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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
Wow. A powerful memoir about so many tough issues. A must read for any educator, and beyond.
Wow. I was given this book to read in a book club with my students and I am honestly at a loss for words. I did not expect this book to be as deep, real, and raw as it was. If more people read this, I think they would understand why some families are in the difficult positions that they are and how difficult it can be to get out of them. While I wish the author reflected on the long term effects of one particular theme that was left without further discussion, I cannot deny how important and transformative this book is.
*I would absolutely look up trigger warnings if you plan to read this book!
*I would absolutely look up trigger warnings if you plan to read this book!
Rex wanted this year of middle school to be different, but he just can’t escape his problems. He feels ashamed and guilty for qualifying for and needing his school’s free lunch program and has complicated feelings towards his mom and stepfather because of their abusive relationships with him and each other. As you can see, there a lot of heavy and mature topics in this memoir, but Free Lunch provides a much needed picture of what it’s like for many kids in America to grow up in poverty, and Rex’s story will provide readers insight into and hope for those young people whose lived experiences are like his own.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Heartbreaking the entire time.
Rex lives with his mother, stepfather Sam (mom's boyfriend), and his three year old brother Ford. He is getting ready for his first day of middle school, going through his checklist: schedule, locker number, combination, supplies. When he asks his mother for his lunch money, he finds out that he is in the “Free Lunch Program”. Questioning that sets his mother into such a rage that Rex ends up starting school with no lunch money and a black eye.
Ogle writes a tale that will unfortunately be familiar to too many readers. A cycle of poverty, hunger, anger, abuse, and neglect. They live in an apartment that has no furniture but plenty of cockroaches, near the neighborhood with nice houses. His abuela tries to help, but his mother won’t allow it, throwing out the food and supplies she brings at Thanksgiving. As bad as it is, things get even worse when they are evicted from their apartment and end up in public housing, right across the street from the school.
Ogle also writes about his school experience. How he is so embarassed of using the free lunch program, especially when he has to proclaim it loudly everyday to the hard-of-hearing cashier. He cleverly finds a way around that, writing it down on a piece of paper. Rex also loses his seat at the lunch table when all his friends sign up for football, and start eating with the team. At first he eats alone, but finally finds Ethan, who eventually becomes his friend. Although Rex’s intelligence is evident, he struggles with one of his teachers, who only sees the broken backpack, no school supplies, and shabby clothes. When Rex has finally had enough he calls out her prejudice, prompting an unexpected meeting in the hall.
Rex is mature beyond his years, having to take care of his younger brother and sometimes even his parents. He balances the checkbook, he cooks and cleans, he watches his baby brother. Rex recounts a story of his mom and Sam leaving him and his brother overnight, with no phone and no money; they ended up being gone almost four days and running out of food. Rex accompanies Sam to the pawn store when they run out of money and sell the few belongings that they have. Ogle hints at his mother having mental illness, but there’s no mention of any diagnoses. He also briefly mentions a sister who passed away, and also includes a sister in the acknowledgements, but no other information is given.
Ogle ends the book on a somewhat hopeful note. Rex has shifted from always being angry at his mother to being more understanding and encouraging. She gets a job, and there is more money in the household. That Christmas is the best Rex can remember. The mark of a good book is that the reader is left wanting more, and this book leaves the reader wanting to know the rest of Rex’s story. Does his mother keep her job, can they finally move out of public housing, what is high school like? A must read for anyone who works with children. In the hands of students, it can serve as a mirror, showing students they are not alone; or it can be a window, showing readers a perspective they might not be familiar with. In the end, Rex is a smart, empathetic character that brings the story of childhood poverty and hunger to life.
Ogle writes a tale that will unfortunately be familiar to too many readers. A cycle of poverty, hunger, anger, abuse, and neglect. They live in an apartment that has no furniture but plenty of cockroaches, near the neighborhood with nice houses. His abuela tries to help, but his mother won’t allow it, throwing out the food and supplies she brings at Thanksgiving. As bad as it is, things get even worse when they are evicted from their apartment and end up in public housing, right across the street from the school.
Ogle also writes about his school experience. How he is so embarassed of using the free lunch program, especially when he has to proclaim it loudly everyday to the hard-of-hearing cashier. He cleverly finds a way around that, writing it down on a piece of paper. Rex also loses his seat at the lunch table when all his friends sign up for football, and start eating with the team. At first he eats alone, but finally finds Ethan, who eventually becomes his friend. Although Rex’s intelligence is evident, he struggles with one of his teachers, who only sees the broken backpack, no school supplies, and shabby clothes. When Rex has finally had enough he calls out her prejudice, prompting an unexpected meeting in the hall.
