The Fight Within by Andrew Grey

[Octobercountry]

Just finished Andrew Grey’s The Fight Within , the second book in his “The Good Fight” series:

Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner’s death a year ago, he’s become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he’s not immediately sure he’s done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation's trading post.

Paytah Stillwater's life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself—but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation’s children, the walls around Paytah’s heart begin to melt.

Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah's abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Paytah must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward—together.

I think I liked the plot of this book just a bit more than that of the first, perhaps because I myself can identify more with a grumpy, anti-social character like Paytah---ha! But overall I had the same feeling for this book as I did toward the first---that being, it was a pleasant diversion but not a book that pulled me in to any great degree. However, I do appreciate the fact that the author explores problems in the American Indian community that often go unnoticed by the general population.