their stories told. The book also focuses on how unions have supported workers, and how leaders created unions to create safer work environments and to collectively bargain for better wages and hours. In this book, many blue collar jobs that uphold society with invisible labor are highlighted.

I highly recommend Fight to Win! for schools and libraries.

This book is a powerful and inspiring tribute to the brave individuals who led the fight for workers' rights in the United States. I came away with a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices and determination it took to build the protections and progress we often take for granted today. These leaders didn’t just hope for change—they made it happen, and their legacy still shapes our workplaces. I truly enjoyed reading this and highly recommend it to anyone interested in labor history or social justice. A huge thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I haven’t read the adult version (yet!), so I can’t speak on how it compares to this one. However, I can safely say that this book is absolutely amazing, and great for ages 10-99+. I was thoroughly engrossed from the first chapter and couldn’t put it down. This is such a wonderful and surprisingly in-depth introduction to the labor movement and the fight for equality.
Fight to Win! Is incredibly inclusive covering powerful individuals of multiple races, age ranges, gender, and physical abilities. While also covering a huge timespan from the 1800’s to modern times. It does an amazing job of taking an insurmountable subject and making it easily digestible; while leaving the reader eager to learn more about the people covered in this book and all the ones who couldn't fit into a single book.
Fight to Win! creates an enormous mix of emotions. Joy for the wins that so many people fought for; depression over how much further we have to go. Pride over how these individuals fought for themselves, others, and what they believed was right; sadness for the losses they endured and the struggles they went through. At the end, you’re left feeling awe over these amazing people and their accomplishments. You also leave the book with an urge to join the battle to help change the world for the current and future generations.

What a great anthology of people we don’t hear about who’ve accomplished great things by banding together with others and standing up for their rights! As an active member of my teachers union, I really enjoyed learning about those brave and determined men and women who came before me in the battles for equality in all walks of life. Much needed for the time we’re living in.

I’m not generally a nonfiction reader, but I wanted to give this one a shot because it sounded like it’d be accessible and also American labor movements are an important part of history. Many figures were unfamiliar but the people I did recognize, I was excited to see them included. I like that the point of this book was to highlight BIPOC, queer, and/or disabled people who’d been part of labor movements, because too often they’re voices that get erased from history. This was a really good collection of people and I’m glad I took the opportunity to learn about union organizers and labor movements that helped shaped the USA of today, and that’s still being fought for our future.

My students are from all over the world and they have different abilities, they absolutely need to see people like them in the world and in movements that help to better us all. This book is an essential resource for that goal. I'm hoping the publisher comes out with some additional resources to accompany the book in the classroom because I'm already planning the posters of the amazing people in this book. Bottom line, I'm buying it as soon as I am able for my students. The people discussed in this book really do run the gambit, and the information is easy for middle grade kids to read and/or practice reading with.