Rex is mature beyond his years, having to take care of his younger brother and sometimes even his parents. He balances the checkbook, he cooks and cleans, he watches his baby brother. Rex recounts a story of his mom and Sam leaving him and his brother overnight, with no phone and no money; they ended up being gone almost four days and running out of food. Rex accompanies Sam to the pawn store when they run out of money and sell the few belongings that they have. Ogle hints at his mother having mental illness, but there’s no mention of any diagnoses. He also briefly mentions a sister who passed away, and also includes a sister in the acknowledgements, but no other information is given.
Ogle ends the book on a somewhat hopeful note. Rex has shifted from always being angry at his mother to being more understanding and encouraging. She gets a job, and there is more money in the household. That Christmas is the best Rex can remember. The mark of a good book is that the reader is left wanting more, and this book leaves the reader wanting to know the rest of Rex’s story. Does his mother keep her job, can they finally move out of public housing, what is high school like? A must read for anyone who works with children. In the hands of students, it can serve as a mirror, showing students they are not alone; or it can be a window, showing readers a perspective they might not be familiar with. In the end, Rex is a smart, empathetic character that brings the story of childhood poverty and hunger to life.
After reading Four Eyes and reading Rex’s hardships as a kid, I saw he had a novel version of his story. And ouch, this one hurt, but also is such an inspiring story of how you can break the cycle, overcome the hardships life dishes out, and the power of good friends who don’t see your backstory as a burden. Poverty is so present in so many places and the unknown of what those face is daunting. Rex pays a tribute to the story and I’m over here cheering him on for all his successes in life, and overcoming what many people thought he probably never would. A very tough read, chalked full of abuse, mistreatment, and life but powerful, and life changing.
This is a great book that really captures the voice of that age. I think with such an abrupt ending, an epilogue would have been nice.
This is exceptionally well written; it is funny, thought-provoking, and completely heartbreaking. Why then did I give it 2 stars...while contemplating giving it 1? It gets an extra point for great writing. Otherwise, the sheer fact that at the end the author does not talk about if your parents are abusing you that is NOT okay. They beat him, abandoned him and his brother for days alone (the first time when he was 9 and his brother was 2) with no phone and not enough food. THIS IS ABUSE AND NOT OKAY!!! The back of the book should of included information about what to do if you find yourself or friends in a similar situations not some sweetly written chapter about how his life got so much better when he realized that he was the problem. Once he just internalizes the abuse and becomes the perfect son the abuse stopped (as it coincided with both parents finally being employed at the same time).
Like I said the writing was great but the end message is such rubbish that I just feel bad for Rex Ogle and hope that he knows he did not do anything to deserve the abuse from his parents or teachers or anyone. I'm sorry that was your life but please don't glorify it and sell it like it's a teachable moment to kids on how to be a better child.
If you read this book and you're going through the same things with your parents, grandparents, caregivers then here are some child abuse hotlines:
In the U.S. or Canada: Call Childhelp at 1-800-422-4453 or visit Child Welfare Information Gateway>
UK: Call NSPCC Childline at 0800 1111
Australia: Visit CAPS for a hotline in your state
New Zealand: Call Kidsline at 0800 54 37 54
Other international helplines: Visit Child Helpline International
Like I said the writing was great but the end message is such rubbish that I just feel bad for Rex Ogle and hope that he knows he did not do anything to deserve the abuse from his parents or teachers or anyone. I'm sorry that was your life but please don't glorify it and sell it like it's a teachable moment to kids on how to be a better child.
If you read this book and you're going through the same things with your parents, grandparents, caregivers then here are some child abuse hotlines:
In the U.S. or Canada: Call Childhelp at 1-800-422-4453 or visit Child Welfare Information Gateway>
UK: Call NSPCC Childline at 0800 1111
Australia: Visit CAPS for a hotline in your state
New Zealand: Call Kidsline at 0800 54 37 54
Other international helplines: Visit Child Helpline International
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book deals with Rex Ogle's childhood (specifically the first half of 6th grade - the start of middle school) and his shame of being on the free lunch program. In the author notes at the end, he mentions that he wanted to write this book because he doesn't remember seeing books like this growing up, how alone he felt because he didn't know that other people were dealing with the same problems, carrying the same shame. There's a stigma about being poor but "no child should feel like they are worth less because of the situation they were born into". He did a decent job tackling the subject and this book definitely helps shine a light on the psyche of the children who are on the free lunch program.
