Showing posts with label children in poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children in poverty. Show all posts

The Glass Castle ~ Jeannette Walls

Publisher: Scribner (2005)
ISBN: 0-7432-4754-X
288 pgs

Classification: Non-fiction
Genre: Memoir
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: Growing up, Jeannette Walls and her siblings survive malnutrition, beatings, and dilapidated shelters before they escape poverty and alcoholism to forge their own way in the world.

Summary: Rex and Rose Mary Walls are too intelligent for their own good since their philosophies and convictions lead them to live a life of poverty by choice. Raising four children in the deserts of California and Nevada, neither parent is capable of holding a steady job. Lori, Jeannette, Brian and Maureen learn to scavenge for food and protect each other from all manner of threats. Jeannette thinks they may finally have a home when her mother inherits a house in Phoenix, but before long Rex’s alcoholism and Rose Mary’s depression force the family to move to Welch, West Virginia where Rex was raised. In Welch, the Walls children grow into teenagers with a common goal—getting out. Working on the school newspaper, Jeannette discovers her talent for journalism and, together with her siblings, begins to dream of moving to New York City. But first they must all reconcile the need to sever ties with their parents.

Notes: Walls recounts her horrifying experiences without self-pity, revealing her own inner strength and the resilience of the human spirit. Her depiction of the rural poverty throughout the United States is eye-opening. Content to be aware of—strong language, sexual abuse.
Flags: 5

A Northern Light ~ Jennifer Donnelly

Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books (2003).
ISBN: 978-0152167059
400 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Historical, mystery
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: With the real-life mystery of Grace Brown’s death as a backdrop, this novel tells the fictional story of Mattie Gokey in Uttica, NY in 1906.

Summary: In upstate New York in 1906, Mattie Gokey is working hard to hold her family together after her mother’s death and her brother’s desertion. In a constant struggle against poverty, illness and hopelessness, Mattie cares for her three younger sisters, helps her father run their small farm, and studies to earn her high school diploma. Her greatest dream is to attend Barnard College where she has gained acceptance and a full scholarship, but only Mattie’s good friend Weaver and her teacher Miss Wilcox are excited for her. Mattie’s father says no, her sisters do not want her to leave, and her intended, Royal, simply does not understand Mattie’s desire for further education. Then a traveler, a young woman by the name of Grace Brown, dies mysteriously. As Mattie tries to piece together an understanding of Grace’s life and death, she realizes the importance of her own story.

Notes: Though Mattie narrates the novel, many women’s stories are presented, offering an unflinching account of the hardships faced by women at this point in history. These struggles resonate with women today as well, making this novel a thought-provoking read. The book is an ALA Prinz Honor Book.
Flags: 4

Sold ~ Patricia McCormick

Publisher: Hyperion Paperbacks (2006)
ISBN: 978-07865172-0
263 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Issues
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: A young village girl is sold into sexual slavery.

Summary: Lakshmi, 13, is sold by her step-father to a woman who runs a brothel. Innocent and naïve, Lakshmi believes she is going to be able to help her family afford a new roof for their hut in the Himalayan mountains. Instead, she is taken a world away from the mother she adores. From rural mountain poverty to city slums, Lakshmi does not dare to hope that she’ll find a way out, yet still she dreams of her mother and the love and laughter they once shared.

Notes: Told in vignettes, this story recalls The House on Mango Street. Lakshmi’s ordeal is horrifying, yet important to learn about. This book is a National Book Award Finalist.
Flags: 5