In May of this year a school district in Rhode Island decided to tackle their school lunch debt issue by giving unpaid bills only one option for their lunches - sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches. Obviously public pressure and a sizeable donation from Chobani forced the district to reverse that decision. The thing is, this is only the most recent (that got national attention) in a long line of lunch shaming of students. Here's an article about an elementary school in Alabama stamping kids that were in lunch debt. Here's an article about a school in Utah where the kids lunches were thrown out in front of everyone at the checkout because they had an outstanding balance. This is an article that is about lunch shaming in general. Every time some bureaucrat talks about the importance of the budget and district finances, they're forgetting that there are actual consequences to their decisions. The shaming that leads to ostracizing and bullying; or the impact of low nutritious value foods on children. And that's not even talking about how those things impact a child emotionally and psychologically and how that sticks with them. I think it's great that this book brings the conversation out into the open because it doesn't shy away from how Rex felt being on the program or how he desperately tried to hide it from people.
The book also deals with the emotional and physical abuse that Rex experienced growing up. Both his mother and her boyfriend were volatile and violent and snapped at a moments notice. Rex doesn't sugarcoat any of it, nor does he try to "adult" his feelings. As an adult reader, you know that the parents are clearly in the wrong, but 6th grade Rex is going to feel that he's in the wrong for daring to ask for pens and pencils for school, 6th grade Rex is going to think he deserves the black eyes, 6th grade Rex is going to hear the ridiculously abuse things that's being hurled at him and internalize it. As much as you want there to be a "realization" within the book, it's clearly unrealistic - heart breakingly so. I know this is autobiographical, and also that he wanted to end it on a more positive note where there is more stability in their lives and things are looking up. But the thing is, it's almost sad knowing that the happiness will be short lived because nothing about his mother or her boyfriend at a deeper level has changed.
This book deals with Rex Ogle's childhood (specifically the first half of 6th grade - the start of middle school) and his shame of being on the free lunch program. In the author notes at the end, he mentions that he wanted to write this book because he doesn't remember seeing books like this growing up, how alone he felt because he didn't know that other people were dealing with the same problems, carrying the same shame. There's a stigma about being poor but "no child should feel like they are worth less because of the situation they were born into". He did a decent job tackling the subject and this book definitely helps shine a light on the psyche of the children who are on the free lunch program.
In May of this year a school district in Rhode Island decided to tackle their school lunch debt issue by giving unpaid bills only one option for their lunches - sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches. Obviously public pressure and a sizeable donation from Chobani forced the district to reverse that decision. The thing is, this is only the most recent (that got national attention) in a long line of lunch shaming of students. Here's an article about an elementary school in Alabama stamping kids that were in lunch debt. Here's an article about a school in Utah where the kids lunches were thrown out in front of everyone at the checkout because they had an outstanding balance. This is an article that is about lunch shaming in general. Every time some bureaucrat talks about the importance of the budget and district finances, they're forgetting that there are actual consequences to their decisions. The shaming that leads to ostracizing and bullying; or the impact of low nutritious value foods on children. And that's not even talking about how those things impact a child emotionally and psychologically and how that sticks with them. I think it's great that this book brings the conversation out into the open because it doesn't shy away from how Rex felt being on the program or how he desperately tried to hide it from people.
The book also deals with the emotional and physical abuse that Rex experienced growing up. Both his mother and her boyfriend were volatile and violent and snapped at a moments notice. Rex doesn't sugarcoat any of it, nor does he try to "adult" his feelings. As an adult reader, you know that the parents are clearly in the wrong, but 6th grade Rex is going to feel that he's in the wrong for daring to ask for pens and pencils for school, 6th grade Rex is going to think he deserves the black eyes, 6th grade Rex is going to hear the ridiculously abuse things that's being hurled at him and internalize it. As much as you want there to be a "realization" within the book, it's clearly unrealistic - heart breakingly so. I know this is autobiographical, and also that he wanted to end it on a more positive note where there is more stability in their lives and things are looking up. But the thing is, it's almost sad knowing that the happiness will be short lived because nothing about his mother or her boyfriend at a deeper level has changed.